Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale purchased a pair of “boots” for her one of her stuffed animals after she used them to simulate heterosexual intercourse, according to an entry titled “My Imaginary Penis” from the journal police recovered from the vehicle she drove to the Covenant School, where she committed her devastating March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.
The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation, and on June 6, published details about one entry Hale titled “My Imaginary Penis.”
Hale, who was born a biological female but identified as a transgender male at the time of her attack, wrote in the entry, “My penis exists in my head. I swear to god I’m a male.”
The killer proceeded to explain how she designated a “stuffed boy doll” named “Tony” to be “like the boy I am in another form.”
Hale proceeded to explain using the toys to create heterosexual scenes, which she then photographed over the course of hours.
According to the entry, Hale became engrossed in her toys, failing to secure any grocery orders for her part-time work and to visit the gym before it closed.
Instead, Hale wrote that she drove to a local mall to buy accessories for her stuffed animals.
“I missed the gym cause they closed at 7. I was mad already cause I had no work all that afternoon,” wrote Hale.
She continued, “Walked around the mall browsing t-shirts at Spencer’s and got some boots for Tommy, my stuffed lion at Build-A-Bear Workshop.”
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an American retailer that allows customers to build their own stuffed animals, choosing from a variety of appearances, accessories. The company’s website confirms its service and product is directed toward children.
Throughout the journal, Hale regularly expressed an interest in children’s topics, and was previously described by acquaintances as having “a child-like obsession with staying a child.”
Both Star News Digital Media, Inc., which owns and operates The Star, and editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy are plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuits which seek to compel the Metro Nashville Police Department and the FBI to release Hale’s full writings, including those some have called a manifesto.
The Star recently published an FBI memo, sent to MNPD Chief John Drake in May 2023, which “strongly” advises police against releasing “legacy tokens” from killers like Hale. An FBI definition suggests both the writings obtained by The Star and those sought in the lawsuits are considered unfit for release by the agency.
In a response to The Star, the FBI declined to confirm it sent the memo, but acknowledged it sends such “products” to local law enforcement.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Stuffed Animals” by m s.
