Autistic teen’s murder case poses judicial challenges

March 20, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

KENT, Ohio (AP) — Sky Walker watches recordings of “The Price is Right” over and over again on a TV positioned just outside his jail cell, a calming ritual for the autistic teenager, who is prone to erratic behavior swings when his routine is changed.

He also gets his favorite barbecue potato chips, and visitors have been allowed to bring him McDonald’s Happy Meals — an attempt to keep his environment as normal as it can be as he awaits a decision on whether he is competent to stand trial in his mother’s fatal beating.

Walker, 18, is charged with murdering his long-doting mother, Gertrude Steuernagel, a professor at Kent State University who once wrote publicly about having to cope with her son’s aggressive behavior. She was found unconscious in their kitchen Jan. 29 and died eight days later.

The case has posed special challenges to the justice system from the start; Walker had to wear a face mask at an initial court appearance to prevent him from spitting at deputies.

The case has also worried advocates, such as Rory McLean, president of the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland, who fear that Walker’s actions — he was found cowering in the basement when sheriff’s deputies responded to the home — could be misinterpreted.

Walker, who has a court-appointed guardian, is due to be arraigned today on the murder charge, but both sides agreed he did not have to appear in court. He is also charged with assaulting a deputy who investigated the beating. No pleas have yet been entered on his behalf.

To be deemed competent, a defendant would have to understand the charges against him and be able to help in his own defense.

Prosecutors and Walker’s attorney declined to discuss the case. But Dr. Phillip Resnick, a psychiatrist who has worked in the Cleveland courts for decades, said interviewers would need to determine whether a defendant knew at the time of such a crime that killing was wrong.

Autism is a developmental disability that limits social interaction and communication skills, usually starting before age 3.

Walker, for example, has trouble putting words together to express himself. A family friend said he uses words only in a way that his mother could easily interpret, such as saying “wheels on the bus” to indicate he was getting upset.

Those with the disorder can be easily upset by a different routine such as a new food item or schedule change. They might find the rub of clothing upsetting and often take comfort in repetitive behaviors, such as rocking back and forth. The gentle hum of a refrigerator might be maddeningly loud for the autistic.

As many as 30 percent of autistic children display some level of aggressive behavior, said Dr. Max Wiznitzer, who treats autistic children in Cleveland.