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Can a mass murderer’s estate assert a posthumous copyright claim on the killer’s handwritten confession?
A Nashville judge is expected to weigh that question today as part of a public records lawsuit against the city and its police department seeking the release of Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto in connection with the Covenant Christian School massacre.
When Hale died, his parents transferred his estate to the families of his victims. The families have intervened in the public records lawsuit against the city, arguing that the estate includes the killer’s manifesto and that they therefore own the copyright.
In that line of reasoning they also ask the judge to block its public disclosure.
“You can’t just assume that there is a copyright interest in any particular writing,” argued Doug Pierce, attorney for plaintiffs Clata Renee Brewer and the National Police Association. “The only way to get copyright protection established is if they had to show the documents in federal court; in other words, they would have to let the cat out of the bag.”
JUDGE ORDERS FBI TO HANDOVER TRANS SCHOOL SHOOTER AUDREY HALE’S MANIFEST
Hale, a 28-year-old transgender artist who police said was identified as a man named Aiden, shot her way into the Christian elementary school on the morning of March 27, 2023, and was seen prowling the hallways carrying firearms in a surveillance video before officers responded. she killed her.
The attack claimed the lives of three adults and three children, identified as Mike Hill, 61, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and three 9-year-old children, Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.
Before the shooting, he texted a friend warning her that he was about to embark on a suicide mission and that “you’ll probably hear about me on the news after I die.”
NASHVILLE AUTHORITIES ‘AWARE’ OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SHOOTER’S ALLEGED LEAK OF MANIFEST
Shortly after the shooting, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said officers had recovered a manifesto and hand-drawn maps in the killer’s car.
Officials said they would be made public soon. A year later, both city police and the FBI continue to deny public records requests, saying the manifesto is exempt from disclosure because, if made public, it could harm a potential investigation.
Even if the judge sides with the plaintiffs, an appeal will likely be filed and the document will not be made public anytime soon.
“Every day the public is denied the right of access,” Pierce said.
NASHVILLE KILLER AUDREY HALE SLEEP WITH SCHOOL SHOOTING DIARIES UNDER HER BED, COURT DOCUMENTS REVEAL
Multiple lawsuits have asked courts to force the government to release the document, arguing that Hale was the only suspect and noting that she died at the scene when responding officers neutralized her on the second floor of the school.
“There’s obviously no pending investigation,” Pierce told Fox News Digital. “It’s been 13 months and they’ve always said the only person involved is the shooter who died at the scene.”
AUDREY HALE POLICE BODYCAMS LAUNCHED
In a separate federal lawsuit filed by the parent company of a local newspaper, a judge ordered the FBI to file the manifesto under seal so the court could review it while deciding whether the feds have a legal argument to validate the cloak of secrecy.
The manifesto is expected to reveal more about the killer’s motive and anger.
Several pages believed to come from the document were leaked in November. However, the lawsuits seek the full scope of Hale’s writings.
Critics have questioned the government’s motive behind the continued delays in his release.
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