JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — An Overland Park mother says her son, an Eagle Scout, was trying to help a friend when he was attacked and left for dead. Lorianne Koneczny said her son Stephen was robbed at knife-point in October and is now working to heal from both the physical and mental wounds.
Lorianne told us Stephen suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, but has worked hard to overcome that, especially with the life lessons he’s learned as an Eagle Scout. She said his kindness is “part of being an Eagle Scout. You do a good turn every day.”
That’s what she said Stephen thought he was doing when his friend Lily Foreman called late one night last October, asking for help.
She told Stephen she and her friend Gabrielle Stinson would come pick him up from his Overland Park neighborhood.
The pair picked the teen up on his street. Lorianne said her son got in the SUV, in the back seat behind the driver. That’s when she said a man in the backseat put a knife to Stephen’s throat and demanded his wallet.
“The guy cut him on his neck before he could get it out, three times. It was on the third time that he could feel the blood flowing,” Lorianne said.
Stephen called police once he got out of the car and went to an emergency room.
So far, two people face aggravated robbery charges. Wednesday, Lily Foreman’s attorney said the 18-year-old turned herself in and asked the judge for a lesser bond for her client. Foreman’s mother told FOX 4 she had no comment on the case.
19-year-old Gabrielle Stinson appeared before a judge last Friday. The judge said he kept the bonds at $100,000 because both girls have previous records and because of the severity of the this crime.
Wednesday, FOX 4 asked the courts about the man in the backseat: who he is or whether he’s been charged. We were told “the case is still actively being investigated” and we can’t get any comment “beyond the basics.”
Lorianne said the attack was planned and that her son was targeted.
“It was cold-hearted to do such a thing anyway but to just pick on someone who has been kind to you, who has helped you in the past,” Lorianne said.
She’s hoping this won’t set her son back because of his condition. She also hopes he remembers why he agreed to help Lily in the first place. She wants her son to find peace of mind knowing that he did do the right thing by trying to help.
“I’m hoping he won’t say no to people based upon wondering if they’re going to hurt him,” Lorianne said.
Stephen’s mother said her son only had $11 in his wallet and a couple of coins that were special to him. One coin was a commemorative token from the Boy Scouts of America that Stephen earned when he became an Eagle Scout. He achieved that rank during the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts, and the coin is something Lorianne said can’t be replaced. She said he kept it with him in his wallet.
“He took it with him everywhere to remind him to do a good turn daily, be the Boy Scout, Eagle Scout that you are. Be a role model. Be kind, be good, be courteous: all of those things that come with being a Boy Scout,” she said.
Also in that wallet was a silver dollar given to him by his grandfather.