( CNN ) -- A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student suspected in the slashing death of a classmate was charged with murder as an adult Tuesday . The victim , Maren Sanchez , 16 , who was described by her family as `` a bright light full of hopes and dreams , '' died Friday after being slashed in a school stairwell , authorities said . She was cut in her neck , chest and face . Though the motive remains under investigation , police were looking into whether the boy was angry after Sanchez rejected him as a prom date . The suspect , Christopher Plaskon , was taken into custody Friday by a school police officer in the principal 's office . His clothing and hands were bloodied . `` I did it , '' Plaskon allegedly told the officer , according to a probable cause statement filed with a Milford court Tuesday . `` Just arrest me . '' The Jonathan Law High School student , who remains under emergency commitment at a medical facility , was ordered held on $ 3 million bond . During a special court session convened at the medical facility , Plaskon 's lawyer , Richard Meehan , Jr. , said his client had been advised of his rights and told that he was being charged with murder as an adult . He faces 25 to 60 years in prison if convicted . Meehan said in a statement that Plaskon `` is in need of continued psychiatric care and medication and should be housed in an age-appropriate correctional center when he is released from the emergency commitment . '' Plaskon is to be formally arraigned Friday , provided he is released from the emergency psychiatric hold . In a statement Tuesday , Plaskon 's family said words could not convey `` the raw sadness we are left with by this unimaginable tragedy . Our hearts are forever broken . '' The statement continued : `` To the Sanchez family , our deepest sympathies . Please know that you are now , and forever , in our hearts , our thoughts and our prayers . We join with the entire Milford community to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of this most vibrant and exceptional young woman . To our extended family , friends and neighbors and all who have reached out to us in our darkest hour with warmth , kindness , understanding and compassion , you can not know how much it has meant to us . Thank you . '' The fatal slashing occurred about 7 a.m. Friday in a school stairwell . A witness saw Plaskon on top of the victim and tried unsuccessfully to pull him away , according to the probable cause statement . Another witness allegedly saw him discarding a bloody knife in a school corridor . Sanchez , a junior , suffered `` multiple lacerations , '' police said . The state medical examiner 's office concluded Saturday that Sanchez had died from `` stab wounds to the trunk and neck '' and ruled the death a homicide . School staff members and emergency technicians attempted `` life-saving measures , '' according to Milford Police Chief Keith Mello , but Sanchez was pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital at 7:43 a.m . The prom , which was scheduled for the night of the slaying , was postponed . All students were sent home , and counseling services were made available throughout the weekend . On Friday , friends and classmates of Sanchez gathered and released balloons into the air . The balloons were violet , her favorite color . On Instagram , classmates in prom attire posted images of themselves holding her green prom gown . The slain girl 's cousin , Edward Kovac , read a statement from her family lamenting what they called an `` unprovoked attack '' that ended the life of a young woman who had `` her future at her fingertips . '' `` Maren should be celebrating at her prom this evening , with her friends and classmates , '' the family statement said . `` Instead , we are mourning her death , and we are trying as a community to understand this senseless loss of life . '' The family statement recalled other cases of school violence , saying `` we can never forget the lessons ... from this '' and other incidents . One of those incidents happened about 22 miles away in Newtown , where a lone gunman shot his mother to death , then went to Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 26 people , including 20 children , before taking his own life in December 2012 . `` We need to ensure that more young children are protected from violent attacks at school , '' the family said . In their statement , the Plaskon family said , `` In prayer we ask for comfort for the Sanchez family and all of us so deeply affected by this tragedy . We pray for the wisdom to guide us as we desperately try to pull together the shattered pieces of our families . And finally , we pray that time may soften our wounds and reveal forgiveness in the hearts of all . '' CNN 's Lena Jakobsson contrinuted to this report .
Christopher Plaskon , 16 , charged with murder as an adult in the slashing death of a classmate . Maren Sanchez , 16 , died Friday after being slashed in a school stairwell . Comment: Plaskon 's lawyer says his client `` is in need of continued psychiatric care and medication ''