The mental health records of Seung-hui Cho, the gunman in the Virginia Tech shooting massacre, have been found. The records, which could not be found during the investigation into the 2007 shooting, have been discovered in the home of the former director of the university's counseling clinic: Va. Tech Gunman's Mental Health Records Found.
The records were found by lawyers preparing for a civil lawsuit filed this year by families of two of the 32 people that Cho killed before turning the gun on himself on April 16, 2007. The center's former director, Robert C. Miller, left his position at the Cook Counseling Center more than a year before the massacre.
This discovery obviously raises new questions about how thoroughly the state investigated the shootings. All this time, the records were just sitting in his house? A criminal investigation is under way to determine how Miller was able to take the records and why the documents were not found earlier.
In April, the families of two slain students sued the state, the university, its counseling center, several top university officials and a local mental health agency. The lawsuit alleges gross negligence in the care and attention given to Cho before and during his shooting rampage.
The files will reportedly be made public within days, either with the permission of the administrator of Cho's estate or through a state subpoena. Who know what significance they'll hold for the case? Two years later, I'm doubtful that they'll shed any more insight on why this massacre happened.
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