He said Tech English professor Lucinda Roy's pleas for Cho to be treated will be compared to the medical records. She corresponded with Miller via e-mail. Hall said Cho's interactions with the center were not out of the ordinary.
"It appears his mental health visits and telephone triages were kind of ho-hum because there was no follow up," Hall said.
Hall said Cho's family must approve of the documents being made public, but is not sure if the contents are the most important development.
"The fact that they were missing probably says more than the contents," Hall said.
Questions are mounting among families of April 16 victims after Wednesday's discovery of Seung-Hui Cho's mental health records.
Michael Pohle, whose son Michael Pohle Jr. was killed in Norris Hall, said the aftermath of the shootings has been filled with questionable actions.
"It just reaffirms my belief that there has been a very concerted effort to keep this as quiet and unknown as possible," Pohle said.
Pohle said he would not have signed the settlement had the current wealth of information been available at that time.
"Never," Pohle said. "The only reason we signed was because the medical coverage for the survivors would not have been there if we had taken it to court."
Pohle said he still believes there are pieces of the puzzle that have not been revealed by investigators.
"It really has me concerned that there is a lot missing," Pohle said.
In the memo, the university said it is their "strong desire" that the records be made public.
A lawsuit filed by the families of Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde on the two year anniversary of the shootings alleged negligence on the part of Miller and Cook Counseling Center.
The Peterson and Pryde families did not sign the settlement.
The suit said the therapist that saw Cho on December 14, 2005 "made no threat assessment, made no diagnosis, offered no treatment, has lost her notes and claims to have no specific memory of this patient."
It continues on to say "The therapist made no such evaluations because Virginia Tech had not adopted any plan, program, policy, process or protocol requiring that such an evaluation be made of any student thought to pose a risk of harm to himself or others."
Former director Robert Miller is listed as a defendant in the suit, as he was supervising the center at the time of Cho's visit.
Suzanne Grimes, whose son Kevin Sterne was injured in Norris Hall, said the center had shown inconsistencies in its dealings with April 16 families.
In meetings with families in the aftermath of the shootings, scheduled under the guidelines of the legal settlement with most families, Grimes said current Director Chris Flynn said Cho's record was one of many lost.
In the next meeting, Grimes said he told the families only Cho's was lost.
The new developments are troubling to Grimes.
"It clearly show there's more information they're hiding," Grimes said.
Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin Goddard was injured in Norris Hall, said the records should have been found in the original investigation when Cook Counseling Center employees were questioned.
"My first gut reaction, of course, is, 'Why didn't they look there in the first place?','" Goddard said.
He said those who worked at the facility when Cho was treated should have also been investigated.
"I would have thought if you worked there at the time you would have been a person of interest, and would have been interviewed," Goddard said.
Pohle said he did not think Miller kept the records by accident.
"I find this unbelievable," Pohle said. "I do not believe that the former director, having those in his home, kind of shrugged his shoulders at the time when everybody was looking for them."
Miller had already left the center when the shootings occurred, but Goddard questioned why he still had the records.
"If you no longer work somewhere you surely return everything you have from there," Goddard said. "Including the stapler."
The records will not be made public until Cho's estate approves of the release.
Gov. Kaine said in a press conference the state will investigate the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the records.
Continue Reading: « Previous123
Leave a comment 48 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
Why would medical records ever be taken to an employee's home? Was this a common practice? Was it just Cho's records or others as well?
Reply to this Top
Wow, either the counseling center was run by a nitwit or he was hiding something. If it was just Cho's records he may face criminal charges...
Reply to this Top
The article reads like Tech wants to prioritize release of Cho's records over how Cho's file wound up in the home of Dr. Miller. Another cover up from the incompetent Kaine administration and of Tech pres Steger.
Reply to this Top
Now, how do we know those were not doctored by anyone while they were missing? Or are they really orginal record?
Reply to this Top
Did Dr. Miller Prescribe antidepresants to Cho. Did he hide the records to protect himself and the Pharma Industry. Was the good Dr. on Pharma's payroll?.. www.ssristories.com
Reply to this Top
This seems like a drastic cover up. There are many questions. Why did they records ever leave the center? What is contained in the records? When did they really "go missing"? Why were they not kept electronically like the medical records at the health center. I could go on, but this just has me livid.
Reply to this Top
This guy won't get charged with a crime, are you guys crazy!? He'll get promoted to Obama's cabinet! ooooh I went there
Reply to this Top
Okay so I will go with the cover up scandal. How the HELL do CONFIDENTIAL records even leave Cook Counseling Center? The guy was not even a treating therapist, so why did he even have access to private and confidential records? Having talked to a therapist at Cook I worry about the confidentiality of my records. I think everyone should. I don't think confidential means confidential to Virginia Tech. Let's see how long it takes for Steger to step down now! He needs to get out!
Reply to this Top
And really what will Steger do? He has seemed to be spineless in all of his efforts so far. He might do the "right" thing but there is an invisible hand behind him telling him what to do and what to say - he never has enthusiasm about anything other than football or anything else that makes money for his old boy system - and quite frankly I am sick of it!
Reply to this Top
Kinda seems like people have forgotten that one person killed all those people. The files and actions of the others related to it are miniscule in the big picture. One crazy person killed a lot of innocent people...time to stop blaming everyone else.
Reply to this Top
You seem to have no concept of the responsibility of leadership, when you say things like that. If you really believe that one man did all that, all by himself - who, may I remind you, was mentally handicapped - then you probably have never seen a good leader in your life. Think about it: they knew for over a year that Cho was a danger to others, yet they hid it. You don't agree that that would have changed "the big picture"?
Reply to this Top
If I were a student there, I would raise the roof and demand an investigation into the competancy of Cook Counseling Center personnel. Just exactly who are the clowns that run the place? I mean, goodness gracious, Dr Miller stole confidential records w/o any authorization nor permission. I wonder what else has he done behind the backs of personnel he's supposed to supervise.
Reply to this Top
And no mention of any of this on the VT website.
Reply to this Top
thank you for bringing attention to the fact that Virginia Tech has neither made a comment on this issue, nor can you find any information about this on their website. I wrote an email this morning to the person who decides what news goes up on the website and told him there should be some statement issued by the university. I encourage any and all other virginia tech students who are enraged about this issue to do so as well - as we are the voice of the VA Tech community and maybe if enough people demand a response it will happen. I am sick and tired of being deceived!
Reply to this Top
Saying he was insane is stating the obvious. You would have to be f'king insane by definition to murder one person, let alone 32. But I am not down with the scapegoating that is going on here. There is some merit to what Adam says- it was one person who did the shooting. Unless Cho walked into cook and said "I am going to kill people," there is not much they could have done. Given that this was the worst crime of its kind in US history, it's hard to make the assumption that if they had handled things differently they could have seen April 16 coming. Also, it is not a sure thing that this was a "cover up," since the records seem to have left the center long before the shooting, although that's being investigated. But it is certainly odd and at a minimum may suggest systemic poor management and lack of professionalism. Anything they did wrong should certainly be addressed, but acting like this was the cause or Steger was the cause or society or anything else was the cause of the shootings only adds to the continued negative impact of the tragedy.
Reply to this Top
"one crazy person killed all those people" your ignorance about the mentally ill only perpetuates more ignorance. Crazy might be the term used by someone who is uneducated, but mentally ill better describes what Cho was. He had been deemed mentally ill a year prior to the events of April 16th, and I would go as far to say, it probably happened a lot earlier in his life as well. Mentally illness is a serious topic that does not receive the attention it deserves.
Reply to this Top
I don't think anyone is trying to blame anyone in particular. The families of my friends who were shot and killed just want the truth. Which, no one can argue, Virginia Tech has covered up and delayed and changed and lied about for the past 2 years. All I am saying is that it's time for Virginia Tech officials to grow some balls and be honest. Steger does not think he did anything wrong. He said to the families of the victims and survivors, "I would not do anything different". When asked if, God forbid, something like April 16th were to happen again, would you do anything different? That is a huge mistake right there, but Steger hasn't and I doubt he will ever take responsibility for anything. I am not blaming Steger for Cho's ACTIONS, but he should have cancelled classes and notified students earlier about what was going on.
Reply to this Top
Crazy and mentally ill are basically the same thing, I just didnt use the politically correct term. Crazy is the group of mentally ill people that kill other people. Mentally ill is just a blanket term for a lot of things. I wouldn't classify people that see imaginary spiders with people that kill people (both of which are mental illness). The point is that people are looking for a controversy instead of taking the event for what it is. He had a mental history, but not one that said he would definitely kill people. Steger has had enormous balls. He is the only one that has said he stands by his actions. Why should he say he did something wrong if indeed he doesn't believe he did. Standing behind your actions is taking responsibility for them when you believe in what you've done.
Reply to this Top
I thought he should have shut down the campus too and communications were very poor on April 16, but that is a different question and maybe it only would have delayed what was going to happen anyway. Maybe it would not even have done that. I used to get super angry about this stuff too when it first happened but I've tried to come to terms over the last couple years. Getting upset at VT or at Cook for not being perfect is useless- being negligent is a different question, but I haven't seen any evidence of that yet. I'm afraid there is not much more of a story to be told. Steger or Miller could accept blame and step down, or even go to jail, but that wouldn't change anything.
Reply to this Top
"Crazy and mentally ill are basically the same thing" Adam - I disagree with that comment. They are NOT the same thing. I can be 'crazy' for the Baltimore Orioles or for the the most beautiful girl walking down the street. Crazy can also mean a person who does something risky just to get attention or goof off. It's the same thing as being "nuts" to do something stupid or risky. Mentally ill means the person is not dealing with reality in a proper way. Cho fits that description perfectfully. Cho was neither crazy or mentally ill. He was just plain evil.
Reply to this Top
Gosh I can be a lousy typist. I meant to delete the comment "Cho was neither crazy or mentally ill." It sounds like a contradiction.
Reply to this Top
A mentally ill person does not methodically plan his attack like Cho did. His plan took a lot of mental planning. A mentally ill person doesn't think like a normal person. Cho was not mentally ill. He just plain evil. Cho lost all sense of reality and allowed his mind to be taken over by the devil.
Reply to this Top
Mentally ill has various scales of intensity. Just because a person can methodically plan out an attack does not disregard the fact that other aspects of their brain do not function properly. Clearly you do not have any personal experience with mental illness otherwise you would know that Cho did, in fact, have a mental illness. I am sure if and when his records are released this fact will become apparent and you will be proven wrong yet again.
Reply to this Top
In short, Cho had a brain meltdown for sure.
Reply to this Top
The BIG QUESTION is still why would Dr. Miller even THINK of taking extremely PERSONAL and CONFIDENTIAL student files home in the first place?
Reply to this Top
Have any of you read the whole article or other sources? The records were found mixed in with other students. The doctor hadn't been to the ccc in over a year before 4-16. There were 3 instances of Cho communicating with the CCC, 2 were by phone and 1 was in person over a year before 4-16. Also, as a person who has (miserably) worked near huge collections of records, it's hard to keep every one in the right place, we are talking about 1000's of sheets of papers! Most people have trouble finding a single bill amongst
Reply to this Top
Hey we need a scapegoat, don't go reading the article in its entirety. And of course the argument devolves into the minutia of semantics. crazy vs ill and what does ill really mean? talking about michael jackson is more productive, let's get back to his story
Reply to this Top
I had a few sessions with Dr. Millers years ago when he was a psychologist at the Cook Counseling Center. I found him rather belligerent and hostile. He had no valid reason to take these files home with him.
Reply to this Top
There is no real reason for an employee of a psychiatric center to take ANY files with him when he leaves his position unless he has been doing his personal bill-paying from his office. "Files" are hard manilla card stock with bundles of papers within. It is pretty hard to mix up "files" with random stacks of "papers".
Reply to this Top
Even if he did take them home. Why would it take him over 2 years to realize he had them. When it all happened and they couldn't find the records, don't you think he would have been like "let me look to see if they are with the ones I brought home." It's all just a big cover up by the governor and the state to avoid the lawsuits- which he did avoid all but 3.
Reply to this Top
"The box was first opened, according to the statement, days ago in search of documents that may relate to the civil suit filed by the families of April 16 victims Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson. The statement said "Dr. Miller was very surprised to find that he had documents regarding Mr. Cho." " If Dr. Miller was so concerned about the lawsuit NOW then why did he WAIT 2 YEARS to look for Cho's file in the first place?
Reply to this Top
This is obviously a very sad and intentional coverup. Can you honestly sit here and tell the public that the doctor accidentally removed the records from Cook Counseling and just now accidentally stumbled across them? I agree with others, if this is common practice for employees to take home confidential records for students they are not even involved with for treatment, every student should strongly reconsider using Cook Counseling. There's no cause for him to have those records and nobody is going to believe he just accidentally happened to remove Cho's records when it would be potentially harmful to the University and himself if they were discovered back on April 16th. I hope Miller finds himself behind bars by the end of this at the very least.
Reply to this Top
It's great they are going to let everyone look the records over, except can you trust those are the full records since they were in hands illegally of one of the primary defendants in these lawsuits?
Reply to this Top
Nice to know your records could be evening out a wobbly table in some counselor's home.
Reply to this Top
Please know, as a Double Tech Alum and a Counselor, that this certainly isn't the way to handle client records. Yes, mental health is a very important topic, and one that needs to be taken seriously. Does the system need some work, yes. But I sincerely hope this doesn't prevent those who could benefit from mental health services from taking part in them. There are some really great counselors out there and we want to help those in need.
Reply to this Top
Ironically, "patient confidentiality" was blamed for the lack of communication between groups aware of Cho's past. BUT, Cook's confidentiality policies are so lacking that patient files can be easily removed from the facility. This smells like a cover-up of the worse kind. I'll bet those records are not "complete", either.
Reply to this Top
For all you people who are so angry and think this was a cover up, what do you think these records are going to show that would change anything we already know about the case? What do you think the university has to cover up? I am all about handling records in a professional manner but honestly I don't see how this changes anything.
Reply to this Top
It changes things because the families and public have a right to know what they say. You ask how this changes anything but if it didn't change anything would there be a cover-up in the first place and the records "lost"? We will probably never know what they said so it likely won't change much because anything that was seriously damaging could be missing.
Reply to this Top
Oh come on...the whole thing was a cover up. But, it's over now, it happened.
Reply to this Top
For personal reasons, I'd really like to know how long this guy worked for the counseling center (I have been unable to access his resume/vita on-line, and I wonder if the CT has it). I also want to say that I am *very* glad I didn't take the counseling center's offer for free counseling for VT employees after 4/16/07 if this is how confidential records are handled.
Reply to this Top
To sum it up.. Steger has to go. The entire administration wanted to brush this under the rug all along because they knew how crazy this lunatic was. Steger has to be held accountable for this terrible act.
Reply to this Top
I most definitely agree with you hokie01! Steger needs to be held responsible!!
Reply to this Top
I never said the families don't deserve to see the records. Not only do they deserve to, but they should be made available for study to hopefully prevent this kind of thing from happening again. If it turns out that he was obviously dangerous and this was a cover up, I will agree with all of you 100%. But I highly doubt that. Nothing is that obvious when you're dealing with people's mental conditions, and I don't think anything could have predicted with any certainty that Cho would become a murderer. At the very least, you should wait until there's some kind of evidence before you start demanding people lose their jobs and go to jail. The only thing that there is evidence of right now is that records were handled poorly, and the Cook counseling center is already in the process of correcting that per the CT news blog.
Reply to this Top
Yep...Go Hokies....Go Steger... And yet, Tech students stand behind this joke of a president..the representative of their institute of higher learning, and a terrible waste of their tuition dollars, seeing he brings home like 450k per year. Pathetic.
Reply to this Top
We could replace him with a talking hand puppet...for me to poop on!
Reply to this Top
Steven, I don't think ALL Tech students stand behind Steger. I am a student and I certainly believe he is such a joke and waste of 400k he makes per year. He is pathetic. The quicker he leaves, the better for the University.
Reply to this Top
MedeFile's centralized, confidential electronic portfolio gives you 24/7 access to your medical history. No more wasting time and filling out paperwork when you go to the doctor or the hospital. Your Medical records going Green. Alex Papas is donating $1 billion dollars in the medefilecard to companies, foundations, charities and churches to give to their customers, employees and their families.
http://medicalhealthblog.com
Medical Health Blog
Reply to this Top
Scientist Science,little conflict each pleasure minister steal vision award then equally introduce there rock fresh impact boat useful mouth protect environmental content attempt writer boat answer available different deliver partly provision investigate development base official yard you adult fact dead these standard say unfortunately ask northern opposition modern illustrate percent here tonight soft knee unless need vote sex lack rare ear energy existing record just road wide during no type identify fact then band somewhat though as walk acid black add field look seriously fee nothing continue capital
Reply to this Top