THE
KILLER AT THURSTON HIGH (60:00)
(Rebroadcast
on PBS, May 2004)
[TV set in living room]
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN:
It has happened again, death by gunfire at another school in the
United States.
Eugene,
oregon.
it had
always been a quiet place...
...untouched...REMOTE.
then it
changed...
NEWS ANCHOR:
We begin tonight with a deadly shooting in an American high school.
PETER JENNINGS, ABC News:
This time the boy was 15. It was in the school cafeteria that he
went after his fellow students...
a boy
everyone knew became a killer...
PETER JENNINGS:
...and once again the violence unfolded in front of disbelieving
teenagers.
JUDY WOODRUFF:
At least one student is dead in Springfield, Oregon-
...blood shed at an
american school...
TOM BROKAW, NBC News
This is the latest in a
shocking series of shootings during the school term, killing-
and at home--
JUDY WOODRUFF
His name is Kipland Kinkel. He is 15 years old.
he had also killed
his parents.
JUDY WOODRUFF
The bodies of a man and a woman were found in Kinkel's home. They
had been shot to death.
Tonight--on
FRONTLINE: The Killer at Thurston High.
[FRONTLINE TITLE...]
KRISTIN KINKEL, Kip's Sister
It was about 7:00 A.M. in
Hawaii. I get a phone call from my friend, and she says, "I have some bad
news. There's been a shooting at Thurston."
RICHARD BUSHNELL, Kinkel Family Friend
I hear kids screaming
DON STONE, Thurston Football Coach
And I heard some "Pop, pop, pop, pop."
TONY McCOWN, Kip's Friend
This mom was yelling, "He's got a gun! Get out of here!"
DON STONE
I could smell blood, and looked and saw blood spurting out of legs-
KRISTIN KINKEL
She's watching the news, so she's giving me little bits of
information. Finally I said, "Is that why you're calling me? Is Kip
hurt?" She said, "Well, Kip was involved. I don't know any more. I'm
watching the news right now. I'll call you back." Click.
NEWS REPORTER
Before Kip came to school, he killed his parents-
KRISTIN KINKEL
And finally, I was speaking to a member of the sheriff's department.
"Is it true?" I said, "Are my parents dead?" And she said,
"Yes, they are."
And I turned the T.V. on, and there was my house, the helicopters
flying all over the place, and yellow tape. Then of course, the phone started
ringing as people started finding out.
[Still picture of Kip Kinkel, push in]
THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW KIP KINKEL, STILL
SPEND TIME TRYING TO REMEMBER HIS LIFE...
LOOKING FOR SIGNS, THEY SEE NOTHING REMARKABLE...
BUT THERE WERE ...EPISODES...MOMENTS...FRAGMENTS...
[Sound up of helicopter]
THE STORY BEGINS 15 YEARS EARLIER...DEEP IN THESE WOODS JUST
OUTSIDE EUGENE OREGON...
RICHARD BUSHNELL
They built the house out there, and they loved it out there because
it's a very natural setting. It was quiet. There's animals. So they just loved
the setting.
MARCIA BUSHNELL, Kinkel Family Friend
Even in the design of the house. It was this A-frame, kind of like
you'd see at a ski lodge or something like that. It was almost like going home
every night to a recreation haven, retreat.
[Picture of Bill and Faith Kinkel]
BILL AND FAITH KINKEL WERE DETERMINED TO LIVE THE GOOD LIFE
IN OREGON.
THEY STARTED A FAMILY...
AND NAMED THEIR FIRST CHILD KRISTIN...AND SIX YEARS LATER THEY
WOULD GIVE HER A BROTHER.
[Picture of baby Kip]
THEY CALLED KIPLAND "KIP" FOR SHORT...
[Schoolbus]
BILL AND FAITH WERE HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHERS...
FRIENDS SAY THEY EXPECTED THEIR CHILDREN WOULD EXCELL...
AND KIP'S SISTER KRISTIN DID...
BUT IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY WHEN KIP STARTED SCHOOL...HIS
PROBLEMS WERE BAD ENOUGH THAT BILL AND FAITH RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO HOLD HIM
BACK IN FIRST GRADE...
MARCIA BUSHNELL
That was really tough because then, all of a sudden, here are all of
his friends going on, and he's back.
KASEY GUIANEN
He was mad because his friends got to go on, and he didn't. So he
was kind of mad at his parents about that. He'd say something every now and
then. I think he thought that his friends would just, you know, think different
of him or something.
KRISTIN KINKEL
I remember he would get his 3's and his E's confused, and B's and
D's. And he'd always- when he'd write, he'd write them wrong. But it was really
frustrating for him, as it would be for anyone. And of course he felt bad about
himself because he didn't understand what was wrong with him and why everybody
else in his family was so good at it. Why couldn't he be good at it, too?
IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS DYSLEXIA...A LEARNING DISABLITY.
JANE BRODERICK, Faith's Friend
He would have cared that he was a disappointment. They were a very
successful couple- high expectations. I would think that you would want to not
disappoint them, to do the right thing.
BILL KINKEL:
[Kinkel family home video]
Look around. See what I'm doing? Kristin's busy driving.
MALE VOICE
Just don't ask her to turn around, please.
BILL KINKEL
No. No. She's waving. Everything looks under control up there.
FAMILY MOVIES SHOW 10
year old KIP'S EFFORTS TO KEEP UP...
KIP KINKEL
You gotta jump, Dad!
BILL KINKEL
I think you're right.
RICHARD BUSHNELL
It's kind of always you grow up with an awareness of a little bit of
inadequacy.
KIP KINKEL
Oh! Sorry!
BILL KINKEL
Kristin's going to show us some- some headstands, handstands. Look
at that! Can you believe that? Kip's doing a handstand. I think that Kip needs
some more work. But he's eager. He's eager.
KRISTIN KINKEL
Of course he felt compared. I know he felt compared. I'm sure it was
hard.
BILL KINKEL
See Kristin? Kristin continues to show her- show us her- her
gymnastics training and truly being experienced. Wow!
KRISTIN KINKEL
I'm sure teachers did. I'm sure friends of the family did. I'm sure
my parents did, in their own little way. But as far as letting him be aware of
it, they tried really hard not to because they know how important that is.
BILL KINKEL
How about, Kristin, some handsprings now?
KRISTIN KINKEL
Those were handsprings!
BILL KINKEL
What do you call it when you do it side by side, side handsprings?
KRISTIN KINKEL
Cartwheels?
BILL KINKEL
Cartwheels. That's what I'm trying to say.
KRISTIN KINKEL
These?
BILL KINKEL
Yeah. Do a bunch of those. Faster! Play like you're a windmill in an
80-degree or 80-
MALE VOICE
Oh, there she goes into the hedge!
FAITH KINKEL
[home video]
She has just
entered the car, adjusting the seatbelt.
AND THEN KRISTIN LEFT
FOR COLLEGE... KIP WAS LEFT BEHIND...
FAITH KINKEL
A kiss good-bye, and off she goes! Good-bye!
KRISTIN KINKEL
I saw myself a lot of times as a mediator between my parents and my
brother. My parents were getting older, and my parents were in their mid-50s.
There's a huge generation gap in between there. You know, one little thing that
he would do would be awful. And a lot of times I found myself saying,
"Settle down. Relax. Think about it. Think about the students that you
teach. What he did was not that bad."
And when I left, they didn't have that. I'm sure- I'm sure it was
harder.
WITHOUT KRISTIN AROUND AS A BUFFER, KIP AND HIS FATHER BILL
BEGAN TO HAVE CONFLICTS...
AND AT JUST THIS TIME...THERE WAS TROUBLE WITH SOME KIDS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL....
MARCIA BUSHNELL
I was saying, "Well, what's it like in middle school?" And
he said, "Well, you know, you could be getting a drink of water at the
water fountain, and somebody pushes your head into the water." And I said,
"I don't- that seems really awful." And he said- I said, "Did
that ever happen to you?" And he said, "Yes, but not anymore."
And I said, "Wow." And he says, "Well, I just don't get- I don't
go to the water fountain, or I look around and make sure there's nobody around
before I get a drink now." He said, "I've had to learn to- to kind of
be alert."
IN SELF DEFENSE KIP WAGED A
CAMPAIGN TO GET HIS PARENTS TO ENROLL HIM IN A KARATE CLASS...
DICK BUSHNELL
I think Kip was interested in some self-defense because he just
wasn't real happy with some things that some kids would say to him, and he
wanted to be able to have the confidence of being able to protect himself if he
needed to.
EVEN THOUGH BILL AND FAITH THOUGHT
KARATE WAS TOO VIOLENT... THEY
FINALLY GAVE IN TO KIP...
JANE BRODERICK
You're always, as a parent, hunting for things for them to feel good
about, and then he doesn't feel like he was a disappointment. I feel like
that's why Faith and Bill spent as much time hunting for things for him to do.
Karate was one of those things. Oftentimes, kids, with the difficulties that he
had- it tends to wear on them even more. "I'm not like all the other kids.
I'm not as good as they are. I have these problems, and I'm a disappointment to
my parents." And instead of having that be able to help them make some
positive changes, it tends to make them make negative choices.
KIP STARTED TO HANG WITH THE TOUGH GUYS...THE KIDS WHO RODE
THE SCHOOL BUS EVERYDAY...
TONY McCOWN, Kip's Friend
The skaters, smokers group. They definitely get in trouble. Like,
these guys have spent time in juvenile detention and been expelled from school,
like, every year since 6th grade and- just endless trouble.
AND THEN, AT THE LOCAL MALL, KIP AND HIS NEW FRIENDS GOT IN
TROUBLE....
TONY McCOWN
In about 8th grade, he was stealing CDs from, like, a local store.
They had, like, razor blades that they'd just, like, slice off the, like,
sensor. I've heard them say they had over 100 at times.
KIP WAS EVENTUALLY CAUGHT...HIS
PARENTS...UPSET... OFFERED KIP A DIVERSION...HE LOVED COMPUTERS...SO THEY DECIDED
TO LET HIM START SPENDING TIME ON
LINE...
BRYAN MABE, Kip's Friend
He could just go up there and do whatever he wanted. You know, a lot
of parents don't check on their kids when they're in their room. Because
they're in their room, they're safe.
THE POLICE LATER FOUND THE RECORDS
OF KIP'S INTERNET ACTIVITY...INCLUDING VISITS TO PORN SITES...
AS HE WEB SURFED, KIP OFTEN
LISTENED TO HIS FAVORITE MUSIC.
HE PRINTED AND FRAMED THE WORDS
FROM ONE OF HIS FAVORITES..."THE REFLECTING GOD" BY MARILYN MANSON...
[ON SCREEN: "NO
FORGIVENESS, NO SALVATION, NO FORGIVENESS, NO SALVATION, NO FORGIVENESS"]
AT THE SAME TIME, KIP DEVELOPED
ANOTHER INTEREST: HE BECAME
FASCINATED WITH EXPLOSIVES...
BRYAN MABE
I think that's when he started getting involved with the bombs in
his room, and his parents never really checked on him. He was at home, so they think
he's automatically safe, but he was, you know, doing some pretty bad stuff.
TONY McCOWN
Him and a bunch of guys got together and ordered some bomb-making
books or bomb-making materials.
THEY USED THE
SCHOOL'S COMPUTER...AND HAD THE MATERIALS SENT THERE...AND WHEN IT SHOWED UP, THEY
WERE CAUGHT...
DEBBIE CULLEN, Faith's Friend and Colleague
And they called Faith and Bill about it, and they had to go down
there. But that was real upsetting to her. And Kip said that he felt like it
would be good to know because he was interested in becoming a policeman. And so
I think she probably felt that was maybe true, but probably not.
IN TIME
KIP GOT THE BOOKS HE WANTED AND YEARS LATER THE POLICE FOUND THEM WHEN THEY
SEARCHED HIS ROOM...
KRISTIN KINKEL
He and a group of friends had ordered a book about building bombs.
And in fact, I think he even did a report using that book, for school. Just
because you order a book doesn't mean that you're- oh, I don't know what to say
about that. I mean, I-
AND
KIP HAD ANOTHER INTEREST--GUNS.
BUT BILL
AND FAITH HAD MADE IT CLEAR THAT OWNING A GUN WAS NOT THE KINKEL WAY...
KRISTIN KINKEL
My parents were both really, really concerned about it. He had been
interested in guns from as far as I can remember, from a little, little boy.
And he was not allowed to have little soldiers. He was not allowed to have any
kind of toy that had any kind of violent anything. I mean, violence in our
house was a huge no-no.
BUT THE EVIDENCE
GATHERED BY THE POLICE tells a different story:
kip had asked his
parents for a bb gun.
the police found two...one fashioned to look like an
assault rifle...the other with its stock sawed off...
kip wanted a
knife. HIS PARENTS GAVE HIM ONE
eventually he would
gather an entire collection.
then kip wanted a real
gun.
Bill asked a friend
what to do...
DENNY SPERRY, Bill's Friend
He did come to me because he knew that I was raised around guns. He
said he was really concerned. And he had such an obsession with guns that they
thought maybe it was the best thing to go ahead. And I remember telling him, I
said, "Hey, if you don't buy him a gun, it's going to be like forbidden
fruit." He said "You know, that's exactly what Faith and I were
talking about, because it's come to that point. And as much as we don't want
to, we're at our wits' end."
bill had been given a
rifle as a boy...on his 12th birthday...kip received it from his father
and mother...
JANE BRODERICK, Faith's Friend
He had worn them down. And she didn't like the idea. She wasn't
comfortable with it. You know, if she talked to people that also felt that way-
"And yet what do I do? What do I do? We've been saying no, no, no, no.
It's not gotten any better. It just seems to be getting worse. We're fighting
more about it. What else do I do?"
then...more trouble.
on a school field trip kip and one of
the TOUGH GUyS were arrested...
TONY McCOWN, Kip's Friend
They were tossing pebbles off an overpass. I don't think they were
really directed at the cars. If they hit them, yeah, but if they- they were
just kind of tossing them. And one of them picked up, like, a fairly
decent-sized rock and tossed it over.
a passing car was
hit. it was kip's first felony.
his parents picked
him up from jail...
ARRESTING OFFICER
Mr. Kinkel was angry at the situation. He was angry at the problems
that they were having with Kip, and he was, like, at the end of his rope,
trying to figure out how to get this kid back on the right path.
DICK BUSHNELL
At that time, Bill must have been frustrated. I didn't ever see Bill
angry very much, but I'm sure he must have been frustrated. And it's kind of,
like, "How much farther is this going to have to go on?" It's kind
of, like, "At what point is Kip going to turn the corner and we're not
going to have to go bail him out anymore?"
So I mean, Bill and Faith had pride. They were highly, highly
respected people, highly intelligent people, and it's one of those things where
they had to wear whatever Kip did, too, in the eyes of their friends. And there
may have been some shame for them.
DEBBIE CULLEN
I think Bill would be maybe a little impatient with the messier
parts of life, and to understand Kip would have been difficult. I don't think
he was as complex, emotionally, as Kip was. Or Faith. Faith would be much more
willing to search out education or solutions of any type that would help, you
know, any sort of counseling, or visit any doctor that might be able to help.
faith began lobbying
to take kip to a psychologist.
bill RESISTED, SAYING
it would cost too much...and probably wouldn't help...
KRISTIN KINKEL
My mom was the one who said, "This is what we need. We should
do this." My dad wasn't too excited about it. I think he felt that
psychologists were kind of like chiropractors, in the sense that they may not
be as heavily needed as we think.
FINALLY, bill relented.
faith took kip to see
Dr. Jeffrey hicks.
she offered a list of
worries:
kip's temper...the
shoplifting...rock-throwing incident...explosives, knives and guns...
after meeting with
kip the doctor wrote:
"He became tearful
when discussing his relationship with his father. He reported his mother views
him as a 'good kid with some bad habits,' while his father sees him as 'a bad
kid with bad habits.' He feels his father expects the worst from him."
"He cannot discuss his feelings with his father for fear he
will become angry with him."
THEN KIP TOLD THE DOCTOR HOW HE RELIEVED HIS ANGER:
"Kip reported he makes explosives from gasoline and other
household items and detonates them at a nearby quarry to vent feelings of
anger. If he has a bad day at school, he feels better after detonating an
explosive."
SOON AFTER, ON
THAT BUS RIDE INTO SCHOOL...KIP'S ANGER SURFACED IN ANOTHER WAY...
TONY McCOWN, Kip's Friend
They were making fun of each other on the bus. They get off the bus,
and the kid called him a name, and Kip jump-kicked him in the head. And then he
was called down to the office.
And he came back, he shoves open the door and stomps through, and he
was really, really upset. He was yelling and screaming and crying - he wanted
the kid's address - and grabbed his stuff and left. And that's when he got
suspended.
he'd already been
caught cheating...and acting out in class...now the school suspended him...
IN THERAPY KIP WAS TELLING DR. HICKS "EATING IS A
CHORE...OFTEN HE FEELS BORED AND IRRITABLE....HE WAKES UP TIRED."
HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER...THE
KINKEL'S FAMILY DOCTOR PRESCRIBED PROZAC...
A FAMILY FRIEND SAID THE PSYCHOLOGIST ADVISED BILL KINKEL TO
LIGHTEN UP ON KIP.
BILL TRIED...HE'D EVEN TALK ABOUT GUNS WITH KIP...
AND SO, ACCORDING TO THE PSYCHOLOGIST, DID HE. ...DR. HICKS
WAS A GUN ENTHUSIAST...OWNED AT LEAST FOUR PISTOLS...TWO WERE HIGH-END GLOCKS...IN
THERAPY HE TOLD KIP HE WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH HIS GLOCKS...
KIP WANTED ONE.
DEBBIE CULLEN
The older he got and he got into more dangerous things, she
recognized they were into something they didn't really know how to deal with.
BILL--HOPING FOR A CONNECTION WITH HIS SON--SEEMED READY TO
GIVE HIM A GLOCK.
FAITH--TORN--WENT ALONG...
DEBBIE CULLEN
I think she felt, like, "I don't know what to do. Maybe Bill's
right." Even though she couldn't see it from her own point of view,
sometimes you feel, like, if you can't resolve a problem and you don't
understand somebody else's point of view, at least let them try, because that
might be a solution.
THE PSYCHOLOGIST HAS TOLD FRONTLINE HE WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND
A GUN TO A PATIENT LIKE KIP.
BUT KIP REALLY WANTED THE GLOCK--HE KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT
IT--SEMI-AUTOMATIC...10 ROUNDS...POLYMER PLASTIC--LAW ENFORCMENT'S FIRST CHOICE IN
THE DRUG WARS...
AND IN A SURPRISE MOVE BILL DECIDED TO BUY IT...
JANE BRODERICK
That's the only thinking I can come up with about the gun. I can see
a child like Kip just not letting up. Just like a dog with a rag, it just won't
let it go, you know? And I can see where they finally say, "Fine. Let's
try this. We'll go do the gun safety class. We'll do it together. You'll get it
out of your system, and then it will be okay."
BILL SET RULES: KIP HAD TO PAY OFF THE GUN...IT WOULD BE
LOCKED UP...KIP COULD ONLY FIRE THE GUN WHEN BILL WAS WITH HIM.
AND DURING THAT
SUMMER--AFTER NINE SESSIONS WITH THE PSYCHOLOGIST--KIP SEEMED BETTER.
THE THERAPY WAS OVER...
KRISTIN KINKEL
I remember my mom calling me and- very excited, telling me that Kip
was doing so much better. The psychologist even said, "You don't even have
to see me anymore, you're doing that much better."
HE'D TAKEN PROZAC FOR THREE MONTHS...THEN KIP WANTED TO
STOP...AND HIS PARENTS WENT ALONG...
IT WAS TIME TO ENTER THURSTON HIGH...
WHERE HIS FATHER HAD RETIRED AS A LEGEND...
AND NOW TRIED TO SMOOTH THE WAY FOR HIS SON...
DON STONE, Thurston Football Coach
I can remember Bill saying, "Stoney, I need some help with my
son. I'm a little concerned about him getting a good start at Thurston High
School. You got any advice?" And I said, "Well, Bill, why don't we
get him out for football? That might be a good place for him to establish a
good peer group, and I can guarantee you he'll go home and he'll be ready to go
to bed at night." And he said, "Great."
120 POUND KIP TURNED
OUT FOR FOOTBALL...THEY MADE HIM A LINEMAN...
BRYAN MABE, Kip's Friend
He was, like, second, third string so- and he was a pretty scrawny
guy, so he wanted to lift weights more, with the rest of the football players.
He just wanted to- told me that he just wanted to be big and, like, stuff like
that.
FOOTBALL ONLY SEEMED
TO MAKE KIP'S ISOLATION WORSE...
HE SOMETIMES WROTE
OUT RANDOM THOUGHTS...
"I sit here all
alone. I am always alone. I don't know who i am. I want to be something i can
never be. I try so hard every day. But in the end, i hate myself for what i've
become. I sound so pitiful. People would laugh at this if they read it."
but kip's mom faith
apparently didn't see her son's anguish...
JANE BRODERICK, Faith's Friend
I remember one comment, when she said, "I think we've turned
the corner," and I feel like she always felt that and believed it. And I
think you need to believe it. And maybe the comment was more of that desperate
hope, trying to convince herself. "We're turning a corner. We're going to
get better. Wish I could believe it."
by now bill had once
again given in to kip's lobbying for a gun--this time it was a .22 caliber ruger
semi-automatic rifle.
THE KINKLE HOUSE WAS
BECOMING AN ARSENAL...
the police would
later find IT:
the 9 millimeter
glock--from bill...
the semi-automatic
ruger rifle bill also bought...
a 20-gauge sawed-off
shotgun...
the marlin rifle bill
had as a young boy that he gave kip for his 12th birthday...
A LEVER ACTION RIFLE
BILL HAD AS A BOY AND HAD ONCE HIDDEN IN THE GARAGE...
A .22 CALIBRE RUEGER PISTOL
BILL HAD HAD FOR YEARS...
another secretly
acquired .22 calibre handgun....
and thousands of
rounds of ammunition.
Answer to an essay
question:
"I really
wouldn't know how to answer this question because my cold, black heart
has never and never will experience true love. I can tell you one about love.
It does more harm than good. I plan to live in a big, black hole. My firearms
will be the only things to fight my isolation. I would also like to point out
love is a horrible thing. It makes things kill and hate."
at this time...kip's
first teen romance had come to an end...
KASEY GUIANEN
She would- not reject him, but kind of lead him on, just be, like,
"Oh, I don't know," you know? Or she'd be, like, "Well, we can
just- we can be friends," but then- I don't know. So he was getting really
frustrated. You know, he didn't know what to do.
KIP'S ROMANCE BEGAN JUST WHEN HIS ENGLISH CLASS STARTED TO
STUDY ROMEO AND JULIET...
VANGE BIGHAM, English Teacher
I would not be surprised at Kip's love of the play, Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet.
Vange Bigham, a
friend of Faith's, teaches English at the other Springfield high school.
VANGE BIGHAM
I see that every year, the beginning of second semester. Sometimes
we like to think it's in conjunction with Valentine- the young lovers and all
of that.
Kip's class watched a
modern retelling of the story starring Leonardo Di Caprio
VANGE BIGHAM
If you think about it, all the issues that Kip was dealing with, his
love of- you know, this violent feelings, or whatever, the angst and tension
with his parents- at one point the father in there says, "My hand
itches," he wants to hit that kid so bad. It's- all of the things that Kip
would be dealing with are probably in that play. I bet he identified with a lot
of it.
THE POLICE LATER
FOUND LETTERS MENTIONING ROMEO AND JULIET PASSED BETWEEN KIP AND HIS
GIRLFRIEND...
VANGE
BIGHAM
The question that I will give my students is: "Whose fault is
it? Is it the kids? I mean, they committed suicide. Is it the friar? Is it the
prince, because he let this stuff go on? Is it the parents?"
Guess who they always blame? The parents.
"I feel like
everyone is against me, but no one ever makes fun of me, mainly because they
think I'm a psycho. There is one kid above all others that I want to kill. I
want nothing more than to put a hole in his head. The one reason I don't: hope
that tomorrow will be better. As soon as my hope is gone, people die."
BY THE END OF HIS FRESHMAN YEAR--MAY OF 1998--KIP AND HIS
FRIENDS WERE TALKING ABOUT A NEW PHENOMENON--SCHOOL SHOOTINGS...
IN SEPTEMBER--PEARLE CITY, MISSISSIPPI...
LATER THAT FALL--PADUCAH, KENTUCY...
IN THE SPRING, JONESBORO, ARKANSAS...
TONY McCOWN, Kip's Friend
He reacted to the other school shootings, their shortcomings,
almost- like, how they failed. He talked about how- not that he'd do it that
exact way, like, go to school and shoot people, but if he was going to go out,
he'd try to take as many people out with him. And also, if he was going to
shoot people, like, at a school, that he'd kill himself. And like, he couldn't
believe that the other kids didn't just shoot themselves instead of sitting
there and being arrested. So that's what he'd said.
AT HOME--THE TRUCE WITH HIS FATHER WAS OVER. KIP TOLD FRIENDS BILL WAS TRYING TO
TAKE AWAY HIS GUNS.
FAITH'S FRIENDS REMEMBER SHE ALWAYS LOOKED TIRED AND
WORRIED...
DEBBIE CULLEN, Faith's Friend and Colleague
I think the great fear was that she didn't know him, that she could
not understand him, and what was happening between them. Where was this little
boy that she loved all these years? I think that was the fear, that it would be
something maybe where they would lose him forever.
THEN...ONE MORNING AT THURSTON HIGH KIP BOUGHT A STOLEN .32
CALIBER BARETTA.
HE HID IT IN HIS LOCKER AND WENT TO CLASS...
BUT POLICE HAD BEEN TIPPED OFF THAT KIP KINKEL HAD PAID $110
FOR THE GUN...
BRYAN MABE
Kip and I were in study hall when the hall monitor came in and
grabbed Kip to go with him. I mean, he didn't do it in a violent way. He just-
"Come with me," and Kip got up and left.
Det. AL WARTHEN, Springfield Police Dept.
I patted him down for any weapons, and I noticed that Kip was
extremely nervous. And with that, complete surprise to me, he said, "Well,
I'm going to be square with you guys. The gun's in my locker."
And that's exactly where I found it, in a bag. I looked into the
bag. There was a black Baretta .32-caliber semiautomatic pistol. In checking
the weapon, I determined that is was fully loaded with eight rounds of
ammunition in the clip.
KIP WAS CERTAIN HE WOULD BE EXPELLED...
DON STONE
Within 10 minutes, we had a black-and-white out in front of my
window. I can remember distinctly seeing Kip in the cuffs and driving off.
AFTER KIP WAS booked
The police called Bill.
Det. AL WARTHEN
He seemed quite surprised, quite shocked that his son had been
arrested and brought to the police department. In fact, he says, "Kip? Kip
had a gun at school?" I said, "Yes," and then asked him if he
could come to the police department. And he says, "I'll be right
there."
KIP WAS CHARGED WITH
POSSESSION OF FIREARM IN A PUBLIC BUILDING AND THE FELONY CHARGE OF RECEIVING A
STOLEN WEAPON.
HE WAS RELEASED TO
HIS FATHER...
Det. AL WARTHEN
And with that, I asked him if he had any other questions, and he
said, " No, that'll be fine." He got up, he put his hand on Kip's
shoulder, and the two of them walked out and left the police department.
KASEY GUIANEN, Kip's Friend
I think getting expelled from school, that his parents would really
come down hard on him for that. That's a big thing.
JANE BRODERICK, Faith's Friend
I can see Bill just having gathered all those guns- "This is
gone. That'll be the last time you ever see this."
DENNY SPERRY, Bill's Friend
I can just imagine what happened. Bill laid the law down to him,
said "Okay, that's it." You know, "This is going to end right
here, one way or the other. He's either going to straighten up or he's going to
ship out."
THEN, According to police , WHILE BILL SAT at
the kitchen counter...
Kip CAME DOWN THE
STAIRS FROM HIS bedroom ARMEd WITH
THE RUGER RIFLE...
HE aimed at the back of his father's
head AND fired.
FAITH WAS STILL IN
TOWN. UNAWARE OF KIP'S EXPULSION AND ARREST...
KASEY GUIANEN
He was closer with his mom. I think
because he killed his dad, he couldn't go back. And he- I mean, how is he
supposed to tell Mom "I killed Dad?" You know, how would- I can't
even imagine how you would say that. And so I think from that point, from when
he pulled the trigger, it was- it was all over.
Around 6:00 o'clock,
Faith came home.
Kip told police that
as Faith was walking up the garage steps into the house, HE said, "I love
you, Mom," and fired.
Two shots struck the
back of Faith's head. A third pierced her forehead above the left eye. Kip
fired another into her left cheek and another at close range in the center of
his mother's forehead and another into her heart.
Alone-- his father's
body locked behind the bathroom door, his mother dead on the garage floor, Kip
Kinkel played a favorite CD.
hitting the
continuous repeat button on the CD player. It would play, the soundtrack from
thE movie he had watched in English class, Romeo and Juliet.
KASEY GUIANEN, Kip's Friend
The way I think of it, he'd already killed his parents, and I think
he didn't know what to do. Like, when he was little, when he got mad, he'd get
frustrated. And he gets himself in a corner and doesn't know where to go or- he
just doesn't think straight, and he just doesn't know what to do. And I think
he really wanted to kill himself, but didn't have the guts to. He didn't- he couldn't
do it. He's- I don't know. He's- he's like a little boy. He just couldn't do
it.
Kip loaded the Glock.
He filled a gym bag with extra ammo.
He taped two bullets to his chest and a
knife around his ankle. He left behind some home-made bombs and wrote this
note:
"I have just
killed my parents. I am a horrible son. I wish I had been aborted."
Then a new line to
this dark narrative Kip was creating, something he had never mentioned to his
psychologist. "My head just doesn't work right... these voices inside my
head."
And then he waited
for the dawn.
BRYAN MABE, Kip's Friend
He wanted to take out himself, and he wanted to take out his
schoolmates - some of them - just not to go out alone. Being alone was his weakness. He was always
worried about being alone all the time, isolated and stuff like that.
The next morning, Kip
dressed for school, HE put on A trenchcoat to hide the Ruger semi-automatic
rifle. He put on a hat with the logo from his favorite band, Nine Inch Nails.
And for the first and
only time in his life, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel drove alone in his parents' Ford
Explorer.
Kip arrived at
Thurston AT 7:45 A.M. He parked down the end of this road. It took nearly four
minutes to walk the road by the tennis courts. As he rounded this corner, the
school surveillance camera captured these shots of him.
The hallway was
nearly empty. As he walked along, he bumped into a friend.
BRYAN MABE
Adam didn't know it was Kip until Kip turned around and was, like,
"Okay, you need to get out of here, Adam. Something bad's going to
happen." And Adam was just, like, "What are you talking about?"
Kip was just- no expression on his face. And Adam goes, "What are you
going to do?" And that's when, you know, Kip just turned around, didn't
even look at Ben, and fired, not even caring or nothing, like he had no emotion
about anything.
911 OPERATOR
911. What is your emergency?
CALLER
This is Thurston High School. We have a gun on campus with someone
shooting. We need help right away.
Sixteen-year-old Ben
Walker was shot in the head.
911 OPERATOR
911. What is your emergency?
CALLER
I believe there's been a shooting. Kids are running everywhere.
911 OPERATOR
Do you know the juvenile's name at all?
Ten seconds later,
Kip reached the cafeteria. Shooting from the hip, he fired 48 shots from the
semi-automatic rifle. It took less than a minute. Kip hit 24 students. He
walked up to one of them, put the rifle to 17-year-old Mikael Nickolauson's
head and fired.
DON STONE, Thurston Football Coach
As I ran across the courtyard, one of our young men screamed at me,
"It's Kinkel!" And then I immediately ran through the cafeteria and
jumped over a couple of kids. The first thing that hit me was I could smell
blood. And looked, and quiet, but saw a lot of kids down, a lot of wounds,
blood spurting out of legs and those sorts of things, and felt fear because I
didn't realize that Kip was being tackled, off to the left.
Kip's rifle was out
of ammunition. He pulled the Glock from his belt just as he was rushed by a
group of students. Kip got off one shot. They beat him into submission as he
screamed, "Just kill me!"
The police hustled
Kip out of the cafeteria. In custody, he pulled the knife taped to his leg and
attacked a police officer shouting, "Just kill me! Just shoot me!"
The police headed for
the KINKEL RESIDENCE...
Det. SPENCE SLATER, Lane County Sheriff's Dept.
There was some concern as to the welfare of his parents. We could
tell upon approach that there's loud opera-type music playing. And it's very
loud, and it's to the point of being distracting.
And the house is completely dark. And we notice only one vehicle in
the driveway, and it's a Volkswagen van. And for all intents and purposes, it
appears that no one is home.
And the first open door we come to was in the front of the residence
on the main floor. It's best described as eerie. The music's coming from
somewhere on the right of the room. There's a fireplace on the left of the
room. There's the smell of wood smoke from an open fireplace. The room is cool,
and you can tell that it's probably heated with wood, so it's got a cabin-type
or- except that's its really- it's really kind of- it's eerie. It's dark. The
music's loud. There's bullets on the floor.
It's to the point where we are yelling over it. We're trying to
announce ourselves, that "We're the police. We're here. Whoever may be in
residence," and you have to yell to be heard over that music. It's a CD of
Romeo and Juliet, and it was set on continuous play, so it was playing when we
got there, and it had been playing over and over, apparently.
And you have some indication that Bill and Faith Kinkel are going to
be dead. I believe a paper clip from the office is used to unlock the bathroom
door on the main floor. And just inside that bathroom door, I see a gentleman
that's obviously deceased. He's laying on his back. He's covered with a sheet.
His feet are up against the door. We have to kind of move his feet away from
the door so we can get in there and check on him.
At this point, we're still missing one parent. And we're going
through systematically and checking doors, and it is found that a small door
just off the main hallway has a narrow flight of stairs that goes down. And we
go down in there, and there's evidence on the floor. There's a considerable amount
of blood on the floor. And on the basement floor, on the concrete, we find
Faith Kinkel. She's also deceased and covered by a sheet.
[police audiotape]
POLICE OFFICER
This will be a taped conversation with the last name of Kinkel,
K-i-n-k-e-l, first of Kipland, K-i-p-l-a-n-d.
Tell me what happens when you get home.
KIP KINKEL
[crying] I had no other choice! I couldn't-
POLICE OFFICER
You were feeling really guilty?
KIP KINKEL
Yeah.
POLICE OFFICER
Okay, so was your dad- did he hit you or anything like that?
KIP KINKEL
No.
POLICE OFFICER
Okay. Was he yelling or out of control or-
KIP KINKEL
I couldn't- I couldn't let- I had no other choice! God! [crying] I
had no other choice. He was saying all this- [crying]
POLICE OFFICER
Okay, he's mad at you because you got caught in school with the gun,
right?
KIP KINKEL
Right.
POLICE OFFICER
Okay.
KIP KINKEL
And I [unintelligible] all his friends and everything knew my
[unintelligible]
POLICE OFFICER
Okay, so he was feeling ashamed and embarrassed because you did
something wrong, is that right?
KIP KINKEL
Right. I didn't want to! I love my dad! That's why I had to-
[crying]
POLICE OFFICER
You love him, so that's why you had to kill him?
KIP KINKEL
Yes. [crying] Oh, my God! My parents were good people. I didn't know
what to do because- oh, my God! My mom was coming home, and if she knew what
I'd done, she'd- oh, my God! [crying]
POLICE OFFICER
Okay. So your mom comes home about 6:00, is that right.
KIP KINKEL
Yes. [crying]
POLICE OFFICER
And where are you at?
KIP KINKEL
I was waiting for her. [crying] I just want to die!
POLICE OFFICER
I know.
KIP KINKEL
Oh, God!
POLICE OFFICER
So you told me that your mom gets out of the Explorer and starts up
the stairs from the garage or basement, is that right?
KIP KINKEL
Yes.
POLICE OFFICER:
Do you say anything to her?
KIP KINKEL
Yes. I told her I loved her.
POLICE OFFICER
And then you shot her.
KIP KINKEL
Yes. (Goddamn) These voices
inside my head!
POLICE OFFICER
All right, settle down. It's all right. It's all right. Settle down.
Just settle down, okay? It's all right. Just settle down.
KIP KINKEL
[crying] I had no other choice.
POLICE OFFICER
Okay.
KIP KINKEL
I loved my mom! [crying] I just want to die! I didn't know what else
to do.
POLICE OFFICER
You didn't know what else to do? Why did you go to school and start
shooting people?
KIP KINKEL
I had to! I had no other choice! I couldn't do anything else!
[crying] I had to! I had to! I had to! I had to! I had to!
The voices Kip said
he was hearing might have been key to HIS defense in a trial. But in September
of 1999, he dropped his claim of insanity.
He pled guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, 26 counts of
attempted murder. Judge Jack Mattison sentenced him to a term of 111 years in
prison, with no chance for parole.
CREDITS
DIRECTED BY
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