Parents Stand by Son with Aspergers Convicted of Conspiring to Murder Them

The Independent UK reports that the parents of Christopher Monks, a 25 year old man with Aspergers Disorder who plotted with an internet friend to kill them stood by their son on sentencing and asked the court to show leniency.

The internet "friend" returned to the Skarnes home after visiting earlier in the day and attacked the parents who fended him off when he attempted to attack the father in his bedroom with a large kitchen knife.

""The pair were convicted despite the fact that Monks’s father, also Christopher, and his wife Elizabeth have fully supported their son, who was adopted at the age of 10 months. They argued that his condition meant he was unable to separate fantasy from reality and that he had never intended to have them murdered.

.......

Sentencing the pair at Preston Crown Court, Mr Justice McCombe said he felt for Monks’s parents. “No court could fail to be moved by the unstinting love they have for their son,” he said. “In their own words in a letter sent to me they say ‘Whatever sentence is passed, we will serve it with him’.”

But he added both men continued to present a “significant” risk of harm to the public. “I recognise that Mr and Mrs Monks find this difficult to accept but the court has a duty to protect the public and ensure that they are not released into the community until that risk is eliminated.”"

The article illustrates just how much many parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders love their children no matter how severe the challenges they present.

autism