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Asperger sufferer stabs colleague to death at McDonalds
Last updated at 19:22pm on 21.09.06
Shane Freer, top, stabbed his former boss Jackie Marshall in front of horrified McDonald's customers
A loner with Asperger's syndrome who did not know the difference between right and wrong killed a colleague in 'cold blooded' revenge after being sacked.
Shane Freer stabbed grandmother Jackie Marshall to death in a 'frenzied, ferocious and crazed' attack in front of horrified diners at the McDonald's where they worked.
The horrified onlookers included a children's birthday party she was supervising.
The 21-year-old suffers from an extreme form of autism which prevents him from understanding how other people feel, and still believes he acted appropriately.
He killed the 57-year-old because he thought she had betrayed their apparent friendship by getting him sacked. Sentencing, Judge Anthony Scott-Gall told him: 'You have no remorse or insight into what you did or why it was so unnecessary and wrong - it was totally without justification. 'You have no understanding of the impact of this on her family or your own family and therefore there is no barrier to repetition.' He jailed him for life for the killing, but ordered that he should be detained indefinitely at a secure mental unit. Simon Russell-Flint QC, prosecuting, said the attack was a 'cold-blooded and merciless killing, entirely motivated by anger and revenge'. He said Freer had been working in the McDonald's in Chichester for over a year when he became embroiled in a row with a rowdy teenager last April and punched her in the face. Restaurant managers suspended him on full pay after speaking to witness Mrs Marshall, and the following Saturday he was sacked after a disciplinary hearing. Freer was distraught by the decision and went to a nearby ironmongers and bought an eight inch hunting knife before returning to the restaurant looking 'agitated', Lewes Crown Court in Sussex heard. He marched across the floor in front of 40 diners and grabbed his former line manager Mrs Marshall before stabbing her six times, almost severing her nose and causing massive wound to the abdomen. As panicked customers fled the diner in a mass stampede, Mrs Marshall slumped to the floor pleading: 'please help me, I'm dying.' The mother of two, who also had three grandchildren, was rushed to hospital but died two hours later. After his arrest Freer calmly told police: 'I had to kill her, she got me fired. She had to die'.' Mrs Marshall, from Southbourne, West Sussex, had been married to husband Edward for 38 years. She had worked at McDonald's for fifteen years and was nicknamed the 'balloon lady' because she ran the children's parties at the restaurant. It was her kindness that led her to reach out to Freer, a loner who had no friends and rarely spoke to colleagues. He was only allowed to sweep the floors at McDonald's because he was unable to deal with customers. She sent him a Christmas card signed: 'To Shane, best wishes from Jackie XX' which police later discovered proudly on display in his bedroom. It was the only Christmas card Freer had kept.
A source close to the investigation said: "Jackie was the type of person who gave Christmas cards to everybody she worked with. But it seems that Freer might have taken it a bit more personally.
'It is unlikely that Freer was in love with her - more like he was confused by her friendliness and thought her reporting of him was somehow a betrayal.'
Freer grew up on in stable family home on a small farm in Batchmere, near Chichester
He made no friends at school and rarely spoke. His only pastimes were watching television and playing computer games, although he did later take an interest in politics and joined the Labour party.
Although he struggled in most subjects, he was in the top set for Maths and later achieved a BTEC in electrical engineering.
Freer had no previous convictions but had once hit a teacher and taken a knife to school to claiming he was going to slash the throat of a girl who had taunted him, before being talked out of it. He also used to keep a shotgun under his bed, although he never used it.
He would hit sometimes punch himself in the head in frustration.
The only people he was close to were his 23-year-old sister Elaine, now a student at Southampton University and 51-year-old mother Rosemary who even would wake him up every morning and make him his breakfast.
Despite his strange behaviour, his parents had no idea of the extent of his mental problems and had never heard of Asperger's syndrome, the same condition suffered by the narrator in the best selling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Freer denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He told doctors after his arrest that he 'quite liked' violence and may "feel it necessary" to kill again.
A prison source who knew Freer on remand said: "He cannot understand what he has done wrong. In his mind someone has done something to harm him and he has acted appropriately. He really was a walking timebomb waiting to go off."
Mrs Marshall's sister Gill Colbourne, 51, works as a police officer, said: "Jackie was a fantastic woman whom absolutely everybody adored. Even now the whole family are distraught about what happened.'
Reader views (18)
Asperger syndrome alone DOES NOT make people act in such an aggresive and violent manner. This young man is very likely to have been suffering from a psychotic disorder as well as Asperger syndrome. I work with people on the autistic spectrum and many of these people show a great deal of empathy and they also show an understanding of what is 'right and wrong'. Please stop sensationalising Asperger syndrome just because it has been in the media recently. Read the work of Amanda Baggs and please try to gain more of an insight into the autism spectrum. Thanks!
- Sarah Faulkner, South East, UK
I rarely comment on such articles, but this blew my mind. I have Aspergers, and have known many others with Aspergers. Here is a fact that I have seen over and over again. People with Aspergers tend to be more caring, and hate violence. We also tend to have a large sense of justice. We aren't alone by choice or lack of desire. We just don't speak your inborn social language, and if we do it isn't easy. It takes a lot out of us to cognatively to make you happy. I am in a social services job, and have served in the military. I have worked in Law Enforcement before diagnosis, and am planning to return to it. I'm not the highest functioning either. The guy is a nut period. To the authors. Thanks for more misunderstandings of Autism Spectrum Disorders. We all appreciate the extra perception of us being broke nutty or idiots.
- Jeremy, Reno,Nevada
Just because he has Asperger syndrome does not mean he does not have a dimisnished capacity in the area of judgment. Asperger is a spectrum disorder: some people are very mild and other people not so mild with their symptoms. One of the symptoms of Asperger is lack of empathy. If you have Asperger syndrome and feel empathy for others then you are fortunate and have a less severe form of it or you simply have different symptoms than someone else. It is quite possible for this man to have Asperger and still not know the difference from right and wrong in what he did. In his mind what he did was right because he was wronged by someone he trusted. This is considered to fall under inflexible thinking or rigidity which falls under OCD type behaviors. He feels he is justified in what he did. I am so sorry that this happened. While I agree that Asperger is a neurological difference, mental health issues do sometimes fall within the spectrum especially when behaviors are very severe such as this. Peace.
- Sheila, New Orleans, Louisiana
my child has autism and has spells of violent behaviour I'm not at all surprised this happened as I try and try to get help with my sons behaviour and get nowhere my gp tried to refer him to orchard house where he had previously been seen and they refused to see him again ad then pasted the buck back to the childhood mental health team who told me to get my son re referred to orchard house in the first place , quite clearly there is such neglect in chichester and no one cares its not shane who killed jackie its the idiotic healthcare system in chichester, I am ashamed to live here ....
- Kirsty Lawson, chichester west sussex
I have mild Autism; I have trouble reading people (I may pick up about 66% of nonverbal if I am paying full attention and people are not deliberately deceptive), learned all my social skills consciously, and I have some motor/balance issues; that's after 40+ years of practice, I used to do a lot worse.
I know the difference between right and wrong. No way does Asperger's make you unable to figure this out, and he proved it by going for manslaughter / diminished responsibility; clearly he didn't want to take the punishment for his crime!
- Laurie, Portland, OR
I have severe aspergers and i hate violence, i would never harm a person unless forced to and yes i know the difference bethween right and wrong. In fact im a really kind person, having aspergers doesnt make a person evil or dangerous. The killer had something else going on in his head too.
- Tomi, Valtimo, Finland
I have severe aspergers and I do think aspergers could have been to blame I mean when I was 14 I commited arson and was spared going into a young offenders because the judge said I didnt know right from wrong especially considering the fact I was in a special needs school
- Anthony Salmon, Middlesbrough
This is sickening, I have AS and I am quite aware of the difference between right and wrong, I cannot believe they think he has AS. This is an insult to the autistic community
- John, MI USA
So let me get this straight: He cannot tell right from wrong because he has Asperger's Syndrome? What a bunch of rubbish! I can tell you up close and personal that Asperger's Syndrome doesn't make you do this.
He may have conned people in the legal community with this diminished responsibility defence but he hasn't conned anyone in the AS community that I know of. The judge did exactly the right thing throwing away the key.
- Kenneth Engelhardt, Rhode Island, USA
Asperger's is not a mental illness, it's a neurological difference. It's a mild form of autism. Even someone who has severe autism knows the difference between right and wrong. If anything, someone with Asperger's might be more likely to become a victim of a crime than to be a perpetrator. I have Asperger's myself, and not only do I know right from wrong, I have empathy as well. As a result, I would never even think of harming someone, let alone commit murder.
- Adrienne, Long Beach, CA USA
I have Asperger's Syndrome and I care deeply for everyone even complete strangers it is crazy but yes I do care for everyone even to the point it causes me great stress.
- Nathan, Franklin, United States of America
People with Asperger's Syndrome DO know the difference between right and wrong. I have Asperger's Syndrome. In fact, people with Asperger's Syndrome have a HIGHER SENSE OF MORALS than most so-called "normal" people. For example, I would have known it was WRONG to write an article accusing an entire group of people, as dangerous killers. The author of this article knows as little about right and wrong, as he presumes people with Asperger's Syndrome do.
This is nothing new, "This person is different, quick let's label them and then create a campaign to rid society of them!" No different than what the Nazis tried to do to the Jews. David doesn't like that people are allowed to exsist in society without meeting up to their ideal? So he suggests inciting fear towards people he doesn't even know?
David, do you know what it's like hearing that people want to genetically exterminate you, and people like you, simply for being a burden to the "normals"
Do you know how much fear it instills that your story may make policemen use excessive force, on people who have sensory issues, emotional meltdown issues, because you proclaimed they are psychopaths on the edge of sanity?
Please publicly apologize for your blatant ignorance. Otherwise, I hope you can sleep at night. What you have is in essence, calling people who have more empathy and compassion than you ever will, heartless killers.
- Jackie, Chicago, Illinois
I do agree with most of what has been stated here, obviously this man was was suffering from some psychopathic or sociopathic disorder as well as aspergers, if indeed he was correctly diagnosed with AS. Nevertheless lack of empathy is one of the symptoms of AS.
- Pat Craig, UK
Asperger's Syndrome does not describe a person who has no concept of right and wrong. This individual has a dual diagnosis... he is a sociopath or a psychopath, I am no expert. But he is one of those people who has no concern for others at all. He ALSO has Asperger's Syndrome. I'd like to see a psychologist quoted in your story who states the diagnoses. Check the DSM IV criteria for Asperger Syndrome, which is actually the least extreme of the autistic disorders. Many individuals with Asperger's are not diagnosed because they are so high-functioning.
- Linda Makela, Sudbury, Ontario
AS is a neurological difference, not a mental illness. Stephen Speilberg has it as does Bram Cohen (Bit Torrent technology), Dan Akroyd (comedian), Vernon L. Smith (Nobel prize winning mathematician), Gary Numan (musician). We don't see either of those two killing anyone.
In this case it seems that the convicted murderer was more of a sociopath who coincidentally had AS. Yet AS was falsely assumed/claimed as being behind the reasoning process the killer used to justify the murder.
I have dealt with over 300 people with AS and have yet to see any of them display the attitude or sociopathic tendencies that Freer has displayed.
When I HAVE seen AS people "flying off the handle" is usually in response to EXTREME provocation, and I do mean extreme. Most AS people want to keep to the sidelines and will avoid any kind of conflict simply because conflict draws attention to themselves.
AS people have empathy, are deeply loving and caring, and many of them are involved in philanthropic activities.
And they do know right from wrong.
Moreso than non-Aspies, as a matter of fact.
- Tom, Chicago, Illinois, USA
My 5 year old son has Asperger's Syndrome, and I assure you he knows right from wrong. I want to say thank you to David from Dublin for writing in and giving a very knowledgable description of Asperger's Syndrome, and why this sort of horrible crime is no reflection on the vast majority of sufferers.
- Sharon Fargo, Olive Branch, MS USA
Asperger's is not "an extreme form of autism". It is a mild form of autism. I have Asperger's and have a degree, career, partner, mortgage etc. and am quite aware of the differences between right and wrong.
- David, London, UK
Asperger's syndrome is not a metal illness, it is a developmental delay. It means that person’s social skills are much less developed then normal. Asperger syndrome is not related to violence. In fact most are people with Asperger’s are very worried about following rules and often act as self appointed community “police officers”.
There is a case of a young man with Asperger's who read that motorcycle gangs in his country were selling drugs. Later that day he went up to a group of burly motorcyclists and told them how bold there were for selling drugs. It was lucky that he was not killed.
However, a small minority of people with Asperger’s syndrome can additional have psychopathic personality disorder. After all, Asperger’s does not confer a miraculous immunity from an additional personality disorder. Or as is more often the case, people with psychopathic personality disorder can be mistaken Asperger’s syndrome, both groups exhibit problems with social skills and therefore look superficially similar.
However, the psychopath does not care about people at all. They can give callous reasons for killing someone, “But they were in my way. But they made me angry”, they shift the blame. However, a person with Asperger's does care (often very much) but because their social skills are poor, they do not know to care or forget not to be so self-interested. Many with Asperger’s can feel intense, even obsessive guilt, after quite trivial offences that other will have forgotten.
- David, Dublin, Ireland
