Tag: Adam Lanza

The Office of the Child Advocate in Connecticut has released its report on Adam Lanza. It's 114 pages and available here. The Daily Mail has this recap. I just finished reading the report. Here are some quotes:

Autism Spectrum Disorder or other psychiatric problems neither caused nor led to his murderous acts.

As to what did cause Lanza's murderous rampage, the report does not have a definitive answer.

The New Yorker has an in-depth interview with Peter Lanza, the father of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza. It's remarkably candid.

Lanza, who hadn't seen Adam in two years because Adam refused to see him, says Adam was pure evil and he wishes he had never been born. He says he has no doubt that had Adam had the chance, he would have killed him too.

“It was crystal clear something was wrong,” Peter said. “The social awkwardness, the uncomfortable anxiety, unable to sleep, stress, unable to concentrate, having a hard time learning, the awkward walk, reduced eye contact. You could see the changes occurring.”

[More...]

The CT state police yesterday released 7,000 pages of reports and exhibits in its investigation of Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook shootings. His medical reports are not included (as opposed to a description of his treatment and recollections of some of his treatment providers made after the shootings). A lot of other material pertaining to the victims and interviews of witnesses is redacted. The reports don't reveal what caused him to go on the killing rampage, and unlike the media, the police don't speculate.

You can download the documents here.

The Hartford Courant is excerpting the just-released 911 tapes from the Sandy Hook school shooting. You can listen to them here.

Also at the Courant: A Chilling Window into Adam Lanza's World. Photos from his bedroom and computer room are here. An analysis of Adam's "chilling" book he called The Big Book of Granny, is here.

The summary report released by police last week is here. No motive has been found. While Lanza had mental health issues, those who knew and/or evaluated him saw no indications of violence.

Adam Lanza's remains were claimed by his father, Peter Lanza. A family spokesman says a private service was held over the weekend. There are no details as to where the remains were placed.

On December 20, 2012, Nancy Lanza's family in New Hampshire held a small service for her at her brother's home in Kingston, N.H. Kingston Police Chief Donald Briggs said she was cremated and would be buried at a later date.

Her obituary appeared in the Eagle Tribune and Union Leader on December 23. The family intends a public memorial for her next year. [More...]

Like everyone else, I have pondering what may have precipitated Adam Lanza's killing spree in Newtown. While most people assume he had a mental illness, we don't know that he did. (Asperger's is not a mental illness but a neurological disorder that is not associated with violent acts.) If he had a mental disorder, what might it have been? And which mental disorders, if any, are associated with higher risk of violence?

I haven't come to any conclusions, but after reading dozens or more articles in medical, psychiatric, and psychological journals, here are a few that at least increased my understanding of the topic and dispelled some myths: [More...]

A judge in Connecticut today extended the time period 5 search warrants executed on the Lanza's home and cars will remain sealed. There were three search warrants for the house and two for cars.

[One was] for the 2010 Honda Civic Adam Lanza drove to the school and [the other was] for Nancy Lanza's 2009 silver BMW, which was parked in the garage attached to the home.

Why keep the search warrants sealed if no one is under criminal investigation? [More...]

Jennifer Huettner was Adam Lanza's teacher for the 9th and 10th and 11th grades. He left without graduating to take college classes. He got his GED from the college.

She says he was home-schooled for the 7th and 8th grades. In the 9th grade, he returned to school and was in a portable classroom by himself. He had Asperger's.

“He didn’t want to be around people,” Jennifer explains. “Our goal was to get him back in the building.”

Adam’s mother Nancy would drop him off, then sit in the next room while Jennifer worked with him.“He was very OCD. He’d clean the desk with Purell,” Jennifer remembers.

He displayed no signs of violence. He never had a tantrum. He was not bullied. In the 10th grade he was in the main building. [More...]