Category: Tennessee

Star News CEO Michael Patrick Leahy Files Emergency Motion to Set Aside Show Cause Hearing Order in Covenant Killer Documents Case

Tom Pappert
MPL Courtroom

An emergency motion filed on Wednesday requests Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles set aside her June 10 court order which established a show cause hearing on Monday after dozens of articles including writings from a journal recovered from Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale were published by The Tennessee Star.

Michael Patrick Leahy, who is the CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc. and the editor-in-chief of The Star, was ordered by Myles to appear in court on Monday after WSMV 4 reporter Stacey Cameron claimed he called the court to ask Myles “if she was considering holding the Star or anyone else in contempt” due to its reporting.

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Fifth Medication Prescribed to Covenant Killer Audrey Hale was an Anti-Anxiety Drug Associated with ‘Mania, Hostility’ and ‘Irritability’

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

A photograph of medication bottles prescribed to Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale reveals she was given a fifth, previously unknown prescription. This is in addition to the four medications previously reported by The Tennessee Star.

The image of the prescription bottles, obtained by The Star from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation, depicts four orange, semi-transparent prescription bottles with blue lids and white labels. All of the bottles are prescribed to Audrey E. Hale and bear the name of a psychiatric nurse practitioner who runs a practice based in Nashville.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote ‘Dying Young Is My Destiny’ in Recovered Journal, Claimed ‘Society Ignores’ Her

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote entries in her journal about her social isolation about one month before her devastating attack on March 27, 2023.

The Star confirmed last week it obtained 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a journal police recovered from her vehicle at the Covenant School from a source familiar with the investigation.

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FBI Declines to Confirm ‘Legacy Tokens’ Memo Sent to Nashville Police Which Raised Precedent for Destruction of Covenant Killer Writings

Tom Pappert

The FBI declined on Monday to confirm to The Tennessee Star the authenticity of a memo it sent to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) that “strongly discourages” the release of “legacy tokens” left by those who commit devastating attacks like the Covenant School attack orchestrated by Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

The Star published the memo last week, revealing it was addressed to MNPD Chief John Drake and sent on May 11, 2023.

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Biden’s DOJ Orders Hawkins County Schools to Hire ‘Anti-Harassment Coordinator’ to Oversee ‘Race Discrimination and Harassment Complaints’

Kaitlin Housler
Classroom Students

The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered Hawkins County Schools on Monday to implement a number of measures to “end racial discrimination in its schools.”

A DOJ-led investigation into Hawkins County Schools that began in March 2023 found that the school system was “deliberately indifferent to known race-based harassment in its schools” and was ordered to spend at least three years under a federal settlement with the DOJ.

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Tennessee Officials React to Hunter Biden’s Guilty Verdict

Peter D'Abrosca
Hunter Biden

Some of Tennessee’s federal lawmakers Tuesday reacted to the news that Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was convicted on felony gun charges.

The younger Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. 

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote of Desire to ‘Inflict Pain’ to Share ‘Same Fate’ with Former Friend Who Became Local Celebrity

Tom Pappert
Averianna Patton

Before Audrey Elizabeth Hale claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults in her devastating March 27, 2023 attack at the Covenant School, she wrote in a journal recovered by police of her desire to “inflict pain” and share the “same fate” with a former friend and middle school classmate who is now a Nashville radio personality.

The Tennessee Star confirmed last Wednesday it obtained photographic images showing 80 pages written by Hale in a journal recovered from her vehicle from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote Journal Entries Blaming Her Brain for Planning Covenant School Attack

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale expressed frustrations in her journal with her brain in entries that appeared to reference her purported autism diagnosis and struggles with gender identity.

The Tennessee Star reported last Wednesday it obtained 80 pages of Hale’s writings, in the form of 40 photographic images of her journal captured by law enforcement.

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Reporter Tom Pappert Offers Thoughts on Why Vanderbilt University Medical Center Refuses to Answer Press Inquiries Surrounding Covenant Killer Case

Kaitlin Housler

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star who has reported extensively on The Star’s obtaining of more than 80 documents related to the case of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, said Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has refused to respond to any of his press inquiries surrounding its involvement in the case of Hale, who reportedly had been receiving treatment from the hospital since 2001.

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FBI Asking for Help Identifying More Victims of Alleged Tennessee Child Exploiter

Peter D'Abrosca
James C. Thompson

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it needs help locating other potential victims of a serial child exploiter from east Tennessee. 

Last week, a federal grand jury in Knoxville returned a three-count indictment against James Thompson, 71, of Lookout Mountain. The indictment alleges that Thompson transported minors across state lines with the intent of engaging in sexual activity back in 2000. 

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Unsubstantiated Allegation by WSMV Reporter Prompts Judge to Order Show Cause Hearing over The Tennessee Star’s Reporting on Covenant Killer Investigation

Tom Pappert
WSMV Stacey Cameron

Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, could face contempt charges or other punitive action on June 17 over his publication’s reporting of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Hale after her devastating attack on the Covenant School on March 27, 2023 that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old children and three adults.

The court date was set following an unsubstantiated allegation from WSMV 4 reporter Stacey Cameron to Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Claimed She Had ‘Too Much Estrogen, or I’m Just a Sad, Lonely Boy’ in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote about having “too much estrogen” and described herself as “a sad, lonely boy,” in the journal police recovered from her vehicle after her attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults on March 27, 2023.

The Tennessee Star confirmed last Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation, including several several entries where Hale wrote about her struggles with gender identity.

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

Tom Pappert
Audrey Elizabeth Hale

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.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote Dozen Journal Entries About Love for Middle School Friend She Contacted on Day of Attack

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale, Averianna the Personality

The journal recovered by police from the vehicle driven by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale contains more than a dozen entries about Paige Averianna Patton, a Nashville-based radio personality who Hale previously befriended as a middle school student.

The Tennessee Star reported last Wednesday it obtained about 80 pages from Hale’s journal via a source close to the Covenant investigation, including a total of 18 that appear to mention Patton either by name or indirectly.

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Next Tennessee Budget Accounts for Drop in Tax and Use Collections

The Center Square
Governor Bill Lee

Tennessee has $144 million for education freedom scholarships that won’t be spent and will deposit an additional $100 million in the budget set to go into place for July 1.

Sycamore Institute, a non-partisan public policy research institute, recently published an analysis of what changed from Gov. Bill Lee’s initial proposed budget to the $52.8 billion budget that passed the Tennessee Legislature.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Left Parents Suicide Note with Instructions for ‘If I Don’t Survive My Massacre’

Tom Pappert
Audrey Elizabeth Hale

The Tennessee Star has obtained the suicide note left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale to her parents before her devastating March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators found the note posted to Hale’s bedroom wall, which The Star has learned was adorned with childhood memorabilia and photos.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Called Herself ‘White Nothingness,’ Wrote About Romantic Desire for ‘Brown Girls’ in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey-Elizabeth Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale appeared to refer to herself as “white nothingness” twice and express her physical attraction to “brown girls” in the journal police recovered from her vehicle.

The Tennessee Star confirmed last Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation. The writings were recovered by the Metro Nashville Police Department on the day of the March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.

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Vanderbilt Silent on Possible Transgender Treatment for Covenant Killer Audrey Hale

Tom Pappert
Vanderbilt Madical Center, North

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is silent about whether Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale sought transgender drugs, surgeries or other gender affirming treatment following the revelation she was a 22-year mental health patient of staff at VUMC.

VUMC has not replied to multiple requests for comment from The Tennessee Star following the revelations, which include confirmation that Hale was prescribed at least four medications from VUMC and was treated by mental health professionals associated with VUMC since April 2001.

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Air Force Slapped with Lawsuit After Stonewalling Release of Transgender Health Unit Records

Admin
Air Force

A recently filed lawsuit from a national security think tank is alleging that the U.S. Air Force is wrongfully withholding records related to its transgender care services.

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in August 2023 seeking materials related to the Air Force’s Transgender Health Medical Evaluation Unit (THEMU), according to a copy of the suit obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Air Force initially acknowledged the FOIA request but then failed to provide further updates to CASA, prompting the think tank to file a lawsuit in late May against the branch in a Washington, D.C., district court for the records.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote About Desire to Kill Her Father in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Elizabeth Hale

The journal recovered from the vehicle driven by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale includes at least five entries expressing animosity toward her father, including one page where Hale wrote of her desire to kill him.

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

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Fanatics Fined $50K and Zen Sports Fined $60K for Tennessee Sports Wagering Violations

The Center Square
Fanatics Sportsbook

Fanatics Sportsbook was fined $50,000 in Tennessee for allowing eight people who were on an in-app self-exclusion list to place bets during that exclusion. Zen Sports received a $60,000 for not maintaining a high enough balance in its reserve account to cover outstanding bets and obligations.

The issue was self-reported by Fanatics and the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council agreed with the fine, which worked out to eight violations with a Level 2 fine of $6,250 apiece.

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Shatter-Resistant Glass Films to Be Installed on Every Wilson County School Campus This Summer

Kaitlin Housler
WCS Meeting

The Wilson County School District voted unanimously to approve shatter-resistant glass films to be installed at each of its 24 brick-and-mortar campuses.

On Monday, board members Kimberly McGee, Larry Tomlinson, Carrie Pfeiffer, Jamie Farough, Melissa Lynn, Joseph Padilla, and Beth Meyers all voted to approve Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell’s recommendation that the board hire Osteen Construction to install the security film for a total of $900,105.36.

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Journal Entry Reveals How Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Spent Last Week Before Attack

Tom Pappert

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale made a list of activities to complete prior to March 27, 2023, when she committed the devastating attack which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults.

The Tennessee Star confirmed on Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings that were recovered from the vehicle she drove to the school from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote About Reuniting with Deceased Middle School Friend After Death: ‘We Will Become Whole’

Tom Pappert
Sydney Sims

Covenant School killer Audrey Hale wrote extensively about a former classmate and friend who died suddenly following a 2022 vehicle accident, seemingly detailing fantasies in which they would reunite after Hale’s death.

The Tennessee Star confirmed on Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings that were recovered from her vehicle after her March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults working at the school.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Wrote ‘Freelance Failure’ List Charting Professional Shortcomings in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale Office

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who orchestrated the devastating Covenant School attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults on March 27, 2023, wrote a list of her professional failures in the journal police recovered from her vehicle.

The Tennessee Star reported on Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings from a source close to the Covenant investigation.

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Audrey Hale Claimed She Planned Covenant Attack for Five Years in Recovered Journal, Plan ‘Near Perfection’

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote in a journal recovered from her vehicle that she planned her attack for five years and prepared meticulously until her devastating plot was “near perfection.”

The Tennessee Star reported on Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages of Hale’s writings which police recovered from her vehicle from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. 

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Maryville College Refuses to Hold Blount County Pride Event

Peter D'Abrosca

A gay pride group in Blount County said on its Facebook page that it was denied rental space at Maryville College to host an event during “Pride Month.”

“In hopes of replicating the joy and success of our 2023 event at Clayton Center for the Arts, we once again submitted an application to Maryville College for Blount Pride 2024,” Blount Pride said. “Our application was considered for several months, after which we were asked to exclude drag from the festival. We asked the college several questions, including asking them to define drag performance. They did not answer our questions, but instead, two weeks later, denied our application.”

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Libertarian Party of Tennessee Breaks Silence, Condemns ‘Clearly Politically Motivated’ Conviction of President Trump

Kaitlin Housler

The Libertarian Party of Tennessee released a statement Thursday, one week after former President Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on all 34 counts in the falsification of business records linked to the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal, condemning the “clearly politically motivated” conviction of the former president.

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Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty Latest Republican to Join Pledge Against White House Priorities

Kaitlin Housler
Bill Hagerty

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined a group of 13 other Republican members of the U.S. Senate in signing a pledge vowing to not “aid and abet” the Biden administration in its “project to tear this country apart.”

The pledge was created last week on May 31 – just one day after former President Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on all 34 counts in the falsification of business records linked to the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal, marking the first time in history that a U.S. president has been convicted of a felony.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Declared Herself ‘Most Unhappy Boy Alive’ in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Hale, who was born a biological female but identified as a transgender male during her March 27, 2023 attack, described herself as the “most unhappy boy alive” in a journal police recovered from her vehicle.

The Tennessee Star reported on Wednesday it obtained dozens of pages from the journal Hale brought with her to the Covenant School from a source close to the investigation. In this entry, Hale described struggling with gender identity.

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Alleged Cyberstalker McKenzie McClure Ordered to ‘Open-Door’ Psychiatric Center in East Tennessee

Matthew Giffin
McKenzie McClure, Pasaenda Villa

The mental health facility alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure was ordered to be released to on Monday to an “open-door” psychiatric treatment center in East Tennessee.

Pasadena Villa in Sevierville, Tennessee, houses patients who voluntarily stay there, according to testimony by Admissions Coordinator Sabina Shakoor. Personnel cannot force patients to stay, and patients have left the facility voluntarily in the past, she continued.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Claimed to Call Suicide Prevention Helpline Five Times, Denied Being ‘Bi-Polar’ in Journal Entry

Tom Pappert
Person on Phone

Covenant School killer Audrey Hale wrote in a journal, recovered from her vehicle after the attack, that she was accused of being “bi-polar” and called a number listed online as the National Suicide Prevention Helpline five times just over two months before the shooting.

The Tennessee Star confirmed on Wednesday it has about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from her journal, which were obtained from a source close to the Covenant investigation. In this journal entry, dated January 16, 2023, Hale also expressed concerns about losing her possessions after her death.

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MNPD Learned on Day of Covenant Shooting Audrey Hale Had Been Treated by Vanderbilt Psychiatric for 22 Years from 2001 Until Her 2023 Death

Tom Pappert
Covenant School Shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale

Metro Nashville Police Department learned Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale was a 22-year patient of mental health professionals at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on March 27, 2023, the same day she orchestrated her devastating attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults working at the school.

The Tennessee Star obtained the June 1, 2023 affidavit filed by an MNPD detective to obtain a search warrant for VUMC from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.

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Thousands Attend Town Hall in Phoenix to Hear Discuss Chasing the Vote, Rigged Elections, and Illegal Immigration

Rachel Alexander

Thousands of people turned out for a town hall put on by Turning Point USA with former President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon at Dream City Church in north Phoenix. Trump and Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk were the sole speakers at the “Chase the Vote” event, urging patriots to make the 2024 election “too big to rig.” The rest of the event focused heavily on illegal immigration, highly critical of the Biden administration’s record. 

Trump’s last visit to the state was 18 months ago. According to one attendee who arrived at 8 a.m., there were over 4,000 people in line at that time. The temperature got up to 108 degrees, and there were vendors with water and drinks sprinkled throughout the church property. The event officially began at 2 p.m., but Kirk came out a little after noon and spoke in advance of Trump’s 2 p.m. speech. The crowd held up signs with Trump’s mugshot on them. 

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Used Federal Pell Grant Funds to Buy Guns She Used in March 2023 Mass Shooting at Christian School

Matthew Giffin

Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale reportedly used funds from a federal Pell grant to buy the guns she used to perpetrate a mass shooting in March, 2023.

99.7 WTN afternoon radio host Brian Wilson reported Wednesday that Hale “took money from an education grant she received to purchase her weapons and to pay for training at a local gun range.”

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Vanderbilt Search Warrant Revealed Prescription List for Covenant Killer Audrey Hale, Confirms Fantasies About School Shooting

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

The search warrant served by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to obtain information from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) about Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, obtained by The Tennessee Star, reveals Hale was prescribed at least four medications from VUMC staff.

According to notes taken by a person who reviewed documents obtained when the search warrant was executed, Hale was given access to Buspirone, Lexapro or Escitalopram, Hydroxyzine, and a sodium chloride nasal spray by doctors at VUMC.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Expressed Frustration over Being Misgendered, Desire for ‘Boy Body’ in Recovered Journal

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale expressed frustration over being misgendered, satisfaction with the use of male pronouns and a desire to have a “boy body” in a journal.

The Star on Wednesday confirmed it obtained dozens of pages from Hale’s journal from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. The journal was retrieved from Hale’s vehicle.

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