Christopher Plaskon, 18, pleaded no contest Monday on charges that he murdered classmate Maren Sanchez in 2014. Sanchez was 16 and a junior at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Connecticut, when Plaskon stabbed her to death. Sanchez had rejected his invitation to come with him to the prom.
Plaskon appeared briefly in court this morning, the Hartford-Courant reports, just long enough to enter his plea. A no contest plea means that the defendant doesn’t admit guilt, but which allows a court to impose a punishment. The Courant reports that in court documents, Plaskon is said to have told police just after the stabbing, “I did it. Just arrest me.”
Sanchez died just hours before she was scheduled to attend her prom; her family requested that her friends and classmates not wear prom attire to the wake. A memorial scholarship fund was created in her honor, and a 5k run to raise money for it is scheduled for April 30.
Plaskon is expected to serve 25 years in prison.
Contact the author at anna.merlan@jezebel.com.
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Plaskon during a January 28, 2016 hearing. Photo via AP Images