Eric the stalker

The Denver Post - Tuesday, December 21, 1999

Family of girl Harris named lives in fear of tapes' release

By Peggy Lowe
Denver Post Staff Writer

Meeting the guy at the soccer tournament seemed innocent enough.

And how often does a mother get to meet a boy who will ask her daughter for a date?

'He was a nice kid. We talked to him and his parents at the tournament that weekend,' the mother said. 'He was the kid next door.'

They didn't know it that day in May 1998, but the kid next door turned out to be Eric Harris. They certainly didn't know he would turn their family's life upside down for months. Or that then, he would haunt them from the grave via videotape.

Harris mentions the girl by first and last name on the videotapes he and Dylan Klebold made in the days before their rampage at Columbine High on April 20. The mother spoke to The Denver Post on the condition that neither she nor her daughter be identified.

In a suicidal monologue shot on April 12, Harris rails against the 'b------ who never called me back.' He lists five girls, staring unblinking at the camera, but gives the full name of just one. That one name is the girl he met at the soccer tournament.

'You know who you are. Thanks, you made me feel good,' he says sarcastically. 'Think about that for a while, f------ b------.'

She didn't like Harris

Harris didn't always feel that way. After he met the girl, a senior at a metro-area high school, Harris started calling and the two set up a time to meet at Elitch Gardens, each bringing friends. But the girl didn't like Harris, so she quit returning his calls.

'She didn't have a bad time with him, she just knew that he wasn't somebody she wanted to be with,' her mother said.

That didn't stop Harris, who began calling three to six times a day, paging the girl constantly, her mother said. Finally, after weeks of constant calling and no response, he gave up.

The mother and daughter forgot about Harris - until April 20. As students ran out of Columbine and a suspect was named, they saw Harris' photo on news reports.

'A year later she sees his picture and says, 'Mom, that's the kid I went to Elitch's with,'' her mother recalled. 'She just fell apart.'

The FBI had questions

The family started to feel worse when the FBI called, wanting to know why the girl's name was found in Harris' bedroom. They cooperated with law enforcement, and the girl's high school beefed up security to protect her.

'At that time all we wanted to do was to keep quiet. Nobody knew except for our immediate family,' the mother said. 'We kept very quiet. We kept very quiet until last week.'

Last week, the videotapes were played for the media and the mother saw the quotes about the girls in The Post. 'That's when I fell apart,' she said. 'My life changed that minute.'

Since then, the mother has talked to many people - from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, to the district attorney, to the media, even Gov. Bill Owens' office. She wants desperately to protect her daughter from any would-be Eric Harris who might want to 'finish the job' he started.

The girl's mother and father were shattered Monday when the sheriff's office allowed them to see the tape, hearing Harris name their daughter so prominently.

'It was just a frightful experience as far as his eyes, his demeanor. It was very scary,' she said. 'No feeling, no remorse, no caring in the world for what was going on. And to know he harbored this hatred for a year on somebody he didn't even know!'

Now, the family is hoping that others who want to block release of the tapes will be successful. So far, just the Klebold family has filed a motion seeking to place the tapes within a judge's discretion. But some of the victims' families and the Jefferson County School District also are exploring legal options to stop release of the tapes.

So far, the family rests easier every night they know those tapes aren't on television, on the Internet or anywhere else.

'Whether that's going to be true tomorrow, I don't know,' the mother said. 'At least I'm going down with a big fight.'

SUICIDE TAPES TRANSCRIPT

Darrell Scott, whose daughter Rachel was among those killed at Columbine, provided reporters with a transcript Monday from the suicide tapes left behind by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold:

Klebold: 'I know we're gonna have followers because we're so f---ing God-like.'

Klebold: 'We're not exactly human - we have human bodies but we've evolved into one step above you f---ing human s---. We actually have f---ing self-awareness.'

Harris: 'We need a f---ing kick start. If we have a f---ing religious war - or oil - or anything. We need to get a chain reaction going here.'

Harris: 'It's gonna be like Doom man - after the bombs explode. That f---ing shotgun (he kisses a gun) straight out of Doom. Go ahead and change gun laws - how do you think we got ours?'

Harris: 'Shut the f--- up, Nick, you laugh too much. And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut up, too. Rachel and Jen and whatever.'

Klebold: 'Stuck up little b-----s, you f---ing little Christianity, Godly wh---.'

Harris: 'Yeah, I love Jesus, I love Jesus, shut the f--- up.'

Klebold: 'What would Jesus do? What would I do. Boosh! (points at camera as if holding gun).

Harris: 'I would shoot you in the motherf---ing head! Go Romans - Thank God they crucified that a------.'

Both: 'Go Romans! Go Romans! Yeah! Whooo!'

"Paging" her constantly lmfao
Sometimes we forget how long ago this actually happened. Imagine what a stalker he would be today!

The mother feared that someone else would read her daughters name and come to finish the job? That jumped out at me, because it just sounds completely insane.

Pagers....yeah my older brother had one at that time, I was 11 when columbine happened.

I don't know if I consider this stalking so much as he dealt with the situation badly and wouldn't take  the hint she was giving him.
This is not a popular opinion, but I feel the girl treated him somewhat rudely.
They had a date, he obviously thought they had a decent time, he trys to contact her again and gets ignored.
I know she was young at the time too but how long does it take to say "Hey,I'm not interested. Please stop calling me" ?

PaintItBlack wrote:

I don't know if I consider this stalking so much as he dealt with the situation badly and wouldn't take  the hint she was giving him.
This is not a popular opinion, but I feel the girl treated him somewhat rudely.
They had a date, he obviously thought they had a decent time, he trys to contact her again and gets ignored.
I know she was young at the time too but how long does it take to say "Hey,I'm not interested. Please stop calling me" ?

As a girl myself I can tell you its really hard to say that to someone even as a fully grown adult, let alone them being teenagers. Maybe she got bad vibes from him. I know there have been a few guys in my life that I have ignored and never called or spoken to again for that reason, but like most of the other questions here, we will never really know.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Yes, but what about common courtesy?
I am sorry but I think unless you have been directly threatened or something similar if you have been out with someone you owe it to them to let them down easy.
Simply ignoring the person because its easier for you often only makes them feel angrier and more rejected.
There are a lot of nice things one can say to let someone down easy.

PaintItBlack wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Yes, but what about common courtesy?
I am sorry but I think unless you have been directly threatened or something similar  if you have been out with someone you owe it to them to let them down easy.
Simply ignoring the person because its easier for you often only makes them feel angrier and more rejected.
There are a lot of nice things one can say to let someone down easy.

Yes, I agree with you. But I also know that when I was a teenager I didn't really think about courtesy, I think I was just too busy trying to take in the crazy world that didn't make much sense to me at the time. She honestly probably didn't even give it a second thought. Its a busy time in life and a lot is going on.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Probably not but I think Eric wouldn't have been nearly as angry if he had been dealt with in a nicer way here,

PaintItBlack wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Probably not but I think Eric wouldn't have been nearly as angry if he had been dealt with in a nicer way here,

really? i am not sure...

Ignoring is stupid. It doesn't work. I feel like this girl's mom is a paranoid.

Her school security wanted to protect her from who? Eric was already dead at that point. I guess maybe they mean fans. Honestly, I think this is a little dramatic. They were scared for her life? She didn't even go to his school and he hadn't talked to her in a year. Yea, he did make a video calling her names for ignoring him but I don't think he ever had any intention of actually doing anything to her. The plan the entire time was to blow and shoot up Columbine. I mean, yea I can understand it being upsetting but to say her life was shattered and completely changed forever? That's a bit much. He never hurt her, he never threatened to hurt her and she spoke to him over a year ago a few times and then he left her alone.

I mean they even said that he called her for a week or so and then eventually gave up and that they completely forgot about him. So he couldn't have been stalking her that badly if they forgot about him. I also think 'stalking' isn't the right word for this. Stalking would be if he showed up at her house or followed her all around and literally wouldn't leave her alone. Just one more person trying to get their 15 minutes in by somehow 'knowing' one of the shooters.

PaintItBlack wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Probably not but I think Eric wouldn't have been nearly as angry if he had been dealt with in a nicer way here,

Maybe he would not have been as angry at her, but I don't think she was the tipping point on the scale of crazy in his head. He didn't shoot up the school because of one girl who didn't call him back. He had some serious problems way beyond that.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
I agree that wasn't what pushed him over the edge but I think it was a one of a long string of incidents that helped to do so.
People tend to think that because of what he did Eric was never subjected to any bad or wrong behavior but I think just the opposite is true.

PaintItBlack wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
I agree that wasn't what pushed him over the edge but I think it was a one of a long string of incidents that helped to do so.
People  tend to think that because of what he did Eric was never subjected to any bad or wrong behavior but I think just the opposite is true.

I think he was a sociopath myself, but that's only my opinion. I used to feel angry at the shooters, but now I just feel sorry for them. I'm not sure about Eric, but I do believe Dylan had a future if he had received help and intervention earlier in his life. But for Eric to be able to be so angry and hateful and deceptive to his family at the same time, to elaborately plan out everything and still be able to hide it from his parents (who I think probably didn't ever go in his room or the whole thing could have been prevented).

I agree that Eric didn't have an easy life. They moved alot, he didn't make many friends, he was always the new kid. He didn't like himself or the way he looked. I just don't think that a lot of bad things happening in a person's life warrants mass murder is all.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
I disagree with you on Eric's mental diagnoses but I must point out that Eric's parent's searched his room randomly for months after the van break in.
Obviously, they eventually decided to trust him again .
Not every parent searches the room of a high school senior and unless there is something hidden we don't know I've never seen anything that you can point to and say that shows they had any inkling of what was coming.

I agree that having a bad life or even being severely mistreated isn't a justification for mass killing but the truth is is that people can and do try to justify almost anything.
Look at how these ISIS fighters justify the horrible killings they do every day.
The rest of the world is horrofied but they feel what they are doing is not only justified but honorable.

I think the only true justification for killing should be defense of yourself or others.

PaintItBlack wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
I disagree with you on Eric's mental diagnoses but I must point out that Eric's parent's searched his room randomly for months after the van break in.
Obviously, they eventually decided to trust him again .
Not every parent searches the room of a high school senior and unless there is something hidden we don't know I've never seen anything that you can point to and say that shows they had any inkling of what was coming.

I agree that having a bad life or even being severely mistreated isn't a justification for mass killing but the truth is is that people can and do try to justify almost anything.
Look at how these ISIS fighters justify the horrible killings they do every day.
The rest of the world is horrofied but they feel what they are doing is not only justified but honorable.

I think the only true justification for killing should be defense of yourself or others.

But I still don't understand how your child is making bombs right in your home, under your nose, and you never see, hear or smell anything odd? That has always bothered me. I mean he bragged about it in the basement tapes, how if his parents had just asked a few questions or poked around a little bit more the whole thing could have been foiled. But I guess that's also something we will never really know about.

I mean my mom didn't really "search" my room so to speak but if she even sensed that me or my brothers were doing something we werent supposed to she would definitely be turning furniture upside down. lol.

I agree about killing only for self defense. Too many people these days seem to think "shoot first ask questions later" applies in every situation and it often results in innocent people being killed.

Expected behavior from Eric.. OCD, angry, insecure, narcissistic & sociopathic.

Ignoring is the best response with these types, if you engage in any way they cling on until they decide to leave on their own terms.

Eric was deeply disturbed, more so than I feel most realize or want to recognize.

@FlyersFan,
I'm sure that Eric was smart enough to only work on such things by himself or with Dylan when he knew his parents were gone and would be gone for some time and made sure to clean things up before they got home.
It would have been foolish of him not to do exactly that.
People to this day seem to feel both sets of parents were neglectful but I've never seen anything to indicate that was the case. I'm sure than many things were seen in hindsight by its always too late by the time these things can be seen.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Eric was a kid and he had been rejected a lot. Rejection always hurts.
Yes, he could have dealt with it in a better way than keeping on calling her but the girl wasn't direct and honest with him either.
She likely just ignored him because it was easier for her to do so, not because she was oh so scared of him.

Fatheroftwo wrote:

Expected behavior from Eric..  OCD, angry, insecure, narcissistic & sociopathic.

Ignoring is the best response with these types, if you engage in any way they cling on until they decide to leave on their own terms.

Eric was deeply disturbed, more so than I feel most realize or want to recognize.

Definitely. I certainly reject Cullen's "irredeemable psychopath" diagnosis, but he wasn't some poor normal kid victimized by a cruel world. The boy was obviously mentally unhinged, bullying and social rejection (real or perceived) non-withstanding.

Fatheroftwo wrote:

Expected behavior from Eric..  OCD, angry, insecure, narcissistic & sociopathic.

Ignoring is the best response with these types, if you engage in any way they cling on until they decide to leave on their own terms.

Eric was deeply disturbed, more so than I feel most realize or want to recognize.

I have had the misfortune of having to deal with people exactly like that in real life. Some personalities, if you try to be polite and nicely break it off with them, make it far worse and they cling even more like you mentioned. I worked with a man who befriended me over our mutual love of music, but over time he began to text message me constantly, and even if i did not respond to his message because I was busy or at work, he would still keep sending messages one after another, and they would be LONG ranting messages where basically he was talking to himself and answering his own questions. Even after he was fired from my place of work he kept that up and one day I just stopped responding altogether because I knew he would never stop. It was later discovered that he was a drug addict with some serious problems. I do not know if he ever got any help but I do know that it scared me how his behavior was so erratic and crazy.

In my opinion Eric didn't have OCD. He took medicine for it but he didn't have it. Many people agree with me.
Here is more information.

PaintItBlack wrote:

@FlyersFan,
I'm sure that Eric was smart enough to only work on such things  by himself or with Dylan when he knew his parents were gone and would be gone for some time and made sure to clean things up before they got home.
It would have been foolish of him not to do exactly that.
People to this day seem to feel both sets of parents were neglectful but I've never seen anything to indicate that was the case. I'm sure than many things were seen in hindsight  by its always too late by the time these things can be seen.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
Eric was a kid and he had been rejected a lot. Rejection always hurts.
Yes, he could have dealt with it in a better way than keeping on calling her but the girl wasn't direct and honest with him either.
She likely just ignored him because it was easier for her to do so, not because she was oh so scared of him.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yeah, I'm sure it was path of least resistance on her part to just ignore him. Seems the people that "feared" EH had extended time with him before they recognized disturbing behaviors vs general oddness that turned them off.

Side note, I've noticed a few posts here where people wondered what happened to EH's parents & speculation they had moved out of state & possibly NY state. They are still here in Denver metro, Wayne Harris is still with the same company as he was in 1999. Apparent they never left the area.