Mother of Alleged MAX Train Killer Told Court in 2002 That Her Son Might Need Mental Health Care

While incarcerated in Multnomah County Detention Center in 2002, Joseph Jeremy Christian was charged with possessing a "blackjack" type device; he pleaded guilty only to possessing the weapon with intent to use it.

Jeremy Joseph Christian on April 29. (Corey Pein)

The suspect in the May 26 MAX slayings has told authorities he has never received a mental health diagnosis. But records show that as early as 15 years ago, his mother told court officials that he might need help.

In 2002, when Jeremy Joseph Christian was arrested for kidnapping and armed robbery, his mother, Mary Christian, told Multnomah County Circuit Court officials that her son had "drug problems and possibly has mental health problems," a court document shows.

The motion for release or security amount change, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, notes that the specific mental health problem as "possibly needs help for depression."

That drug problem appears to have been daily use of marijuana.

It's not clear what came of any mental health diagnosis from available court documents. People who know Christian have described him as disturbed, but he claimed after his arrest last month he's never received a mental health diagnosis.

Christian is accused of killing two of the men who confronted him on a MAX train as he harassed two teenage girls with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim slurs.

Christian's recent mental health will play a key role in the murder case.

In recent months, Christian spent increasing amounts of time online talking about his white supremacist beliefs, and he joined a Portland "free speech" rally in April where he gave Nazi salutes and shouted racial slurs.

Right wing media, including Joey Gibson, who organized the alt-right rally Christian attended in April along with last Sunday's pro-Trump event, have attempted to distance themselves from Christian, in part by citing his disturbed mind.

But what responsibility the alt-right bears in inspiring Christian to violence is an open question. 

Christian, who spent much of his adult life in prison, appears to may have allied with his own racial group while in prison, according to an interview with his friend.

After his arrest in 2002, Christian faced a charge for obtaining contraband while in Multnomah County Detention Center. The weapon was a blackjack: a small, leather-covered billy club. He pleaded guilt to unlawful possession of a weapon with intent to use it.

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