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Columbine Autopsy Report Ordered Released
Judge Refuses To Release Remaining Reports
GOLDEN, Colo., Updated 6:15 p.m. MST January 30, 2001 -- A judge on Tuesday ordered the release of the autopsy report on a slain Columbine High School student whose parents have that alleged the teen was shot by police responding to the attack.
Jefferson County District Judge Brooke Jackson (pictured, right) refused to release autopsy reports for the remaining victims and gunman Dylan Klebold, citing the desire to avoid needless emotional pain for survivors and victims' relatives.
The reports for slain student Isaiah Shoels and gunman Eric Harris were released previously.
The ruling involved Daniel Rohrbough, 15, who was killed outside Columbine High School when Klebold and Harris stormed the building on April 20, 1999.
Brian Rohrbough, Daniel's father, has alleged that his son was killed by police during a shootout with the gunmen and that the autopsy supports the allegation. Authorities have said Daniel Rohrbough was killed by Klebold.
"There is a public interest in knowing whether Daniel was killed by 'friendly fire,' as contended by the Rohrboughs," wrote Jackson.
Rohrbough, who has sued the Jefferson County sheriff's office, said that he has been prepared for the release of the autopsy report for some time. "I think it is important for people to understand he was running from the gunmen who were on the hill behind him, and he was shot and killed from the front," he said. "The fatal bullet could not have come from Klebold and Harris. It had to come from law enforcement at the bottom of the hill."
Jefferson County Coroner Nancy Bodelson plans to consult with office attorneys and inform the families before taking steps to release the report.
County spokeswoman Jennifer Watson said that it likely will be a day or more before the report is released, unless an appeal is filed. Harris and Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide at the school near Littleton. It was the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
The ruling was issued in a lawsuit filed by news organizations seeking the release of Columbine autopsies. Although autopsy reports are a matter of public record, a district judge ruled in May 1999 that the release of the Columbine autopsies would re-traumatize the community. The judge later agreed to the release of autopsies for Klebold and Harris, but the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned that decision in May, ruling that they should remained sealed. Harris' report was released by the judge in June. The Denver Post then filed an amended request, saying enough time had passed for the families and survivors to heal. The request also stated that the release of the Harris report provided new information, such as the lack of body armor and that he was taking an anti-depressant. During a hearing in November, family members pleaded with Jackson to keep the autopsy reports sealed, saying that it would cause them fresh grief.
In Tuesday's decision, Jackson said that even Klebold's relatives have "feelings of hurt and grief, doubtless compounded by the horror of knowing that their was a perpetrator of these acts." And for that reason he declined to release the Klebold report. The Rohrboughs and other victims' families and survivors have alleged in lawsuits that deputies ignored warnings of the violence planned, and were too slow to react to the attack. School officials are accused of negligence for allegedly ignoring early signs. Authorities have denied the allegations.
Copyright 2001 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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