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Cedar Rapids teen who killed his parents must serve minimum of 50 years
He told psychologist his parents were emotionally abusive
Jun. 5, 2023 7:53 pm, Updated: Jun. 5, 2023 10:04 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids teen who killed his parents with two knives and an ax on Oct. 14, 2021, will have to serve a mandatory minimum of 50 years of a life sentence before being eligible for parole.
Ethan Orton, who attacked his mother, Misty Scott-Slade, 41, after she fell asleep in a chair and his father, Casey Arthur Orton, 42, who was asleep on a sofa, told a psychologist they emotionally and verbally abused him all his life. And when his mother sent him an email the day before, saying he had to move out when he turned 18 — in five months — it pushed him to attack.
Assistant Linn County Attorney Mike Harris, during his sentencing recommendation Monday, pointed out just how Ethan Orton committed his “heinous” attack: He first stabbed his mother with a bowie-type knife, then moved on to his father. But when his mother didn’t die and walked into the kitchen, he grabbed another knife, stabbed her, and then switched to an ax.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill considered the factors for a youthful offender facing a life sentence to determine the appropriate sentence. The Iowa Supreme Court banned life sentences without a chance for parole for juveniles in 2016, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s same decision in 2012.
Thornhill sentenced Orton to two life sentences but ran them concurrently, and found a mandatory 50-year minimum isn’t equal to a life sentence because he would be eligible for parole at 67, which is retirement age for many people, he noted. The judge also said he considered the circumstances of the offense, which was brutal and not spontaneous. Orton made a choice of weapons and chose to attack his parents after they were asleep, which showed he was capable of rational thinking at the time.
Thornhill said some of the things about Orton’s home environment a psychologist noted during sentencing were not pleasant. But while sometimes teens don’t like what parents do, it doesn’t “rise to level of abuse.”
“Perfect parenting doesn’t exist,” Thornhill noted, but there was no evidence of sexual or physical abuse.
Orton, during sentencing, made emotional remarks that didn’t make sense at times. He said the “experience” had made him “learn better.” He appreciated that his sister and grandmother immediately forgave him. They had “proof of some these things I witnessed and went through,” he said, but he couldn’t contact them at the time.
They were not in the courtroom Monday. But several relatives on his mother’s side were there to support him.
Orton said he thought something like this would never happen. He didn’t think it was fair — he’s now 19 and “everybody else here is, what, 50?”
He also said he was “sorry for all this” and he would give his “left arm” to bring his parents back. His relatives have said his parents could have been “rehabilitated,” he said.
He thanked Jesus, saying it wasn’t just “jailhouse religion” because it had made him feel better than he has in 17 years. He wiped tears from his eyes after he spoke in court.
During the hearing, Tracy Thomas, an Ames forensic psychologist, said that email from Misty Scott-Slade on Oct. 13, 2021, along with his father first siding with his son and then switching to side with wife, led to Ethan Orton having a mental breakdown because he had nobody to support or protect him.
Thomas said the household was “chaotic.” His parents’ approach was emotionally abusive, Thomas testified. They seemed to blame their son for marital problems, but he tried to not upset them because he didn’t want their anger or criticism.
Thomas said Orton told her he attempted suicide at 11. He drank a small portion of bleach. While he’s been in jail, he stuffed socks in his mouth but jail employees stopped him.
Orton didn’t have many friends, Thomas said. He could name only a couple, and two were teachers. He connected with people he didn’t know well through a computer app, but regarded them as his “lifeline.”
Daniel Tranel, a University of Iowa psychology and neurology professor, said in his evaluation and testing, he found Orton of average intelligence with no cognitive issues, who had normal maturity and not diagnosed with any mental disorders. Tranel said Orton told him he was a shy, quiet person — “a good kid.”
Tranel didn’t know if the bleach incident was really an attempted suicide or Orton just trying to get attention.
In Tranel’s testing, Orton showed planning, judgment and decision-making abilities. He had minimal depression and anxiety but showed a “mild elevation” of paranoia. Tranel said he concluded Orton was normal and didn’t met the criteria for a mental health diagnosis.
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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