Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Claimed ‘Independence is Impossible’ Due to ‘My Autism’ in Recovered Journal

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale claimed in her journal, recovered by police after her March 27, 2023 attack, that she would be unable to lead an independent life due to her purported autism diagnosis.

The Tennessee Star confirmed last Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages written by Hale from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.

In an undated entry near the beginning of the journal, after Hale claimed to be scammed during an Internet transaction, she wrote about her lack of independence.

“Independence is impossible [my autism],” wrote Hale, who was 28-years-old at the time of her attack on the Covenant School, which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.

She continued, “people pretend they like me, then block, delete, erase me.”

After writing profane statements about those who she claimed scammed her, Hale wrote about experiencing psychological and physical pain.

“I hurt just about in every way possible of a mental condition from anything (possible),” Hale wrote, before signing the entry as Aiden. A biological female, Hale used the name Aiden after she began identifying as a transgender man.

In the margin of the page, Hale wrote in capital letters, “No love / no brown girls,” possibly in reference to her apparent romantic interest in black women, including her former middle school and high school classmates.

Hale, in a separate entry where she described her emotional state after becoming victim to the alleged Internet scam, wrote “no one gets me – everyone misunderstands autism.” In that entry, she repeatedly denied being “bi-polar.”

In another entry, Hale drew a flow chart that seemed to question whether the autism diagnosis was a result of her “male brain.”

Hale also referenced her purported autism diagnosis in a fourth entry, in which she first declared, “I need a trans doctor.”

She concluded that entry by writing, “My therapist now is the best I could get 4 help.” She then added the words, “My autism,” and drew an illustration of puzzle pieces and what appears to be a crying boy.

Police documents published by The Star established that Hale was a 22-year patient of mental health professionals at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). She first began receiving treatment there in 2001, when Hale was just six.

VUMC has not commented on whether its staff provided Hale with gender affirming care prior to the attack, but it was confirmed Hale was prescribed four medications by staff at the hospital.

Star News Digital Media, Inc., which owns and operates The Star, and editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy are plaintiffs in lawsuits which seek to compel both the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and the FBI to release Hale’s full writings, including those sometimes called a manifesto.

Last week, The Star published an FBI memo sent to MNPD Chief John Drake in May 2023. In the memo, the FBI “strongly” advised against releasing “legacy tokens” from individuals like Hale.

According to an FBI definition, the agency likely considers both the writings obtained by The Star and those sought in the lawsuit to be “legacy tokens.” The federal agency additionally raised the precedent for destroying the materials.

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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].
Photo “Audrey Elizabeth Hale” by Audrey Elizabeth Hale and “Other People Friends” by DaKiny CCNC2.0.