The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Friday was unable to provide The Tennessee Star with an estimated time of completion for its investigation into the Covenant School attack, but spokesman Don Aaron stated the case “remains open and is largely in a documentation phase where the lead detective is writing his and the department’s actions, findings,” and related subjects.
Police began investigating the attack on March 27, 2023, when Audrey Elizabeth Hale claimed the lives three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville.
Despite MNPD Chief John Drake immediately confirming law enforcement retrieved written materials left in Hale’s vehicle, which he initially called a “manifesto,” none of Hale’s writings have been released by law enforcement. This led to the state and federal lawsuits in which Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), which owns and operates The Star, is a plaintiff.
Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles, who oversaw the state case to compel MNPD to release the manifesto, heard in April that police estimated at least three additional months were necessary to complete their investigation.
This would have placed the conclusion of the Covenant investigation in July.
In the months since that estimate was given, The Star obtained more than 80 pages of writings left by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, including journal entries detailing the killer’s desire to transition from her biological, female gender to the male gender, sections about her planned attack on the Covenant School, and entries that detail her social isolation and mental health challenges.
Since her attack, it was revealed police recovered up to 20 separate journals that belonged to Hale.
After The Star began reporting the contents of Hale’s journal and other police documents, Myles ruled on July 4 that not one page of Hale’s writings will be released publicly, citing the purported copyright transfer of the killer’s writings to a group of Covenant parents.
Myles simultaneously ruled that investigative documents related to the Covenant investigation will not be released until MNPD completes its investigation into the case.
SNDM and Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Star, have started the process of appealing Myles’ decision and remain plaintiffs in the ongoing federal lawsuit seeking to compel the FBI to release Hale’s writings.
State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) has also said he plans to appeal Myles’ ruling.
MNPD has previously declined to comment on the details of its investigation. It did not respond when asked why it did not meet its estimated July date for concluding the investigation or offer a new estimated date to conclude investigating the Covenant matter.
Though current details of the investigation remain unknown, police documents obtained by The Star in June found connections between the killer and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), where the documents showed she was a 22-year mental health patient and was twice evaluated for commitment due to suicidal ideation.
It was previously speculated that MNPD could be investigating co-conspirators, but there is no indication Hale received support in committing her attack in the journal pages reviewed by The Star.
Since obtaining Hale’s journal and a portion of law enforcement materials, The Star has published more than 100 articles that reveal the killer’s own words or report new details of the police investigation.
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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].
