The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) told The Tennessee Star earlier this month that its investigation of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale remains ongoing, with “some work” still needed to document the March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three school staff members.
MNPD Public Affairs director Don Aaron told The Star the investigation is still underway and remains in a documentation phase in a November 1 email. The MNPD official wrote, “Considerable progress has been made, though there is still some work to complete,” and said there is not a specific date for completion.
Aaron did not respond to a Tuesday inquiry from The Star inquiring whether the investigation would be finished before the end of 2024, despite MNPD previously estimating its investigation would conclude in July.
The department originally reported proceeding to a documentation phase of the Covenant investigation in August, when Aaron told The Star, the case “remains open and is largely in a documentation phase where the lead detective is writing his and the department’s actions, findings, etc.”
MNPD’s months-long documentation process comes after Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ruled the police department is not required to release details about its investigation until after the case concludes.
Myles made the ruling on July 4 in response to a lawsuit brought by media companies including Star News Digital Media Inc. (SNDM), the parent company of The Star, and editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy, that sought to compel MNPD to release documents written by Hale, including those originally called a “manifesto” by MNPD Chief John Drake.
Leahy and at least one other party to the lawsuit have already announced their appeals of Myles’ decision, with Leahy stating he expects to win in a higher court.
In addition to allowing MNPD to retain documents until the conclusion of its investigation, Myles ruled that not one page of Hale’s writings would be released, citing the copyright claims of the Covenant Children’s Trust, which purports to own the copyright to the killer’s works.
The Star ultimately obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source familiar with the investigation and published approximately 50 articles revealing their contents, including the killer’s extensive journal entries about transgenderism. Hale was born a biological female but identified as a transgender man at the time of her attack.
In September, The Star published The Covenant Killer’s 2023 Journal in its entirety after obtaining legal backing.
While the Tennessee lawsuit seeking the release of Hale’s writings from MNPD is appealed, both SNDM and Leahy remain plaintiffs in a similar federal lawsuit seeking to compel the FBI to release the killer’s documents.
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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 “Covenant School” by Metro Nashville PD.
