SJC To Hear Appeal In John Odgren Student Murder Case

BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The state's highest court will hear the murder appeal Monday of a student convicted of killing another student in 2007.

It was January 2007 when John Odgren, then 16, stabbed 15-year-old James Alenson to death in a bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.

At trial, the defense argued Odgren was insane. Odgren's father, a biology professor at UMass Medical School, testified about his son's mental illness, saying he was repeatedly bullied at school starting at the elementary level and had Asperger's syndrome.

After three days of deliberation, the jury rejected the mental capacity argument and found Odgren guilty of first-degree murder.

Now, an attorney for Odgren will ask the Massachusetts Supreme Court to overthrow the verdict, arguing that the judge erred in telling jurors they could infer "malice and intent" to kill from Odgren's use of a knife.

WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) reports


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