Va. Tech gunman's mental records found in home of former univ. clinic director

[Beaverhausen]

By BOB LEWIS and SUE LINDSEY, Associated Press Writers Bob Lewis And Sue Lindsey, Associated Press Writers
'
RICHMOND, Va. – Mental health records for Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho that were missing for more than two years have been discovered in the home of the university clinic's former director, according to a state memo shared with victims' family members.

Cho killed 32 people on April 16, 2007, then committed suicide as police closed in. His mental health treatment has been a major issue in the vast investigation of the shootings, yet the records' location had eluded authorities.

They were revealed by a lawyer involved in a lawsuit filed by two families of Cho's victims against the former director, the university and several other parties, claiming gross negligence in failing to prevent the massacre.

A memo from the university to Gov. Tim Kaine's chief legal counsel and shared with victims' family members says Cho's records and those of several other Virginia Tech students were found last week in the home of Dr. Robert C. Miller. The memo was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The memo said Cho's records were removed from the Cook Counseling Center on the Virginia Tech campus more than a year before the shootings, when Miller left the clinic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/ap_on_re_us/us_virginia_tech_shooting

[Berry Cool]

1. You should change this title to read "former univ. clinic director"

That's key info. Of course they looked in the CURRENT director's records. They didn't look in the FORMER director's records.

Boy, there is more to this story than meets the eye.

[Beaverhausen]

3. done

[derby378]

2. Can someone say "HIPAA violation?"

If those records hadn't vanished from Cook Counseling Center, there might not have been a shooting at VTech in the first place.

I think criminal charges should be on the table in this matter.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Good point.

I agree about the criminal charges too.

Any word yet on why the former director became the former director?

[slampoet]

15. +1

[Lasher]

4. Why would Dr. Miller do such a thing?

I can't even guess.

[Blue_Tires]

6. because he knew from his profile Cho didn't belong in college??

trying to cover it up? trying to blow a whistle? possible blackmail against the university? or maybe he was just selfish and wanted to keep the most colorful cases to himself for some sort of article or book -- just guessing...

I know I'll never find out, but I would also be interested in the other students' files he stole...I wonder if there are any psychological similarities among them...

[Lasher]

11. We just might get to the bottom of this.

I'm sure we haven't heard the last of it.

[TexasObserver]

7. Wow! That is civil liability to the max!! And criminal exposure, too.

Hiding evidence during a criminal investigation, and hiding evidence of civil liability.

[FarCenter]

8. Another good reason to implement electronic health records

Had they been in an electronic health records system, he could not have walked out with the records. The clinic would always have a copy.

[Ocracoker16]

9. What Miller did is criminal

Taking Cho's records home was an act that put everyone at Virginia Tech at high risk. Cho was very dangerous and the records undoubtedly show that. If administrators had access to Cho's records, they would have known that the college was an innappropriate place for someone who clearly suffered from severe mental illness. They would have removed him from school so that other students would not be harmed by him. These people that were killed by Cho during his shooting rage would probably be alive if Miller had left the records at the clinic.

[AwakeAtLast]

10. Is this an isolated practice, or are there other university Dr.s doing this?

I tend to believe that if one is caught at it, others are doing it. They just haven't been caught.

[msanthrope]

12. Was he covering up, or was he a whistleblower?

These records were taken a year before Cho went on his spree.

DId the records reflect the university's knowledge of Cho's mental state and their failure to do anything about it?

Why take a student's records? Maybe you warned about him, and wanted to make sure that the warning didn't fall down the rabbit hole when you left.

Or maybe you took the records when you left because you wanted to save your own ass.

[Berry Cool]

13. It's going to be an interesting story, to say the very least.

Many questions come to mind--starting with why this guy is the "former" director of the clinic, and moving on to why he had those records in his home. And other students' records, too. Quite a tale hangs thereby, I do not doubt.

I haven't read it yet, but I know the former (!) English Department chair wrote a book about working with Cho as a student and being disturbed by the nature of his writings. Her argument is that Virginia Tech did more to protect his privacy than it did to protect others against him. She says she tried to get him help beforehand but was unsuccessful, and that the school put up a wall of silence after the shootings and is doing its best to avoid looking responsible in any way.

It's going to take a long time to untangle this one.

[Wednesdays]

14. K&R

:kick: