Dave Cullen - Columbine

More than half told:There were at least two outsiders in the know 59 percent of the time. Someone had suspected the attack 93 percent of the time.

The danger skyrockets:The FBI offered this example of a high-risk threat: “At eight o’clock tomorrow morning, I intend to shoot the principal. That’s when he is in the office by himself. I have a 9mm. Believe me, I know what I am doing. I am sick and tired of the way he runs this school.”

Melodramatic outbursts:Melodrama and wild flourishes of punctuation are common—for example: “I hate you!!!!… You have ruined my life!!!!” Most laymen assume that such drama signals greater danger. That’s a common fallacy, the report said. Perpetrators are just as likely to remain calm. No correlation has been established between emotional intensity and the actual danger it foretells.

A subtler form of leakage:The FBI said a kid had reached the point of leakage when the same ugly ideas grabbed hold of him “no matter what the subject matter, the conversation, the assignment, or the joke.”

list of warning signs:The FBI listed criteria in four different areas: behavior, family situation, school dynamics, and social pressures. The behavioral list alone included twenty-eight characteristics. It cautioned that lots of innocent kids exhibited one or two or even several of its warning signs; the key was evidence of a majority of the items from all four areas. The risk factors were also highly correlated with substance abuse.

A national task force:It included officers involved in Columbine, and leaders in the field, from the Los Angeles Police Department’s SWAT team to the National Tactical Officers Association.

CHAPTER 50. THE BASEMENT TAPES

The first installment:Jeffco showed the Basement Tapes to Time, then the Rocky, and then to a small group of reporters at a single screening. I was not included and have not seen them. My depictions came from three sources: a detailed account in the police files, news stories from the reporters who viewed them, and descriptions by Agent Fuselier and Kate Battan, who each studied them for six months. The police report ran ten pages and documented each scene in detail, with extensive quotations.

After the initial press showing, Jeffco promised more but never held another. The Klebolds then filed a motion asserting that the tapes belonged to the killers’ estates. Other suits followed. Most victims’ families eventually fought for release of the tapes. Jeffco worked with the killers’ families to suppress them, a legal alliance that infuriated the victims. In December 2002, U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch threw out the copyright claim with an angry rebuke. He called it “a transparent attempt to hide something of public interest.” But Stone’s department insisted that the killers’ words were too dangerous to expose to the public.

A Denver Post motion worked its way up to the Colorado Supreme Court. The court ruled against Jeffco. It unanimously declared the material to be public records. Colorado law includes a loophole, though, stating that records may be withheld in cases of “public interest.” It was then up to the new sheriff to rule whether the tapes and writings were a risk to the community. He decided that the killers’ journals were safe but the Basement Tapes were not. The Post chose not to appeal. Any future sheriff has the power to release the tapes at any time.

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.