The wrongful death lawsuit brought over the killing of Maren Sanchez ended in a combined $6.6 million recovery for her estate: $5 million from the city of Milford, Connecticut, and $1.6 million from her killer, Christopher Plaskon, and his parents. The Maren Sanchez lawsuit settlement resolved claims that school officials at Jonathan Law High School ignored warning signs months before the April 25, 2014 stabbing and failed to follow their own mandatory reporting policies.
What the Estate Alleged Against Milford
Sanchez’s mother, Donna Cimarelli, sued the city on behalf of her daughter’s estate. The core allegation was documentary: five months before the attack, in November 2013, Maren told her guidance counselor that Plaskon had been threatening to kill himself and to hurt himself with a knife. Her counselor relayed the concern to Plaskon’s counselor. There it stopped.1Connecticut Post. Settlements Reached in School Stabbing Death Suit
Under Milford Board of Education policy, that report was supposed to move up the chain. Counselors who learned a student might pose a threat were required to notify administrators so a Clinical Intervention Team could evaluate the student and build a safety plan. The principal, school security, the wider administration, and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families were never told.2NBC Connecticut. Maren Sanchez’s Estate Reaches Settlement With City of Milford
Former assistant principal Paul Cavanna testified that the policy had been invoked more than ten times before and had always prevented harm. Principal Francis Thompson testified that the counselors’ failure to follow it violated board rules. The estate’s experts argued that a proper intervention after the November 2013 report could have prevented the killing.2NBC Connecticut. Maren Sanchez’s Estate Reaches Settlement With City of Milford
Milford’s Defense and the Ruling That Kept the Case Alive
The city denied wrongdoing. Its attorneys argued that Plaskon’s attack was unforeseeable, that there had “never any indication that Plaskon was at risk to harm others,” and that his parents had already put him in private therapy.3Seattle Times. City to Pay $5M to Settle Lawsuit Over Fatal School Stabbing Milford moved for summary judgment, asking the court to throw the case out before trial.
On January 8, 2019, Superior Court Judge Barry Stevens denied that motion in a 32-page decision. He ruled that Sanchez’s report about Plaskon’s suicidal threats was enough to trigger the district’s mandatory Suicide Prevention and Intervention Procedure, and that the estate had produced substantial evidence the counselors had not followed it. The distinction mattered because Connecticut law shields cities from suits over “discretionary acts” by employees, but not over the failure to perform mandatory duties. Judge Stevens placed the counselors’ obligations in the mandatory category. He later refused the city’s request to reconsider.4Connecticut Post. Judge Rebuffs Milford’s Request in Prom Date Killing Lawsuit
The Two Settlements
The Plaskon family settled first. In September 2017, Christopher Plaskon and his parents agreed to pay the estate $1.6 million, according to probate records.5Patch. Maren Sanchez’s Mother Seeks $23 Million Settlement From City
The case against the city moved toward a May 2020 trial after Judge Stevens’s ruling. Before it got there, the parties entered mediation with retired Superior Court Judge Antonio Robaina. Two full days of mediation produced a $5 million settlement, announced on December 20, 2019. The school board’s insurer covered the full amount, so neither the city nor the Board of Education paid out of pocket.6Connecticut Post. Milford to Pay $5M to Settle Maren Sanchez Lawsuit
The agreement contained no admission of wrongdoing. City attorney Jonathan Berchem said “the parties agree there was no wrongdoing on the part of the board, or its employees,” and city officials said they settled to avoid “prolonged and expensive litigation.”6Connecticut Post. Milford to Pay $5M to Settle Maren Sanchez Lawsuit Cimarelli said the tragedy “could have been prevented had mandatory reporting procedures been followed.”2NBC Connecticut. Maren Sanchez’s Estate Reaches Settlement With City of Milford
Background on the Killing and Criminal Case
The lawsuit grew out of an attack inside Jonathan Law High School in Milford at about 7:15 a.m. on April 25, 2014, the morning of the junior prom. Plaskon, then 16, stabbed 16-year-old Maren Sanchez in the torso and neck in a stairwell. A witness tried to intervene; another saw him discard a bloody knife. He was taken to the principal’s office in bloodied clothing and told police, “I did it. Just arrest me.”7CBS News. Christopher Plaskon, Connecticut Teen, Pleads No Contest in Fatal Prom Day Stabbing of Maren Sanchez Sanchez was pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital.8ABC News. Conn. High School Student Stabbed to Death in Apparent Prom Dispute Classmates told police Plaskon was upset that Sanchez had declined his invitation to the prom.9NBC Connecticut. Christopher Plaskon Sentenced in Maren Sanchez Milford Prom Day Stabbing
Plaskon was transferred from juvenile to adult court and held on $3 million bond.10Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. Christopher Plaskon Arraigned in Death of Maren Sanchez After his defense initially explored an insanity plea and then abandoned it, he entered a no contest plea to murder in March 2016 and was sentenced that June to 25 years in prison.9NBC Connecticut. Christopher Plaskon Sentenced in Maren Sanchez Milford Prom Day Stabbing