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CNN Live At Daybreak
Colorado Coroner Rejects Rohrbough Investigation Request
Aired January 18, 2002 - 05:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The parents of a student killed in the Columbine High School massacres have suffered a setback in their efforts to determine just who killed their son. A Colorado coroner has rejected their request for an investigation into Daniel Rohrbough's death.
CNN's David Mattingly explains the mystery surrounding this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold go on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School, killing 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
Among the dead, 15-year-old Daniel Rohrbough, shot three times outside the school, but by whom?
Now almost three years and thousands of pages of findings later, Danny's parents, Brian Rohrbough and Sue Petrone have come to a startling conclusion.
BRIAN ROHRBOUGH, DANIEL ROHRBOUGH'S FATHER: We have gotten the evidence that confirms what our worst suspicions were. And that is that Dan was shot by a police officer.
MATTINGLY: Court documents filed by the parents in December alleged the bullet that killed their son wasn't fired by Harris or Klebold, but by a member of the Denver SWAT team. And they accused Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone of distributing false information and concealing the truth behind the investigation.
ROHRBOUGH: You have a repeating pattern of the sheriff saying, you know, "we have evidence that proves our case," but, "No, you cannot see it."
MATTINGLY: The county's sheriff's office declined comment. Investigators recovered just one of the three bullets that entered Danny's body. That bullet reportedly consistent only with the weapon used by Eric Harris.
But the family named Denver SWAT team Sergeant Dan O'Shea as firing the bullet that killed their son. O'Shea was among officers crouched behind fire trucks that day recovering the wounded and providing cover for rescue workers under fire.
The family came to their conclusion after a sheriff's deputy and family friend, Lieutenant Jim Taylor, said he saw Danny gunned down.
SUE PETRONE, DANIEL ROHRBOUGH'S MOTHER: He saw him get shot. And that he was gone before he hit the ground. That there was nothing he could do for him.
MATTINGLY: Taylor's credibility, however, is in question. An internal investigation by the Arapahoe County sheriff revealed Taylor said he never saw Danny and never told the family he did.
Rohrbough's parents then went public with Taylor's story to them, caught on audio tape. And, last week, Taylor was fired for giving the family false information.
ROHRBOUGH: Jim was visibly shaken. There is really no doubt in my mind that he was telling me what he saw.
MATTINGLY: The official time line of the Columbine massacre determines Danny Rohrbough was among the first students shot by Harris and Klebold. According to his attorney, SWAT team Sergeant O'Shea didn't arrive on the scene until at least 20 minutes later. These are just some of the official findings that Rohrbough's parents continue to reject.
PETRONE: There are too many unanswered questions, and they are fighting too hard to answer the questions.
ROHRBOUGH: Don't fabricate evidence to say -- to fit the story you're telling. Just tell what the evidence tells. And I think that's all we need.
PETRONE: Yeah.
MATTINGLY: A lawsuit filed by Danny's parents against the sheriff and others was dismissed by a federal judge, along with suits by seven other families in November. They hope their new complaints, along with a list of 29 alleged discrepancies and false statements by law officials, will be enough to put the cases back in court.
CARL BLESCH, JEFFERSON COUNTY CORONER: There will be no coroner's inquest...
MATTINGLY: It wasn't enough, however, to convince the county coroner to hold an inquest. Thursday afternoon, he announced there was no need, at this time, to subpoena witnesses and ask more questions about the death of Danny Rohrbough.
BLESCH: As you know, because an inquest is confined to the manner and cause of death, at least some of the issues that have been raised in the Columbine tragedy cannot be reached by a coroner's inquest at all.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Rohrbough's parents say they will now pursue what has been their preferred course of action all along, a closed-door investigation conducted by the Colorado State Legislature.
David Mattingly, CNN, Golden, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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