Parents of two of the children murdered in the Covenant School massacre are joining others in asking Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles to keep the Covenant killer’s manifesto and related documents locked from public view.
The mother of William Kinney and the parents of Evelyn Dieckhaus, two of three 9-year-olds fatally shot in the March 27 mass shootings, issued declaration letters to the court detailing the pain they’ve suffered and lambasting the news outlets and other organizations suing to have the records released.
“I have no desire to write this statement,” wrote Erin Kinney, mother of William, in the letter, filed Friday with Tennessee’s 20th Judicial District Court-Davidson County.
The grief-stricken parent wrote that “every natural instinct in me tells me to hide from the world and shelter what is left of my family.”
“I long for privacy and to be left alone from media intrusion, homicide investigations and unwelcome legal battles. I do not want anyone beyond our local community to know our names, faces or anything about us. I want to go back to March 26 and enjoy my family as it was — intact, vibrant, and whole — before an individual I have never met rampaged The Covenant School, savagely destroying my child’s life and the lives of friends and beloved teachers and staff.”
That individual, Audrey Elizabeth Hale, stormed into the Covenant Presbyterian School on the morning of March 27 and shot dead William Kinney, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and fellow student Hallie Scruggs, as well as three staff members — Katherine Koonce, 60, director of the private elementary school, Mike Hill, 61, a custodian, and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.
Hale was fatally shot by police at the school. The 28-year-old woman who identified as a transgender man, according to police, left behind journals and other writings known collectively as Hale’s “manifesto.” It is expected to shine light on her mindset and motives behind the deadly assault on her innocent victims.
Star News Digital Media Inc., parent company of The Star News Network, filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and Metro Nashville government demanding the release of the records. The Tennessean, the Tennessee Firearms Association and the National Police Association have joined the same lawsuit, arguing that there is no ongoing criminal procedure (as police have argued), and that the Tennessee Public Records Act requires Hale’s manifesto be made public. Law enforcement officials have in myriad other mass shootings turned over to media outlets such writings following the death of the shooter.
Erin Kinney asserts the plaintiffs don’t care about the “wellbeing of their fellow humans” and “seek to rob the six murder victims of dignity in their deaths by demanding the release of sensitive details …”
“These petitioners have shown no respect or regard for my family or for the hundreds of surviving Covenant trauma victims, even going so far as to shamefully deny their victimhood before you, as they seek to publish and profit from the deranged, hateful, and exceedingly dangerous ramblings of an individual who renounced her humanity and gunned down children,” the mother wrote.
The plaintiffs argue that they simply seek the release of police files that will better inform the public on a heinous crime and very likely assist in the creation of public policy to safeguard public places from such violence in the future.
Kinney insists the plaintiffs are seeking “their own notoriety … under the guise of ‘open government’ and ‘freedom of information,’ but most reprehensible of all, they are ultimately working on behalf of the Covenant school shooter to accomplish her final desire: “Immortality,””
Open government advocates have opposed Myles’ decision to allow the Covenant Presbyterian Church, the church’s school and parents of surviving students to intervene in the lawsuit as victims. Star News Digital Media and the other plaintiffs have appealed the judge’s ruling.
Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, last week told The Tennessee Star that a legal move by Hale’s parents to copyright and transfer their daughter’s writings to the parents of Covenant School students in order to control their release is a threatening move.
“The intent is to convince people not to publish them, anybody not to publish them, a news organization, maybe even the government,” Fisher said. “But I don’t think if it went to court a court would agree that you can copyright a piece of police evidence. I think it’s just more legal posturing and we’re seeing a lot of that in this case.”
Still, the emotional appeal from parents who have lost their children to such senseless violence is impossible to ignore. Fisher said it shouldn’t be ignored. It’s a significant and compelling interest in the nationally watched public records case. But it’s not the only interest.
Katy and Michael Dieckhaus, parents of Evelyn Dieckhaus, wrote in their declaration that they nightly lie in bed with their older surviving daughter to console her and their own “deep sadness of how we are to ever navigate life ahead of us without our Evelyn on this earth, by our sides.”
Like the scores of unidentified Covenant School parents who have intervened in the lawsuit, the Dieckhauses say they worry about repeat, or copycat, incidents.
“As one of the families going through such deep grieving of losing their loved one after simply dropping her off at school, we hope a more respectful, clear view can truly start to occur to help make a change that does not include releasing volumes of leverage for others planning similar devastation in this nation,” the couple wrote in the court file.
Myles has rescheduled the lawsuit’s show cause hearing for July 13-14, more than three and a half months after the stunning school shooting.
– – –
M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Background Photo “The Covenant School” by The Covenant School.
Why on earth would you undergo losing a child to a monster, and NOT WANT TO KNOW what the trigger was to make this monster do what it did? Does this parent actually want it to happen again, elsewhere, to someone else’s child, only to be covered up again? Apparently so…. Thanks, Mom! You are going to unleash hell on other families simply because you need another xanax and another glass of cheap box wine.
As soon as I heard that the “manifesto” would not be released because …blah, blah, blah… I KNEW there would be a coverup.
I suspect the ‘manifesto’ contained tons of anti-straight rhetoric, and even possible plans being made to attack other churches/schools in other areas. The Biden admin and its’ feckless DOJ/FBI/Keystone Kops WANT this to happen, over and over! It is in their plan, to foment civil war amongst all of us while they finish reducing us to (more of) a banana republic. They eat ice cream, while our cities burn. FJB….
I want to know WHAT the school, church, parents and authorities are trying to conceal, and WHY they feel it necessary to prevent public knowledge. Was the motive something more than just general hatred for the school? Were there weaknesses in the school’s defensive measures that haven’t (yet) been corrected? Is there more about the shooter that we don’t yet know, which would help explain her motivations? Does the school/church have some “deep, dark secret” (hard to imagine) that they seek to hide? Don’t the other Covenant parents, and parents of students at other public and private schools, deserve to know if their own children are somehow being left at risk?
I grieve and pray for those who were killed by this hate-filled transgender freak. But the world needs to know what drove this evil person to do this—so we can stop others from being murdered like this. So, no, I’m sorry but release the hate document,
It seems the Covenant School is doing everything possible to appear they have something to hide. And it has been reported that the FBI doesn’t want the manifesto released as well. So the public has to think either the attack was possibly anti-Christian motivated or some display of gender dysphoria. We can rest assured it wasn’t a manifestation of white supremacy because the FBI would have reported that within hours of the event. Perhaps the greatest level of absurdity is a “Republican” governor calling for a special session of the legislature in order to pass more gun restrictions to prevent future mass killings when the public hasn’t been informed of the causes of an attack three months ago.
While I truly feel for the parents and friends of the people murdered by this deranged person, I believe their reasons for denying the release of these documents are unfounded. Separating the sensitive personal information regarding the victims vs releasing the writings of the killer is not that hard of the task. We as law abiding citizens have the right to know what went on inside the head of this deranged gender confused woman. According to Tennessee state law these documents must be released.
We are sick and tired of information being withheld (that we have every right to see) by the federal government, who I suspect has a heavy hand in withholding this information.
Firstly, I am deeply sorry for the loss of life of the victims, and the pain the families, friends and many in the community feel.
That said, however, there is nothing that will bring back those victims. Releasing or withholding the “manifesto” will not ease the pain of those losses.
This unfortunate event has now lead to a push by the Governor to curtail the rights of law abiding citizens. And, while it would appear from the wording in the, here reported, filed court doc that the parents have had access to said “manifesto” that same right is being withheld from the public at large.
The government does not have the right to determine who has access to this information and who does not, hence the FOIA.
Let me say it again, withholding this information from the public WILL NOT ease the pain the surviving loved ones feel. They will carry this pain for the rest of their lives.
Even so, this tragic incident does not warrant an attack on the inalienable rights of the citizenry. The release of the writings of this deranged individual may, however, prevent future occurrences of similar nature, despite the misgivings of those closely and emotionally attached to the incident.
But, for the safety of the public, it is necessary to know the mindset of the killer in order to understand what motivated her to perform such a act.
To do otherwise, is not acceptable!
Many churches and nonprofits study the aftermaths of horrible events at organizations similar to themselves. This is not done to gawk at others’ misfortune but to learn the why, how, and results of the event (physical attack, tornado, fire, etc.). The reviewing organizations then reevaluate their own plans and preparations against those threats. This tragedy could provide an opportunity for other churches to prevent or mitigate copycat incidents, but only if the necessary information is shared.
I am not interested named and address….nor any maps of the school….Church abuse is all to familiar…Hale I understood, was autistic,sexual maladjusted…..there were no in-cation of her being a transgender…as reported…..These people that use extreme measures with their suicide is wide spread…surely they have some of the qualities..
Interesting that Kinney seems to know there are “sensitive details” in the locked up by MNPD/FBI writings. How would the writings of a “crazy person” steal dignity from murder victims? How do Kinney and Commissioner know details? I still have to ask, what possible concerns would parents of a 9 y.o. have regarding the writings of someone who was a student there at least 10 years ago…before their child was even born? That is, assuming Hale was there at age 18. All the public sees is them trying to cover for a mass murderer – which makes zero sense.
Is their claim simply illegitimate, or were there interactions with these families and Hale? Or are Covenant families being ordered to ignore crimes by leadership as they have in the past? Is the MNPD again conspiring with Covenant members to hide the truth? Those court cases were playing out about the time their children were born.
“Asked if there were any warning signs about Hale, Durham responded, “Never. She was very sweet. I don’t know what happened. It’s very scary.”
One of these things is not like the others.