Social worker praises teen accused in killing

November 20, 2008

A 16-year-old from Glen Burnie who is accused of killing a man with a baseball bat has excelled at the Cheltenham Youth Facility, where he has received high grades and awards for good behavior, a social worker testified yesterday at a hearing to determine whether the teenager should be tried as an adult.

"His teachers can't say enough about him," Jennifer Beard, a social worker at the Department of Juvenile Services, said of Christian J. Schellenschlager Jr., who is charged as a juvenile with second-degree murder in the death of Brian Michael Myers, 49.

Since moving into the facility in June, the teenager has won student-of-the-week awards and has been selected for a GED preparatory program, said Beard, who believes he should be treated in the juvenile system.

According to court testimony, Schellenschlager, then a sophomore at Glen Burnie High School, was with friends April 29 when the victim, who was intoxicated and brandishing a bottle, directed a racial slur at one of the boys. Schellenschlager struck Myers once on the head with the bat, police said.

The 49-year-old was taken to a hospital and died two weeks later. The hearing is set to continue Dec. 17.

Rona Marech

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Social worker praises teen accused in killing

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