Idaho teen pleads guilty to stabbing mother
Sunday, November 9, 2008 12:30 AM PST
BOISE (AP) — A mentally ill Boise teen has entered a modified guilty plea to stabbing his mother last year, but says he doesn’t remember doing it.
Tyler Hanscom, 17, gave the Alford guilty plea to felony aggravated battery and using a weapon in the commission of a felony in 4th District Court on Friday, The Idaho Statesman reported. In exchange for his plea, Ada County prosecutors dropped an attempted murder charge. An Alford plea allows a defendant to acknowledge that there is enough evidence to convict him without admitting guilt.
Hanscom’s public defender, Jonathan Loschi, said Hanscom has no memory of the Nov. 16, 2007 attack.
The stabbing left Hanscom’s 44-year-old mother, Laura Hanscom, critically injured. She underwent open heart surgery and spent more than two months in the hospital, according to court testimony. The stabbing also chipped away pieces of her skull.
The teen has paranoid schizophrenia and last year family friend Shanna Henslee told The Idaho Statesman that she believes Tyler had stopped taking medication for his illness before the attack. Henslee’s children found Hanscom after the stabbing.
Neither police nor prosecutors have released a suspected motive, but say it did not appear premeditated.
Hanscom was in to the custody of Idaho Health and Welfare earlier this year for three months so he could get treatment for his mental illness - to ensure he could adequately understand the charges against him and actively participate in his defense.
Prosecutors are asking 4th District Judge Timothy Hansen to give the teen a 20-year prison sentence and require that he serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole. They are also asking that the teen be placed in the custody of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections until he turns 21, when he would be moved to an adult prison.
Hanscom is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8.
