Susan Klebold's Interviews (Index)

Since she appears to be doing a tour to promote her book, I think it would be useful to gather all the interviews in one topic. I will be updating if she keeps doing more. I've also added the old ones.

-– INDEX –-

2004

- Columbine: Parents Of a Killer (The New York Times. May 15, 2004).

2009

- I Will Never Know Why (O, The Oprah Magazine. November 2009).

2012

- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (Scribner. Nov 13, 2012).

2016

- Silence Broken. A Mother's Reckoning (ABC 20/20. Feb 12, 2016).

- A Mother Is Supposed to Know (The Guardian Weekend. Feb 13, 2016).

- The greatest mercy I could pray for was . . . for his death (The Washington Post. Feb 14, 2016).

- I raised the individual who did this (Maclean's. Feb 14, 2016).

- An incredible, helpless agony (CBC Radio's The Current. Feb 15, 2016).

- Columbine: A Killer in the Family [Short version] (BBC Newsnight. Feb 15, 2016).

- Woman's Hour: Mother of Columbine killer (BBC Radio 4. Feb 16, 2016).

- My son was the shooter (Marie Claire. Feb 16, 2016).

- I Carry Him 'Everywhere I Go, Always' (NPR Fresh Air. Feb 16, 2016).

- I’ll Never Know If I Could Have Prevented It (CPR Colorado Matters. Feb 16, 2016).

- Columbine Killer’s Mom Sue Klebold Takes You Inside the Life of Dealing With a Mentally Ill Child (The Dr. Oz Show. Feb 17, 2016).

- Columbine: A Killer in the Family [Extended version] (BBC Our World. Feb 19, 2016).

- Columbine shooter's mother still cringes at idea of copycats (The Associated Press. Feb 24, 2016).

- Sue Klebold: Dylan seemed "normal, happy" before Columbine attack (The Denver Post. Feb 24, 2016).

- Sue Klebold: Hatred From The Community Is As Traumatizing As The Grief (The Alan Colmes Show. Feb 24, 2016).

- The mother of a Columbine shooter on the son she thought she knew (PBS NewsHour. Feb 25, 2016).

- Colorado State of Mind: Sue Klebold (Rocky Mountain PBS. March 4, 2016).

- ‘Tell Me About Dylan’: A Conversation With Sue Klebold (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3) (The Huffington Post. March 7-14, 2016).

- Sue Klebold Speaks About Columbine, Her New Memoir, and Teen Depression (5280. March 31, 2016).

Excellent index ... good work Gonz

Thanks (:

I've just added the CBC Radio's The Current interview.

Excerpt:

You can download Sue's BBC 4 Radio interview here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Two more added.

The extended version of the BBC interview will air this weekend: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I don't know about anybody else in the US but Sue's BBC program is not airing here on BBC America.
Our local PBS channel shows some BBC programming but they apparently are not airing it either.
Bummer. I really wanted to tape it.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]: You can watch it live (21.30 GMT) on this stream: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

For people in the UK: the episode is already available here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Won't play for me, I'm not in the UK

Thank you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]!
Another radio interview w. Sue (Colorado Public Radio): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A couple more (AP and Denver Post TV).

I haven't listened or watched every interview, but I have the feeling that they talk about the same stuff in every one? Or are they unique enough to watch? Do we hear or learn anything new?

I have read the book.

Another interview w. Sue that will also feature Coni Sanders: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

1891 wrote:

I haven't listened or watched every interview, but I have the feeling that they talk about the same stuff in every one? Or are they unique enough to watch? Do we hear or learn anything new?

All the interviews are almost identical, same questions, same answers, sometimes even same clothes… She tells different anecdotes regarding Dylan, but that's all. I wouldn't say they are a must-read/see.

carrie12 wrote:

Another interview w. Sue that will also feature Coni Sanders: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Parts 2 and 3. A lot of talk about how sick and disturbed Eric was in Sue's opinion and a lot of ignoring & minimizing things about Dylan.I know its not shocking from a Mother but I don't think I'll ever get over my disappointment about this.

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

Another interview will air tonight: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thank you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for this!

Gonz wrote:

I really like this BBC production.

Has Sue discussed her premonition of foreboding while holding infant Dylan before this revelation in this show? I didn't hear this in the NPR broadcast, and admitedly, I have not read the book. Does she go into this any more than she does in her brief comment in this interview?

It's hard to watch Sue tear up and cry a bit without getting bleary-eyed myself.

ThoughtBox wrote:

Gonz wrote:

I really like this BBC production.

Has Sue discussed her premonition of foreboding while holding infant Dylan before this revelation in this show? I didn't hear this in the NPR broadcast, and admitedly, I have not read the book. Does she go into this any more than she does in her brief comment in this interview?

It's hard to watch Sue tear up and cry a bit without getting bleary-eyed myself.

I have heard her mention it a lot in her interviews. Sometimes she gets more in depth than others. She mentioned that he had something medically wrong with him when he was born and that is what she thought it was Poor Sue.

carrie12 wrote:

Another interview will air tonight: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], did anyone watch this CSpan interview yet? I forgot to DVR it, and had to set up a reminder through the web link to tell me when it's on again.

It got converted to youtube already: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thoughtbox i believe you asked if sue goes into detail about her premonition when dylan was a baby. Answer is yes. I dont have the book with me right now so i cant give direct quotes. She says [if i remember right] shortly after his birth as she held him, she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread. She says she had never experienced anything like it before. Like a bird of prey passing over. [this next part i do remember clearly] she was looking at him and felt this child would bring her great sorrow. The entire premonition part of her story really trips me out. Maybe someone can post that part of the book?? I would, but i dont know how...

rockiemontana wrote:

Thoughtbox i believe you asked if sue goes into detail about her premonition when dylan was a baby.  Answer is yes. I dont have the book with me right now so i cant give direct quotes. She says [if i remember right] shortly after his birth as she held him, she was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread. She says she had never experienced anything like it before. Like a bird of prey passing over. [this next part i do remember clearly] she was looking at him and felt this child would bring her great sorrow.   The entire premonition part of her story really trips me out. Maybe someone can post that part of the book?? I would, but i dont know how...

Here is the text from the book:
This comes from chapter 5
"Like every new mother, I was delighted to meet this brand new creature I already had such an intimate relationship with. The next morning, we finally got a minute alone, and I was thrilled to kiss his smooth cheeks and wonder at his tiny, perfect fingers and toes. But as I held him, I experienced a deep and unsettling sense of foreboding, strong enough to make me shiver. It was as if a bird of prey had passed overhead, casting us into shadow. Looking down at the perfect bundle in my arms, I was overcome by a strong premonition: this child would bring me a terrible sorrow.
I am not superstitious by nature, and this was a feeling I had never experienced before, and haven't since. I was so startled by it, I could hardly move. Was this a mother's intuition? Was my seemingly healthy baby sick? But everything checked out fine, and the hospital sent me home with my new little boy.
Two weeks later, Dylan vomited profusely after a feeding, and then after the next. Badly frightened, I took him to the emergency room. The doctors kept him two nights for observation, but found nothing. At the next follow-up visit I insisted upon later that week, three week old Dylan was pale, dehydrated and below his birth weight. By then the condition had developed enough to show on an X-ray, and Dylan was diagnosed with a pyloric stenosis, a narrowing at the base of the stomach. The dr sent us back to the hospital. The situation was so serious, Dylan might have died without immediate surgery.
After he pulled through that harrowing ordeal and turned into his sweet, plump, rosy cheeked baby self, I felt all the obvious relief and more besides, sure that this serious illness-disaster averted- was my premonition realized.
That childhood illness was also the last time, until his jr year of high school that I ever had real cause to worry about Dylan."

Thank you for posting that excerpt. It gives me chills every time i read it.

sue said eric is also a victim. so what do you think about this?

carrie12 wrote:

It got converted to youtube already: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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

em81 wrote:

sue said eric is also a victim. so what do you think about this?

It's Sue being Sue, and recognizing that Eric was also mentally ill as Dylan was.

Where, though, did Sue ever say this? I'm curious to know....

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

eric is also a victim of his brain illness like dylan.

I'm glad she recognizes that and the fact that she's been working so hard to understand the mental background not only of her son but generally of people who struggle with mental illness is beautiful. Although, I don't think her perception of Eric will ever stop irritating(?) me no matter how much love and sympathy I have for her. She seems to dismiss Dylan's homicidal thoughts. It looks like she'll always look at Eric as someone who just took advantage of her son's mental illness & was a leader and mastermind behind this whole event and had dragged her vulnerable and sad kid into his plan. At the end of the day - she's a mom, and I do understand that she might be the type of person who'd prefer a less painful lie than the horrific truth of what was actually going on in her beloved son's mind.

Considering how much blame she puts on him and that she buys the psychopath bs totally I'm not sure how much a victim she believes he is.Psychopaths are seen by most as basically inhuman.

Vii wrote:

I'm glad she recognizes that and the fact that she's been working so hard to understand the mental background not only of her son but generally of people who struggle with mental illness is beautiful. Although, I don't think her perception of Eric will ever stop irritating(?) me no matter how much love and sympathy I have for her. She seems to dismiss Dylan's homicidal thoughts. It looks like she'll always look at Eric as someone who just took advantage of her son's mental illness & was a leader and mastermind behind this whole event and had dragged her vulnerable and sad kid into his plan. At the end of the day - she's a mom, and I do understand that she might be the type of person who'd prefer a less painful lie than the horrific truth of what was actually going on in her beloved son's mind.

So in the long run, how is anything that she's doing (good intentions or not) making any difference at all when it's not based on the whole truth? Mother or not, she needs to fully accept what Dylan was. Dylan was not just some depressed kid who was forced into this. Dylan was thinking of murder for many years, even before he and Eric were close.

I don't believe that Dylan just agreed to this because he was depressed and suicidal anyway. Something else was there. Depressed and suicidal people don't just jump from being depressed and suicidal to wanting to kill hundreds of people. And anyone who has suffered from true suicidal depression will most likely tell you all they wanted was to hurt themselves. With Dylan, it goes way beyond just suicidal depression. And why his own Mother continues to overlook that, I have no idea. Sure, it may be easier to live in denial just to get through day to day life but when you're going public to talk about this, denial shouldn't even be an option anymore. It's now time to own up to what your son did, put just as much blame on him as Eric, not continue to make excuse after excuse. And no saying 'I am the Mother of a murderer' is NOT the same thing as admitting your son could have very well been the one who came up with this idea. That he indeed talked about it way before Eric ever did.

I know this is her son and that she loved him with all her being and that she still loves him with all her being, but her son was not just depressed. He was a cold blooded murderer. And I just feel like if Sue isn't going to start facing the truth and admitting the truth because it's just 'easier' to live your private life in denial, then this should have stayed private, don't let the entire world believe something false just because that's easier for you. She's read Dylan's journal, she knows Dylan talked about killing people before Eric even came into the equation, so WHY keep making out like this was Eric's idea?

"And I just feel like if Sue isn't going to start facing the truth and admitting the truth because it's just 'easier' to live your private life in denial, then this should have stayed private, don't let the entire world believe something false just because that's easier for you."


This is my whole objection to the book, my huge disappointment in it and why I feel the way about I do.
Millions will believe a false picture of the boys and events because his Mother said it.

Jenn wrote:

Vii wrote:

I'm glad she recognizes that and the fact that she's been working so hard to understand the mental background not only of her son but generally of people who struggle with mental illness is beautiful. Although, I don't think her perception of Eric will ever stop irritating(?) me no matter how much love and sympathy I have for her. She seems to dismiss Dylan's homicidal thoughts. It looks like she'll always look at Eric as someone who just took advantage of her son's mental illness & was a leader and mastermind behind this whole event and had dragged her vulnerable and sad kid into his plan. At the end of the day - she's a mom, and I do understand that she might be the type of person who'd prefer a less painful lie than the horrific truth of what was actually going on in her beloved son's mind.

So in the long run, how is anything that she's doing (good intentions or not) making any difference at all when it's not based on the whole truth? Mother or not, she needs to fully accept what Dylan was. Dylan was not just some depressed kid who was forced into this. Dylan was thinking of murder for many years, even before he and Eric were close.

I don't believe that Dylan just agreed to this because he was depressed and suicidal anyway. Something else was there. Depressed and suicidal people don't just jump from being depressed and suicidal to wanting to kill hundreds of people. And anyone who has suffered from true suicidal depression will most likely tell you all they wanted was to hurt themselves. With Dylan, it goes way beyond just suicidal depression. And why his own Mother continues to overlook that, I have no idea. Sure, it may be easier to live in denial just to get through day to day life but when you're going public to talk about this, denial shouldn't even be an option anymore. It's now time to own up to what your son did, put just as much blame on him as Eric, not continue to make excuse after excuse. And no saying 'I am the Mother of a murderer' is NOT the same thing as admitting your son could have very well been the one who came up with this idea. That he indeed talked about it way before Eric ever did.

I know this is her son and that she loved him with all her being and that she still loves him with all her being, but her son was not just depressed. He was a cold blooded murderer. And I just feel like if Sue isn't going to start facing the truth and admitting the truth because it's just 'easier' to live your private life in denial, then this should have stayed private, don't let the entire world believe something false just because that's easier for you. She's read Dylan's journal, she knows Dylan talked about killing people before Eric even came into the equation, so WHY keep making out like this was Eric's idea?

I totally agree. Unfortunately, a lot of this has to do with what the people she has talked to about the case who have analyzed the boys' mentality have told her. The majority of them base their "diagnosis" on their journals, and well.. they shouldn't. I do agree with her with the fact that the depression has played a huge role in this. I don't believe they would had done it if they - both, weren't depressed, misunderstood, and didn't hate themselves. BUT the homicidal part was just as big, and her son truly did desire to kill and die just as much as his friend (which she still hasn't processed). She still lives in denial, maybe because Dylan was so different around the house and overall acted like a good son. It just shows how manipulative and vicious he was.

Jenn wrote:

Vii wrote:

I'm glad she recognizes that and the fact that she's been working so hard to understand the mental background not only of her son but generally of people who struggle with mental illness is beautiful. Although, I don't think her perception of Eric will ever stop irritating(?) me no matter how much love and sympathy I have for her. She seems to dismiss Dylan's homicidal thoughts. It looks like she'll always look at Eric as someone who just took advantage of her son's mental illness & was a leader and mastermind behind this whole event and had dragged her vulnerable and sad kid into his plan. At the end of the day - she's a mom, and I do understand that she might be the type of person who'd prefer a less painful lie than the horrific truth of what was actually going on in her beloved son's mind.

So in the long run, how is anything that she's doing (good intentions or not) making any difference at all when it's not based on the whole truth? Mother or not, she needs to fully accept what Dylan was. Dylan was not just some depressed kid who was forced into this. Dylan was thinking of murder for many years, even before he and Eric were close.

I don't believe that Dylan just agreed to this because he was depressed and suicidal anyway. Something else was there. Depressed and suicidal people don't just jump from being depressed and suicidal to wanting to kill hundreds of people. And anyone who has suffered from true suicidal depression will most likely tell you all they wanted was to hurt themselves. With Dylan, it goes way beyond just suicidal depression. And why his own Mother continues to overlook that, I have no idea. Sure, it may be easier to live in denial just to get through day to day life but when you're going public to talk about this, denial shouldn't even be an option anymore. It's now time to own up to what your son did, put just as much blame on him as Eric, not continue to make excuse after excuse. And no saying 'I am the Mother of a murderer' is NOT the same thing as admitting your son could have very well been the one who ca Well,me up with this idea. That he indeed talked about it way before Eric ever did.

I know this is her son and that she loved him with all her being and that she still loves him with all her being, but her son was not just depressed. He was a cold blooded murderer. And I just feel like if Sue isn't going to start facing the truth and admitting the truth because it's just 'easier' to live your private life in denial, then this should have stayed private, don't let the entire world believe something false just because that's easier for you. She's read Dylan's journal, she knows Dylan talked about killing people before Eric even came into the equation, so WHY keep making out like this was Eric's idea?

Well, that was her son. She loved him and still does. She knows the Dylan before all the rage and madness came out which was when he was little. Those fucking bullies ruined him. I DESPISE those type of people!!!

New Sue Klebold Interview:

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

One of the things that bothered me most out of all of her interviews is in the interview on 20/20 with Diane Sawyer. She states she confronted Dylan about being so selfish, not doing chores, and reminded him that it was Mother's day and he forgot. During this confrontation with him, she stated she pushed him against the refrigerator. Dylan's response to her was "Mom please don't push me. I don't know how much I can control myself." She goes on to state it wasn't a scary thing. It was just his way of stating to back off. This should have been an eye opening moment for her. If he had so much rage that he might lash out at his own mother, she should have considered then the possibility of him lashing him out at others. This was a point when she should have asked for professional help, regardless of whether Dylan wanted it or not. If she had asked for professional help, maybe someone would have caught on to some signs that she was obviously missing. When this interview was recorded, it was 17 years later and she still could not acknowledge missing some of the most obvious signs that something was seriously wrong with her son.

Very sad interview, anyone who has been studying the case should get teary eyes listening to her talk. The gasp she makes is so powerful when she is asked what she misses about Dylan. Her response about missing Dylan means a lot to me, because for years people have given me grief for being interested in this case and being able to relate to them in some ways, and I hope that they hear this interview and that moment when she talks about him as a human and a person who she loves, then maybe they can finally see it from my point of view that he wasn't some demon from Hell and he was just a guy who had a lot of problems and has a mother that misses him.

Jenn wrote:

She's read Dylan's journal, she knows Dylan talked about killing people before Eric even came into the equation, so WHY keep making out like this was Eric's idea?

Hey thanks for the PM!

PS: just out of curiosity and because I didn't know about that before, but can you link me to a source for this? I thought they started planning this about 1 year before...

I wish Eric parents would speak out about how he was at home especially in the weeks or days before and just to understand Eric more. I'm glad Sue was strong enough to talk about Dylan, I can only imagine her impact must change at least one persons life.