CNN logo Navigation Infoseek/Big Yellow Pathfinder/Warner Bros Main banner Visit Regal at Buick.com rule REPORT: PARENTS SOUGHT TREATMENT FOR TEEN SLAYING SUSPECT The suspect's house October 3, 1997 Web posted at: 4:18 a.m. EDT (0818 GMT) JACKSON TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- Three days before 11-year-old Eddie Werner vanished while selling candy door-to-door, the parents of the teen accused of killing him reportedly asked a judge to lock up their son. The parents of the teen asked a Family Court judge on September 24 to place him in a residential psychiatric treatment center in a bid to get his violent behavior under control, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Friday. Instead, he was allowed to remain at home. Werner Last Saturday, Werner disappeared as he sold candy and wrapping paper for a school fund-raiser. His body was discovered Monday night in a wooded area between the neighborhoods where he and the suspect lived. Authorities have not released the name of the suspect because he is under 18. On Thursday, prosecutors said they believe the suspect was molested by a 43-year-old New York man who met him through an online chat room and arranged trysts. Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye said Stephen Simmons, 43, of Holbrook, New York, and the suspect met at New Jersey motels and at Simmons' home for sex several times over the past 13 months. Simmons The boy's parents learned of the meetings and informed police. Simmons, who has been charged with third-degree sodomy and could face other charges, was arrested on September 24 -- the same day the suspect's parents made their request of the judge. "These people had been crying out for help a week before the incident," the suspect's attorney, Michael Critchley, told The Star-Ledger. "Everybody should step back and pause a moment before they put this kid on a pyre and burn him." The teen-age suspect faces murder, aggravated sexual assault and robbery charges. Prosecutors were reviewing whether to have him tried as an adult. memorial Acquaintances described the suspect as a loner and a bully, but others said he was an average teen and a good student with an interest in computers. He built his own Web page, which he filled with biographical tidbits and exhaustive information about his favorite rock band, Smashing Pumpkins. He also explored other regions of the online world. Kaye said information found on a computer drive seized by prosecutors indicated the boy was visiting homosexual chat rooms, where he first met Simmons. Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. rule Related stories: * Violent offenses by teens plunged last year - October 2, 1997 * Door-to-door school sales debated after boy's slaying - October 1, 1997 _________________________________________________________________ Infoseek search ____________________ ____ ____ _________________________________________________________________ rule Message Boards Sound off on our message boards You said it... [INLINE] Visit Regal at Buick.com rule To the top © 1997 Cable News Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you.