Is the Columbine massacre a closed case?

Another thread on this forum has brought me to this question. According to Jefferson County, the basement tapes have been destroyed. But I'm pretty sure a standard law in the United States is that no evidence from an ongoing investigation can be destroyed. I've been reading different reports and articles, etc but cannot find a clear answer as to if this case was ever actually marked closed? And if so, when? Like many others, I am starting to think that perhaps they are just saying the evidence has been destroyed to try and stop all the requests for the tapes to be released. But is THAT legal? Is Jefferson Co. legally allowed to tell the public evidence has been destroyed if it hasn't?

In my mind, this just isn't adding up.

Well, in answer to your last question Eric--that which most people would consider blatant lying is considered by LE as an "investigative tool." One which they employ freely...So..........

I genuinely have no clue what the answer to this question is. If the perpetrators are caught (or in this case known and deceased), does that not make the case closed? If not, what is needed to officially close the case? Anyone with experience in law enforcement know the answer to this?

I am still reeling from the thought that the tapes could be destroyed. Footage of some truly horrific things can be found on the Internet or the news. What can possibly be so awful about a tape of some kids drinking Jack Daniels and talking about a murder? Not to say that it wouldn't be bad, but surely not worse than many of the things we see on a daily basis. I have long held the belief that there MUST be something more on the tapes that we don't know about. Now I guess we'll never know.

It is a closed case in the sense that we know who did it.

It is open in the sense that we do not know why they did it, and never will know.

Wideawake wrote:

I have long held the belief that there MUST be something more on the tapes that we don't know about. Now I guess we'll never know.

I wonder about this, too .What is on those tapes that they don't want make them public. Anyone knows did journalists and family members watch all of the tapes or they had only access to those which the cops wanted to show them? So far we haven't even had the all transcripts.

I doubt any authority is pursuing the case, which means its effectively closed.

It's closed, I don't believe any of the third or fourth shooter theories. The only cover up was when JeffCo tried to claim that Randy and Judy Brown didn't warn them about Eric, knowing that had they acted on a search warrant they would have effectively prevented the shooting.

I think so. I don't think anyone else was involved. Looking back, I think some friends had some hints bit nobody had the full picture or knew what would happen or when. I don't think E and D would have trusted anyone with the plan unless they were convinced they were all the way in and willing to die themselves. I've never believed in any theories about other shooters.

I think part of the additional shooter thing came from the fact that some people outside said they saw 2 guys in trench coats and then some say they saw 2 guys in trench coats and a guy in a white t-shirt throwing a pipe bomb on the roof of the school. In their panic, I don't think they realized that the guy in the white shirt was Eric but that he had taken his trench coat off and threw it on the ground. Then later during the shooting, Dylan took his trench coat off so now it could look like there were 4 different shooters. 2 guys with trench coats and 2 guys without.

I don't think there were any additional shooters either as all of the bullets recovered were traced back to Dylan and Eric's guns, I am assuming. There is a list telling you exactly which bullets were shot by who and how many bullets they each shot.

Jenn wrote:

I think part of the additional shooter thing came from the fact that some people outside said they saw 2 guys in trench coats and then some say they saw 2 guys in trench coats and a guy in a white t-shirt throwing a pipe bomb on the roof of the school. In their panic, I don't think they realized that the guy in the white shirt was Eric but that he had taken his trench coat off and threw it on the ground. Then later during the shooting, Dylan took his trench coat off so now it could look like there were 4 different shooters. 2 guys with trench coats and 2 guys without.

I don't think there were any additional shooters either as all of the bullets recovered were traced back to Dylan and Eric's guns, I am assuming. There is a list telling you exactly which bullets were shot by who and how many bullets they each shot.

Yep, there was also some mistaken notion by a witness saying he seen an attacked in a green hoodie or shirt, but I think in the commotion he just asumed an innocent student is a shooter.

Then people seen a maintenance worker on the roof and then reported him as a snper on the roof.

I still don't think they were destroyed...
They still have John Wayne Gacy evidence stored in here in Chicago... He was convicted in 1982, and put to death in 1994.

Some victims saw the tapes, like val schurr who was shot. I remember that she mentioned that she saw these "horrible" tapes.

em81 wrote:

Some victims saw the tapes, like val schurr who was shot. I remember that she mentioned that she saw these "horrible" tapes.

Can't blame her for calling them that tbh. she suffered many non-critical, but certainly painfull shrapnel and bullet wounds (including afaik 2 through-and-through tec9 wounds). She also seen other people die, including Lauren Townsend who was hiding under the same table. Val was shot, suffered a blast from one opf the explosives which hurt her with sharapnel and sent her flying from under the table. She was in the open lying on the floor in pain when Dylan asked her the "do you believe in god?" question. and she even at that point had teh wits and nerve to talk Dylan out of killing her on the spot, until he finally shifted attention and went to shoot at other people.

After this, seeing the same guys who shot her and killed her friends gloat on some morbid videotape... yeah I can see why it was certianly horrible for her. Can't blame her one bit. Val is certainly amongst the CHS survivor students who earned my great respect for her behavior and quick thinking.