This is news I have wanted to report for awhile now. I wanted to get it right, though, and then had to wait for the paperback publication of my book.
It's adapted from one part of the Afterword in expanded paperback edition (which will be in most bookstores by Monday).
The Afterword is mainly about "Forgiveness"--in quotes, because some of the people involved dislike the term: and how you label it is essential to how you deal with it.
Two families actually met both the Harrises and the Klebolds. I tell Linda Mauser's story in the Daily Beast piece, but Bob Curnow also met with both and had a completely different reaction.
Today: February 25, 2010 
Dave Cullen 
The Last Columbine Mysteryby Dave Cullen
As another school shooting rocks the Columbine area, Dave Cullen reveals the secret meeting Eric Harris’ parents had with his victims’ kin—offering a rare glimpse into how they viewed their son.
It’s been nearly eleven years since the Columbine tragedy rocked the nation, and the largest remaining questions center on the killers’ parents: Did they see it coming? Why do they think it happened? How did the tragedy affect them? Do they feel remorse? Have they expressed it to the victims?
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Comments
This is certainly newsworthy.
BTW, I plugged your book in my latest post.
One question: you say "Wayne and Kathy accepted that Eric was a psychopath. Where that came from, they didn’t know. But he fooled them, utterly." I'm not sure I understand--how could they accept that he was a psychopath but he also fooled him? Or do you mean, once this happened, they understood he had been a psychopath?
Joan: Thanks. Let me know what you think of the book.
Jeanette: I don't think the article is really a spoiler. I think you're safe. (Do others agree?)
Wow, thanks, Skeptic. I tried, but I was a little afraid.
Cranky, thanks for the shoutout.
Wendy: No, Dylan was not new to Columbine. He was very shy, and never fully adjusted to the larger school when he went to middle school or high school. He was very depressed. His relationship with Eric: I'm not sure I can sum that up in a few lines. You might have to check out the book for that. Or start with the book trailer, which is here:
http://davecullen.com/columbine.htm
No one, not even the parents of the perpetrators, could ever be sorry enough for what happened that it would make anyone feel better. It can't be done by someone else. It's all so sad and supremely unsatisfying but I understand the longing for some punctuation mark at the end that will mark the completion of the suffering and mystery of events like the shootings at Columbine.
I do admire how you tell this story so much. You make it hurt the least it can and that is a supremely admirable accomplishment.
So keep clicking, tweeting, posting about it to keep it there.
Thanks to everyone who has.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-24/the-last-columbine-mystery/
He's in most cities, two shows a day--early morning and noon.
I'll be on the noon-2pm show (times may vary in some cities).
He's got an affiliate map on his site where you can check:
http://www.mastalk.com/
As you must have concluded from Dave's piece, there was nothing that struck me as grossly inappropriate about the Harrises. Nor do I feel that they were badly intentioned people. There are many parents who know even less about what their kids are doing, and these kids do not get into serious trouble. I do find the preoccupation with Doom and the gun magazines troubling. Do I think they should have been more greatly involved? Yes, I do. As I said to my husband, sometimes just being an "ordinary" parent is not enough, especially in this day and age. I would certainly argue for more vigilance, although sometimes maybe that is not even enough.
Can't decide which would be most traumatic - to have one's child killed by a psychopath, or to have birthed and raised the psychopath. All parents, including the affectless Wayne (I'd be lifelong numb myself) are to be pitied...
Can't decide which would be most traumatic - to have one's child killed by a psychopath, or to have birthed and raised the psychopath. All parents, including the affectless Wayne (I'd be lifelong numb myself) are to be pitied...
Linda, it's so nice to see you here. Unfortunately, that means I'm delinquent in getting reaching you directly first. I apologize. Yesterday got away from me. And I'm still trying to pretend today has not started yet. (I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep knowing we started at 7:30 and they usually call early.) Then I came back to post about the show everywhere so people would get a chance to hear it.
I finally got some copies of the book yesterday afternoon, so I'm going to send one over.
This info of the Harris meeting is actually not the main focus of the Afterword, but The Daily Beast wants news, so they insisted on the newsy part. So we spent many hours this week adapting a chunk of the afterword for them.
In the end, I was fine with that. The news site can have the newsy part, and the book has the more reflective take on three victims' very different struggles with grief.