Pay Attention to Details!

Dave Cullen, in his excellent book Columbine, notices that Eric Harris had a game plan that worked with his parents and with juvenile officials (pun intended). Eric would cop to one thing and deny another. For example, he copped to alcohol use, but then said he had no further interest in alcohol and had not tried pot (both lies). He copped to making pipe bombs after being caught red-handed, but then claimed to have no further interest.

Harris and Klebold had broken into a van and stolen many items, and were facing either incarceration or juvenile diversion. The judge in the case is a man I have appeared before many times as a child welfare caseworker, and I like him. He was impressed in this case because both dads appeared in court with their sons. The judge was accustomed to juveniles appearing by themselves or with only their moms. The judge thought both dads had things under control. He missed one important detail: the evaluator who submitted a report to the court recommending diversion, did put in her report that she was uneasy about one thing: neither boy was taking responsibility! In fact, Eric Harris was seething that these "zombies" (his word for the rest of us inferior humans) dared to require him to submit to this interview process that included him filling out a questionnaire. By the way, in filling out the questionnaire, Harris checked the box "homocidal thoughts." Judges and evaluators need to pay attention to details!

How do I know that Eric Harris was seething? Because he wrote murderous statements on his website! On the day before the court hearing Dylan Klebold gave his friend Brooks Brown a piece of paper with one thing written on it: Eric's website. He urged Brooks to check it out, because he knew that Brooks told his mother, Judy Brown, everything. Sure enough, Brooks did exactly that, and sure enough, Judy Brown once again called the police that very night. The information did not get from the sheriff's deputies to the juvenile authorities prior to the court hearing the next day!

Dylan obviously hoped that Eric would be incarcerated. Dylan was dominated by Eric. He was painfully shy, although very bright. Eric was also very bright. Both did well in school, except for breaking into other kids' lockers, vandalizing homes, and setting off pipe bombs! Teachers liked them both, though. Eric was a voracious reader of the classics. Dylan was a thinker. He identified with literary figures who were lonely and hopeless.