Columbine (61 page)

The Colorado attorney general's Web site states the following: "The 'public interest' exception is a specific exception in the Open Records Act. According to this law, an agency may hold public records confidential if the records custodian decides that making them available to the public would cause substantial injury to the public interest. This is the case even if the record is something that would otherwise be available to the public under the Open Records Act. The reason this law exists is that the Legislature realizes that there will be situations in which information should be kept private, even though no law specifically states that it is private."

Eric made at least three attempts:
Chris later reported the three attempts to police detectives.

Zack told the story:
But both versions of Zack's account, as recorded in his FBI file, are confusing, so I presented the gist of what he conveyed.

Staff Sergeant Gonzales cold-called:
Gonzales had gotten a list of seniors from the high school.

Eric hounded Mark Manes:
Manes testified about the ammunition at his sentencing hearing.

Eric spent the night at Dylan's:
Dylan's parents described the sleepover in their police interview.

Eric left his microcassette:
In its response to the Supreme Court decision, Jeffco ignored the existence of the "Nixon" microcassette. Aside from Eric's odd label and the two sentences recorded in an obscure evidence log, nothing is known about the tape. Even Dr. Fuselier has never heard it. It remains in limbo. The Jeffco sheriff has the power to release it at any time.

CHAPTER 51. TWO HURDLES

to share his analysis:
I interviewed Dr. Ochberg several times and eventually gained FBI approval to speak to Agent Fuselier. We began a series of interviews, and he directed me to the classic books on psychopathy and to other experts brought in by the FBI. After several years of research--while also working on other projects--I published the results in the piece cited in the text. It was called "The Depressive and the Psychopath," and ran in
Slate.

the first and only media interview:
David Brooks wrote an insightful and empathetic summary of his interviews with Tom and Sue Klebold. He was generous enough to share additional thoughts with me by phone.

Kiekbusch filed a formal objection:
The
Rocky
also phoned former sheriff John Stone for a comment. He called the investigation a "bunch of bullshit." He told the reporter he was a "horse's ass" and hung up. The paper printed all that.

Undersheriff Dunaway told the
Denver Post
he had done nothing wrong and again pointed the finger at Brooks Brown. He repeated, on the record, the old accusation that Brooks had known about the murders in advance. No scrap of evidence has ever come to light supporting that charge.

Mr. D strode out dressed as Barry Manilow:
I attended the assembly. I watched from the bleachers and took photos.

He lost big:
Thomas lost to incumbent Representative Bob Beauprez (R) 55-42 percent, with all precincts reporting.

the Platte Canyon shooting:
My depictions of this event came primarily from live television coverage, which I watched and recorded on two stations as it happened, as well as follow-up reports from authorities.

CHAPTER 52. QUIET

any crap this might instigate:
Dylan's quote was slightly longer, with an inaudible word.

that fly CD:
It's unclear whether he was using "fly" as an adjective (slang for "cool") or a title. In 2008, iTunes listed eighty-eight songs with fly in the title.

The boys wandered:
They were observed by numerous witnesses, and surveillance cameras in the commons recorded their activity there, with time stamps. Jeffco released highlight footage, and Agent Fuselier described his impressions of the full tape to me.

Fuselier and a colleague:
I was the colleague.

found the room quite different:
Depictions of the library scene when the killers returned to commit suicide were based on several sources, including: autopsy reports; my interviews with investigators who observed the scene; police video of the room after the bodies were removed; and standard medical information on the decomposition of bodies in the first thirty minutes; and checked with investigators for applicability to the actual conditions in this case. The killers' suicides were reconstructed from testimony, autopsy reports, police diagrams, police reports, and police photos of the killers' bodies.

Patrick Ireland, gently breathing:
Patrick went in and out of consciousness. It's possible, though unlikely, that he might have already begun to crawl away from his initial position. There's a remote possibility that he could have been conscious during the suicides. He has no memory of them.

CHAPTER 53. AT THE BROKEN PLACES

Two thousand mourners turned out:
I attended both events for the memorial, in 2006 and 2007.

They married:
Depictions of the wedding came from attendees.

Local churches felt a surge:
I interviewed a large number of local pastors about activity in their congregations over the intervening years. The pattern was remarkably similar, and followed historical trends. The Barna Group did a major study on the religious impact of 9/11. It found a similar surge on a national level: half of Americans said their faith helped them cope; church attendance spiked--doubling in some churches the first Sunday; and a sizable minority of people actually altered their core beliefs. The latter change flouted conventional wisdom, though--turning
away
from fundamentalist beliefs: slightly fewer people believed in an all-powerful God, or in Satan as an actual entity. All the changes disappeared within four months. And five years later, rates on every measure were still indistinguishable from pre-9/11.

When a journalist stopped by:
I was the journalist.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In addition to these sources, this book relies on my reporting for several periodicals, published in somewhat different form. The articles appeared in 1999 through 2007 in
Salon, Slate, 5280,
and the
New York Times.
Links to those and online versions of many works below are available on my Web site at
davecullen.com/columbine
. Instructions for obtaining evidence released by Jefferson County and other agencies are also available there.

G
OVERNMENT
R
EPORTS ON
C
OLUMBINE AND
S
CHOOL
S
HOOTERS

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "
School-Associated Student Homicide: United States, 1992-2006." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
57, no. 2 (January 18, 2008): 33-36.

EI Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Reinvestigation into the Death of Daniel Rohrbough at Columbine High School on April 20, 1990.
April 10, 2002.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. Department of Justice. Critical Incidence Response Group. National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.
The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective
, by Mary Ellen O'Toole. 2000.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's Office Final Report on the Columbine High School Shootings
. CD. May 15, 2000.

Lindsey, Daryl. "A Reader's Guide to the Columbine Report."
Salon,
May 17, 2000.
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/05/17/guide/index.html
.

The Report of Governor Bill Owens' Columbine Review Commission
. Hon. William H. Erickson, chairman. May 2001.

U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education.
The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States.
May 2002.

T
HE
K
ILLERS
: E
VIDENCE
R
ELEASED

Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Laboratory Report
. Released by Jefferson County on May 31, 2000.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Laboratory Report
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on February 6, 2002.

Colorado Department of Law, Office of the Attorney General.
Columbine-Related Grand Jury Report: Supplemental Attorney General Investigative Report
. Released on September 16, 2004.

Colorado Department of Law, Office of the Attorney General.
Grand Jury Report: Investigation of Missing Guerra Files
. September 16, 2004.

Colorado Department of Law, Office of the Attorney General.
Report of the Investigation into Missing Daily Field Activity and Daily Supervisor Reports Related to Columbine High School Shootings
. September 16, 2004.

Columbine High School.
Cafeteria Surveillance Tapes
. DVD. Released by Jefferson County on June 7, 2000.

Denver Police Dispatch.
Denver Dispatch Cassette Tapes
. CD containing seven and a half hours of communication. Released by Jefferson County on March 6, 2003.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Denver Division.
FBI Crime Scene Processing Team Reports and Sketches
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on September 5, 2001.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Denver Division.
FBI Report of Interview with Randy, Judy and Brooks Brown
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on May 22, 2001.

Harris, Eric.
Harris Web Site: 1997 Police Report and Web Pages
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on October 30, 2003.

Harris, Eric. Journal, school essays, yearbook inscription, IMs, schedules, and hundreds of other pages of accumulated writing. Included in
936 Pages of Documents Seized from Harris and Klebold Residences/Vehicles
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on July 6, 2006.

Harris, Eric, and Dylan Klebold.
Klebold/Harris Footage
. Contains miscellaneous footage retrieved from Columbine High School or provided by citizens. VHS tape. Released by Jefferson County on February 26, 2004.

------.
"Rampart Range" Video
. VHS tape. Released by Jefferson County on October 21, 2003.

Harris, Wayne. Journal. Included in
936 Pages of Documents Seized from Harris and Klebold Residences/Vehicles
. CD. Released by Jefferson County on July 6, 2006.

Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Autopsy Summaries. Released on February 6, 2001.

Jefferson County Coroner's Office, Klebold Autopsy Reports. Released on February 23, 2001.

Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. Juvenile Diversion Program Documents (Harris). Released on November 4, 2002.

Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. Juvenile Diversion Program Documents (Klebold). Released on November 22, 2002.

Jefferson County Juvenile Court. Magistrate John A. DeVita. Hearing Resulting in Assignment to a Diversion Program for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. March 25, 1998.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, Case No. 98-2218, February 24, 1998. Westover Mechanical Services by Ricky Lynn Becker v. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Arrest report, case synopsis, and supplemental reports about the January 30, 1998, van break-in.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
11,000 Pages of Investigative Files
. DVD. November 21, 2000. (The largest single release of police reports.)

------.
Additional Investigative Files
. Contains CD of additional ancillary reports (tips, Internet pages, threats, and related reports, plus audiocassette of Jefferson County 911 dispatch tape and missed side of tape from previous release) and two large crime scene diagrams. August 8, 2001.

------.
Crime Scene Processing Team Reports and Sketches
. CD. Released on June 19, 2001.

------.
"Crowd" Video
. VHS tape. Approximately 38 minutes of crowd footage filmed by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab outside Columbine High School after 1.00
P.M.
on the day of the shooting. Released on February 26, 2004.

------.
Evidence Books
. CD. Released on May 11, 2001.

------.
Jefferson County 911 and Dispatch Audio
. Two CDs. Released on August 7, 2000.

------.
Miscellaneous Items
. CD. Contains the draft search affidavit, audio of the shoot team interviews, written transcript of an interview with Columbine High School community resource officer Neil Gardner, and the executive summary of the library investigative team. Released on April 10, 2001.