Columbine (59 page)

Eric had never known:
Staff Sergeant Mark Gonzales called investigators at ten the morning after the murders to apprise them of his contact with Eric, citing all the dates when they'd met. On April 28, police interviewed him and documented his statements in a police report one day before the news story broke. A full account appears in Chapter 50, based on this testimony and on my discussions with investigators. Gonzales was firm about his contention that Eric never learned of his rejection.

officials met with the Klebolds:
Virtually all of this scene comes from Investigator Kate Battan's nine-page police report.

National Rifle Association convened:
The scene is based primarily on news reports, as well as my later reporting on the gun control debate. I'm especially grateful to Jake Tapper of
Salon,
and his excellent piece, "Coming Out Shooting."

"We deal with facts":
Kiekbusch's quotes came from a 1999 phone interview with me, which appeared in
Salon.
He made similar statements to other media.

What Kiekbusch meant:
I discussed the team's approach with several investigators, including Kiekbusch, and with officers and experts outside the case.

He was driving his team nuts:
I spoke to many investigators and officials in close contact with them.

Columbine coverage ended abruptly:
Sixty-six tornadoes struck between May 3 and 6, including a Category 5 twister that killed thirty-six people, damaged more than 10,000 buildings, and wreaked $1.1 billion in damage. I was at an event with many of the national reporters when they got the word and quickly fled. Several of the largest papers maintain a Denver bureau, consisting of one or two national reporters. These individuals returned to Denver after the storms, while many others did not. Regardless, the lull in coverage abruptly ended Columbine as a daily national story.

CHAPTER 37. BETRAYED

Their rates varied:
Wayne took detailed notes on possible lawyers and shrinks.

Eric told Dr. Albert:
Dr. Albert refused to talk to any other journalist about Eric. He told me that too many people could be hurt. However, Eric had discussed the sessions with his parents and his Diversion counselors, who recorded Eric's thoughts at the time (i.e., long before the murders). Their notes provided the basis for all of my information about Dr. Albert's sessions.

Dylan leaked the URL:
Brooks described Dylan's leak to reporters soon after the murders. Police records confirmed that the Browns called Jeffco detectives the night of the leak and produced several pages from Eric's Web site. I drew on interviews with Brooks and his parents, his memoir, the police report, the Web pages, and discussions with investigators.

Only one parent:
The meetings with the boys and their parents were well documented by Andrea Sanchez in their Diversion files. The full questionnaires were released.

Sanchez worried:
She documented her concerns in their files at the time.

But he was impressed:
DeVita recalled their appearances and expressed his thoughts a year later, in media interviews following the murders. The court released documents related to the case.

The affidavit was convincing:
It was released April 10, 2001. I discussed its merits with officials and experts both inside and outside the case.

A plausible explanation:
The official was Undersheriff John Dunaway, who told the
Denver Post
in 2004: "After several weeks that he [Guerra] was called away, he had nothing that he could credibly argue to the courts that was timely. Part of securing a search warrant is that your information is timely and accurate." Dunaway was not in office when the affidavit was written.

CHAPTER 38. MARTYR

"She's in the martyrs' hall of fame":
I did not attend Cassie's funeral. Later, I interviewed Reverend Kirsten, who provided the passages. I also discussed it with many congregants who were present.

It had been possession:
My accounts of Cassie's possession and "rebirth" came primarily from a series of interviews I did with her youth pastor, Dave McPherson, who closely advised her parents and worked with her the following years, and from Misty's memoir. Additional sources included Reverend Kirsten, television interviews of Brad and Misty, and my contact with the Bernalls at a handful of functions at their church following the murders. Direct quotes from Cassie and the letters her friend wrote came from Misty's memoir.

Val dropped to her knees:
Val's account came from her police report and my interviews with her and her mother, Shari, in September 1999.

Emily Wyant watched:
Emily's account of April 20 came primarily from her police interview on April 29. My description of her struggles in the ensuing months were based on my two interviews with her mother in September 1999 and my conversations with Dan Luzadder, the
Rocky
's lead investigator. I respected her mother's request that I not contact Emily directly.

Bree Pasquale was sitting there:
Bree exhibited a stunning recall of events in the library, conveying the tiniest details of Eric's movements in her police interview. Her testimony was corroborated by nearly all witnesses, the physical evidence, and the 911 tape. Because her exchange with Eric was so memorable, it was reported in similar form by a great number of witnesses. Therefore, I have used quotations, relying on Bree's version of the precise wording.

something unexpected happened:
Craig's experience in the library was recorded in detail in his police report, beginning on JC-001-000587. I abbreviated his exchange with detectives.

CHAPTER 39. THE BOOK OF GOD

Fuselier found answers:
Fuselier's deductions came from my numerous interviews with him.

CHAPTER 40. PSYCHOPATH

the Psychopathy Checklist:
All characterizations of psychopathy in this book were based on the latest research, founded primarily on the work of Dr. Hervey Cleckley and systematically refined by Dr. Robert Hare. Hare's revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) is used to assess the subject on twenty characteristics, organized into two categories: emotional drivers and antisocial behavior. The twenty are: 1) glib and superficial charm, 2) grandiose estimation of self, 3) need for stimulation, 4) pathological lying, 5) cunning and manipulativeness, 6) lack of remorse or guilt, 7) shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness), 8) callousness and lack of empathy, 9) parasitic lifestyle, 10) poor behavioral controls, 11) sexual promiscuity, 12) early behavior problems, 13) lack of realistic long-term goals, 14) impulsivity, 15) irresponsibility, 16) failure to accept responsibility for own actions, 17) many short-term marital relationships, 18) juvenile delinquency, 19) revocation of conditional release, 20) criminal versatility.

The item titles cannot be scored without reference to the formal criteria contained in the PCL-R Manual. It is issued only to qualified practitioners, who are instructed to combine interviews with case histories and archival data. But in many cases, such as Columbine, the subject is not available for an interview. Studies by outside researchers have concluded that the tool is reliable without the interview in situations where extensive, reliable data is available. Eric left a massive trove, which experts considered far more than enough data to assess him.

Evaluators rate the subject on each trait, assigning a score from 0 to 2: 2 if it clearly applies, 1 if it applies partially or sometimes, 0 if never. The maximum score is 40, and a 30 is required for the designation of "psychopath." There are degrees of psychopathy, but most subjects turn out to be either highly psychopathic or not at all. Average criminals score about 20; they share some behavior with psychopaths but few of the underlying drives.

In 1885:
The Oxford English Dictionary
(1989 edition) cites 1885 as the first time the term
psychopathy
was used in its present meaning. German researchers used it earlier in the century, with a somewhat different purpose.

Varying definitions:
Nothing comparable to the PCL-R exists for
sociopath,
though some therapists use the checklist and then assign the subject the designation of "sociopath."

psychopaths and unstable homes:
"We do not know why people become psychopaths, but current evidence leads us away from the commonly held idea that the behavior of parents bears sole or even primary responsibility," Hare wrote. But if a child is born with dangerous traits, bad parenting can make him or her infinitely worse.

The family backgrounds of psychopaths turn out to be surprisingly consistent with those of the overall prison population. In both cases, the incidence of significant family problems is high. With nonpsychopathic criminals, a troubled youth correlates closely with the age and seriousness of the first offense. Those with family trouble appear in court by age fifteen, on average. Those without show up nearly a decade later, at twenty-four. Psychopaths arrive earliest of all--at fourteen, on average--and their family background shows no effect on that number whatsoever. But the home life has a huge impact on the type of crime committed by psychopaths. Those from unstable upbringings are far more likely to be violent. In the rest of the prison population, a troubled home seems to drive criminals toward earlier and more serious offenses, but not violence.

screening device for juveniles:
It is called the PCL:YV, for "Youth Version."

stated desire for a career in the Marines:
In March 1998, Eric answered the "Career Goals" question on his Diversion questionnaire with "Marine or computer science."

Dr. Kiehl repeated:
Summaries of Dr. Kiehl's work were based on his published work, as well as phone and e-mail correspondence with me and my researcher.

therapy often makes it worse:
This is a widely recognized conclusion. Many studies have confirmed it. One found that convicted psychopaths who took part in therapeutic programs were four times more likely to commit violent crimes than those who did not.

CHAPTER 41. THE PARENTS GROUP

the FBI organized a major summit:
Scenes from the Leesburg summit were described to me by several participants. Quotes were based on their recollections.

Several of the experts continued:
Several continued studying Columbine. Drs. Fuselier, Ochberg, and Hare agreed to several interviews for this book and were of great assistance. Others requested anonymity but continued conferring behind the scenes and provided valuable insights not attributed to any individual.

The Bureau firmly prohibited:
All agents were forbidden from speaking about the case, including those at headquarters, such as Mary Ellen O'Toole, who organized the Leesburg summit. All journalists, including me, were rebuffed repeatedly;
60 Minutes
sued for information and lost. An exception was made for Agent Fuselier to participate with Jeffco officers in the
Rocky
's "Inside the Columbine Investigation" series--discussing his role in the investigation, but not his conclusions.

Jeffco commanders were lying:
After several years of withholding, Jeffco released documents that proved commanders had been lying on several counts--including repeated denials about possessing the documents.

Investigator Mike Guerra noticed:
The actions of Guerra, Kiekbusch, and Searle came from the grand jury report. Guerra described his actions. Searle described actions by her and by Kiekbusch.

Anne Marie Hochhalter:
Her progress was drawn from news accounts, particularly Bartels' "A Story of Healing and Hope."

Students reached the opposite consensus:
The depiction of diverging attitudes among students and parents that spring and summer were based primarily on my numerous interviews and trips to the area at the time and interviews I conducted years later. I also pored over news coverage from the period.

Brian Fuselier was heading:
The description of Brian's reactions that summer initially came from my interviews with both his parents; I confirmed them with him several years later.

It was an emotional day:
I spent much of the day outside the school, interviewing students coming and going, and observing.

"This is not about money!":
The description of the Shoelses' press conference was based on my observations.

CHAPTER 42. DIVERSION

their junior yearbooks:
Scans of the yearbook pages were released by Jeffco.

Eric launched a new charm offensive:
Diversion counselors documented each meeting--roughly two a month--which provided a more detailed record of the boys' activity for the last year. Both boys had also acquired day planners by this time, though Dylan used his more.

His grades dropped briefly:
The school released grade reports indicating progress within each semester. For Diversion, the boys were also required to have teachers fill out monthly progress reports, with grade projections and comments.

write apology letters:
Jeffco released Eric's letter.

Then he quit:
Months later, Eric would resume using the planner, documenting much of his daily existence. Dylan filled in his planner as well. Jeffco released scans of the full contents of both.

Dr. Albert switched him:
Eric's medications and his responses to them were recorded in his Diversion file. He had completed the switch from Zoloft to Luvox by May 14, 1998.

They got to make movies:
Jeffco released many of their videos other than the Basement Tapes. The depictions here were based on my viewing.