Study of killings at standstill

Parents of killers decide not to take part in prof's effort

Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 20, 2005 at midnight

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A long-anticipated study of the factors that contributed to the Columbine High tragedy is on hold - and most likely won't be resurrected - because the parents of the two killers won't participate.

Del Elliott, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado and director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, said Tuesday that without the cooperation of Wayne and Kathy Harris and Tom and Sue Klebold he didn't think the study could obtain a complete picture of all the dynamics involved.

"It all came down to the two families," Elliott said. "Initially, they were interested. We did spend quite a bit of time talking.

"It wasn't a quick decision on their part. I think they were quite thoughtful."

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who as state attorney general had asked Elliott to undertake the study, said that in order for the lessons of Columbine to be learned "we need the cooperation of the parents. If it doesn't happen because the Harrises and Klebolds won't cooperate, I'm disappointed."

Elliott said that in the wake of numerous discussions the two couples informed him in a joint meeting last month that they would not participate.

And while he acknowledged some disappointment, he also said the families would have taken a risk to cooperate, opening themselves up to criticism in the report Elliott had planned to issue.

"There is no guarantee for them how that was going to turn out," Elliott said. "I understand from their perspective there's some risk to participating in the study. There was also an emotional cost to them for doing this. We talked and talked. I understand where they were coming from and why they were hesitant."

Joe Kechter, whose son, Matt, was killed at Columbine, said he was shocked.

"My thought is if they did nothing wrong, why don't they want to help," he said. "It's their chance to save another kid, and if they don't feel like another kid's worth their cooperation, then what kind of parents are they?"

Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Dan, was killed at Columbine, took a contrarian view.

"It's great news," he said. "I was always against a so-called expert filtering the information of Columbine."

Neither Ben Colkitt nor C. Michael Montgomery, attorneys for the Harrises, could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Gary Lozow, an attorney for the Klebolds, said he could not discuss the situation because the entire process was supposed to be confidential.

"We'll continue to abide by that unless the circumstances change," Lozow said.

New access was promised

Today is the sixth anniversary of the deadliest school shooting in American history.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, seniors at the school, attacked Columbine with guns and bombs on April 20, 1999, killing a dozen students and a teacher and wounding more than 20 others before they ended their lives in the school library.

They had hoped to kill hundreds of students with large propane bombs planted in the crowded school cafeteria, but the bombs didn't detonate.

In the ensuing years, the tragedy sparked one controversy after another - multiple investigations, uncovered documents, and, last fall, a scathing grand jury report that accused former law officers of keeping from the public information about Harris and Klebold that was in the hands of investigators before Columbine.

Salazar stepped into the controversy in 2002, working with then-Jefferson County District Attorney Dave Thomas to launch a task force whose aim was to release records and restore public confidence in the state's law enforcement system. And the task force was successful, leading to the release of thousands of pages of documents that had not previously been made public.

In his last year in office, Salazar began work aimed at commissioning a comprehensive study of Columbine.

To that end, Salazar reached an agreement in February 2004 to have Elliott, a nationally recognized expert on adolescent violence, review Columbine evidence and write a report focusing on the lessons to be learned from the school shooting.

The plan called for Elliott to have access to thousands of pages of documents and all the evidence in the case, with the exception of some materials that are the subject of a pending Colorado Supreme Court case.

Even so, Elliott was promised access to numerous materials never before made public, including interviews with teachers who knew Harris and Klebold conducted by attorneys for Jefferson County Public Schools.

'The study is thwarted'

Elliott said he planned to look at every aspect of the tragedy - the mental health of the two killers, their relationships with fellow teenagers, the potential effects of an antidepressant Harris was taking, the role of violence in mass media, the school environment and dynamics within the two families.

He said he hoped to gain new insights into the factors that led Harris and Klebold to go on their rampage.

He was particularly eager to carefully look at numerous pieces of information that have come to light in recent years that haven't been carefully studied.

As part of that, Elliott proposed wide-ranging interviews with the two couples that would be conducted over an extended period of time. He said he already had agreed to submit questions in writing ahead of time.

"I thought that it could shed some new light on this tragedy," Elliott said. "I honestly believe that enough new information has come out . . . and getting some insight from the parents about what was going on, I thought, would really help answer some of the nagging questions that remain."

Salazar, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November, on Tuesday called the situation "unfortunate."

"I hope the study can still happen," he said.

Salazar asked his successor, John Suthers, to pursue the study.

Kristen Hubbell, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, said Suthers had worked hard to get Elliott the documents he needed for the study but "at the same time, he concurs with the professor that if the parents aren't willing to be involved, then the study is thwarted."

"There's certainly a need for the parents' cooperation for it to be a complete study," Hubbell said. "It is unfortunate."

"I think this is a complete disappointment," said Randy Brown, whose son knew Klebold and Harris well.

Brown, who served on the open records task force, said the apparent end of the study marks another missed opportunity to learn from the tragedy at Columbine.

"We won't learn any of the lessons," he said. "This is one final act of selfishness by Mr. and Mrs. Harris and Mr. and Mrs. Klebold, keeping this information from the public. Shame on them.

"They're not at all the people I ever hoped they might be."

vaughank@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5019

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