State report describes teen's early aggression

In seventh grade, John Odgren had several explosive episodes, was verbally abusive, and at times became physically aggressive, his parents, specialists, and teachers said, according to a state hearing report.

Odgren, who is accused of fatally stabbing a fellow student Friday at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, did not understand the "effect of his behavior on others," according to a decision by the state Bureau of Special Education Appeals in 2003.

His parents had argued to the state agency that their son needed better services than he had received from the Wachusett Regional School District, which had placed him in an alternative school in Fitchburg. At that school, he was so miserable he came home and "often spent evenings wrapped in a blanket, crying," one of his parents testified.

The state agreed that the placement was not appropriate and ordered Wachusett to pay for Odgren's attendance at a smaller program in Belmont that his parents had found.

The state report portrays a complex picture of Odgren, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 15-year-old James F. Alenson, a freshman at Lincoln-Sudbury. Odgren, 16, is depicted at age 12 as a highly intelligent but troubled preadolescent with poor social skills. He has a hyperactivity disorder and Asperger's disorder, a mild form of autism. Several specialists familiar with Asperger's have said that those with the condition are not more prone to violence than others.

The report, giving an overall description, said that Odgren became aggressive at times when confused or ordered to do work, but did not offer details other than to say he was suspended three times for physical aggression within a two-month period at Caldwell Alternative School in Fitchburg. His parents, at the same time, were expressing concern for his physical and emotional safety at Caldwell, whose principal declined to comment.

The report made one mention of him having "explosive episodes" in fall 2002 in Wachusett's special education program, but did not detail those. Wachusett school officials declined to comment about Odgren, citing student confidentiality.

Odgren's lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro, also declined to comment.

A pseudonym was used to describe Odgren in the state agency's report on the case; a source with knowledge of the decision confirmed that the boy described in the report was Odgren.

Lincoln Waterhouse, Wachusett's special education coordinator, was directly involved with Odgren's case in 2002 and 2003. He declined to comment about Odgren during a brief telephone interview. Waterhouse, according to the state report, selected the Caldwell school for Odgren and testified that he thought the placement provided enough support to help the boy succeed.

"My heart goes out to everybody involved," he said of the stabbing.

Odgren, according to the state report, was diagnosed with depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in 2000 and later placed in a special education program at a Wachusett elementary school. In 2002, in the sixth grade, he was diagnosed with Asperger's. His parents complained that he needed training in social skills, according to the state report, but never received it.

Shortly after beginning seventh grade in a Wachusett school, his performance deteriorated, according to the report, and the school system placed him at Caldwell Alternative School in Fitchburg for students in grades 7 to 12. The school serves students with emotional and behavioral problems and learning disabilities.

But he floundered at Caldwell, where the other students "teased, used foul and aggressive language, and were rude and disrespectful to each other and to the teacher," according to the report. Odgren's behavior grew more troubling, resulting in the suspensions and his failing three subjects.

In March 2003, his parents took him out of Caldwell and placed him at Pathways Academy in a special education program at McLean Hospital in Belmont for students ages 12 and 13. There, his behavior dramatically improved, the report stated.

Odgren told his parents the program was "like heaven." His father testified that after about six weeks at Pathways, Odgren "demonstrated spontaneous empathy for the first time."

It is unknown whether Odgren went directly from Pathways to Lincoln-Sudbury and whether school officials were made aware of the state report that described a history of physical aggression. Beginning this school year, he was a sophomore at Lincoln-Sudbury enrolled in Great Opportunities, a program for students with significant emotional and/or psychiatric disabilities. Lincoln-Sudbury officials have said they had no knowledge of any violent behavior involving Odgren.

John M. Ritchie, Lincoln-Sudbury regional's principal and superintendent, told reporters yesterday that the school's security policy and how it applies to Great Opportunities would probably be reviewed.

"We can't explain everything at once when we're in the middle of still grieving," Ritchie said.

According to the state's report, Odgren needed to be in an educational environment where he would not be threatened and would "be free from peers who tease, bully, or have behaviorally based disorders."

In the days after the stabbing, Lincoln-Sudbury students told reporters that Odgren had been teased by schoolmates for wearing a trench coat in the halls like the killers in Columbine High School. Police have not said why Odgren allegedly stabbed Alenson, who was described as shy and sweet, in a boy's bathroom.

Odgren's mother , Dorothy, a nurse at a Worcester clinic, is a fierce advocate for her son, said Kathryn Mattison, a Princeton child and family therapist. Dorothy Odgren is a fixture at area conferences on Asperger's, she said, adding that she met Dorothy Odgren when she was a school nurse at Princeton's Thomas Prince Elementary School, which Mattison's children attended.

"She's a model parent in terms of trying to understand her son," Mattison said. "I'm putting myself in their position. What would I have done differently? I don't think I would have done anything differently."

Yesterday, students, police, grief counselors, and parents gathered at the high school for the first time since the slaying. The students broke into spontaneous applause in the school auditorium, showing love for the school, Ritchie said. But the mood of the day was somber, Ritchie said.

School officials kept accessible the spot in the hallway where Alenson bled after the stabbing. Officials didn't want the hallway to be a "taboo zone," and school staff was stationed in the area to comfort students or accompany them into the restroom where Alenson was stabbed if they needed to see it.

John R. Ellement and Maria Sacchetti of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Kristen Green contributed to this report. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.