An attorney who represents The Covenant Children’s Trust, which claims it owns the copyright to the works of Covenant School attacker Audrey Elizabeth Hale, told
The Tennessee Star on Wednesday he could not comment on whether his client received any type of financial compensation from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), which
treated the killer over 22 years, from the time she was six until her death.
The Star contacted attorney
Ed Yarbrough, who works at the Spencer Fane firm and represented the Covenant Children’s Trust in the Tennessee lawsuit which sought to compel Metro Nashville to release Hale’s documents, to ask whether his client, the Covenant School or Covenant Presbyterian Church were approached by VUMC to discuss its potential civil liability over its treatment of Hale.
Police documents, obtained by
The Star, reveal Hale was sent to VUMC to be evaluated for potential
mental health commitment on at least two occasions. Documents also show Hale expressed both suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation
while at VUMC, including thoughts of killing her father and committing a school shooting, prior to
killing six at the Covenant School on March 27, 2023.
A source familiar with the investigation additionally told
The Star that Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Chief John Drake
privately acknowledged VUMC failed its duty to warn Hale’s potential victims, though the MNPD
disputed this claim.
The Star additionally asked Yarbrough (pictured above) whether VUMC made any financial payments or other form of settlement with the Covenant Children’s Trust or if it was aware of any arrangements between VUMC and the Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, or any family members of Hale’s victims.
Yarbrough told
The Star, “Not able to comment.”
The Star also contacted Brent Leatherwood, the parent of a Covenant student who now serves as the trustee for the Covenant Children’s Trust, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
Additionally, representatives for VUMC, the Covenant School, and the Covenant Presbyterian Church did not respond to
The Star before publication.
Both
Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), which owns and operates
The Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy were plaintiffs in the
Tennessee lawsuit to compel the release of Hale’s writings, including those sometimes called a manifesto.
Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles
ruled on July 4 in favor of Metro Nashville,
citing the alleged copyright ownership of Hale’s materials by the Covenant Children’s Trust. Judge Myles was previously allowed to intervene in the case after Hale’s parents claimed they transferred the copyright ownership of Hale’s works to the entity.
Leahy
quickly confirmed he and
SNDM will “absolutely appeal” Myles’ decision.
While Hale’s parents claimed their daughter left no valid testamentary instrument at the time of her death when transferring ownership of the writings to the Covenant Children’s Trust, the killer’s suicide note, also
obtained by The Star, demanded her parents, “
PLEASE READ MY WILL” for instructions about handling her belongings.
Leahy and
SNDM remain plaintiffs in the active
federal lawsuit, which seeks to compel the FBI to release Hale’s full writings, and last month published a May 2023 FBI memo which “strongly” advised MNPD
against releasing any “legacy tokens” from killers like Hale.
According to an FBI definition published in 2018, the journal written by Hale that was obtained by
The Star and the documents sought in the lawsuits are likely considered unfit for public release by the federal agency.
While the FBI
declined to confirm it sent the memo in a statement to
The Star, it confirmed it sends such “products” to local law enforcement.
Since it obtained approximately
80 pages of Hale’s writings and a portion of police documents,
The Star has published
more than 60 articles that include the killer’s own words or provide new details about the Covenant investigation.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “Ed Yarbrough” by Spencer Fane. Background Photo “Vanderbilt University Medical Center” by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
