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December 26, 2013 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 12, Issue 50 A publication of
lonetreevoice.net
‘Heaven has gained an angel’ Arapahoe High shooting victim Claire Davis dies By Chris Rotar
crotar@coloradocommunitymedia.com The list of items, each one dropped off as a gesture of hope and support, continued to grow. The flowers, the candles, the cards, the teddy bears, the balloons, the banners urging strength. Since Dec. 13, they piled up outside a fence at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. Claire Davis — and all of Arapahoe High — was tight within an extended community’s embrace. Nine days after Davis was shot in the head, one item, a yellow poster board, spelled out the heartbreaking conclusion of her fight for life.
“Heaven has gained an angel.” Davis had died the previous day, at 4:29 p.m. Dec. 21, at Littleton Adventist Hospital, her family by her side. The 17-year-old had been in critical condition since fellow Arapahoe High student Karl Pierson shot her at the school around 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13. A statement posted on the hospital’s Facebook page announced the news to the community and to those around the nation and world who spent more than a week praying for Davis to recover. The hospital’s message seemed to indicate that Davis was indeed “Warrior Strong” — a mantra built on the school’s nickname and the need to rebound from a nightmare — until the end. “Despite the best efforts of our physicians and nursing staff, and Claire’s fighting spirit, her injuries were too severe and Davis continues on Page 9
Claire Davis died Dec. 21 from the gunshot wound she sustained more than a week earlier. Courtesy photo
Ex-deputy coroner faces jail Carter Lord found guilty of embezzlement, forgery By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
Highlands Ranch High School student Alex Macre signs a banner Dec. 18 HRHS students planned to deliver to Arapahoe High School later that day. Photo by Jane Reuter
Students reach out to Arapahoe Douglas County connections to Centennial school prompt outpouring of compassion By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Arapahoe High School’s location across a county line and in another school district matters little to Douglas County School District staff and students. In the wake of the Dec. 13 shooting that has left two students dead, one of whom spent nine days in critical condition, members of DCSD reached out to the AHS community through more than a dozen compassionate acts. It started the Monday after the tragedy, when students throughout DCSD reported to school wearing AHS’ black-andgold colors. From there, students and staff launched a variety of projects. At Mountain Vista High School, students are making and collecting homemade wind chimes to hang in the trees around AHS. A ThunderRidge High School teacher helped design a “Colorado Strong” T-shirt whose sales so far have generated more than $44,000 in donations. At Highlands Ranch and Rock Canyon high schools, teenagers signed student-made banners with messages of support. Acres Green Elementary held a pajama-day fundraiser. And dozens
of DCSD schools started collections to help offset shooting victim Claire Davis’ medical costs. AHS, located mere minutes from many DCSD facilities, shares much more than a common boundary with the district. Hundreds of DCSD students previously shared classes and friendships with the shooter, Karl Pierson, and his sister Kirsten, Highlands Ranch residents who attended both Acres Green Elementary and Cresthill Middle School before enrolling in Littleton Public Schools’ AHS. Students and staff at Acres Green Elementary know Karl’s mother Barbara from her 2008-2010 stint working there as an educational assistant. Open enrollment means teenagers cross county lines to attend high schools in both school districts. And teachers who live in the two counties also have taught in the neighboring schools, further intertwining the lives of AHS and Douglas County students, parents and teachers. “This hit really close to home,” Highlands Ranch High School Principal Jerry Goings said. “I think everybody has been impacted by it one way or another — whether it’s a student that knew (Pierson) personally, or because it happened just down the road in our neighborhood. Because of the nature of the incident and the fact it involved a teacher, it really hit our teachers coming in on Monday morning, too.”
Rock Canyon High School students and staff share similar connections. “Our largest open enrollment group comes from Cresthill,” Principal Andy Abner said. “My wife’s a teacher at Arapahoe. We have a teacher here whose son goes to school there, and kids who show horses with Claire. It doesn’t always seem like a small world when something like this happens.” Focusing on finals helped, Goings said. So did finding ways to help. “There’s been a lot of support for the school,” he said. “That’s the cool thing.” There’s also been support from DCSD schools and staff. HRHS was among many local schools with mental health crisis teams available for students after the shooting. “Lots of teachers asked, `Do we need to talk about this?’” student Taylor Garner said. “Our orchestra teacher dedicated the entire class to talking about it.” On Dec. 19, the day before some AHS students were allowed back to pick up belongings, HRHS student senate members delivered their banner to the school. Bold, black letters encircled with the signatures of Highlands Ranch students offered support: “Stay strong, Warriors, Falcons have you under our wing.” “A lot of us have friends who go there,” HRHS student Emily Kohn said. “We just want to let them know we’re there for them.”
Former Douglas County Deputy Coroner Carter Lord has been found guilty of embezzlement and forgery, crimes he committed while serving the county. In October 2012, the criminal justice division of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against Lord accusing him of embezzling firearms from the Douglas County Coroner’s Office that had been collected as evidence. An ensuing investigation by the Colorado BuLord reau of Investigation uncovered the fact that three guns which had been taken as evidence by the coroner’s office following suicides investigated by the office had gone missing. “In four instances, the next of kin released the guns to the Douglas County Coroner’s Office, and those weapons should have been destroyed,” a news release from the Attorney General’s Office states. “Four guns were released to Lord for destruction; however, only one of the four guns was actually destroyed. “Lord resold one of the guns, and kept two of the others to sell at a store he owns called The Stock Shop, in Sedalia. Carter Lord filed falsified documents with the Douglas County Coroner’s Office showing that the guns had been destroyed.” Lord pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case was presented to a Douglas County jury on Dec. 17 and 18. The jury returned with guilty verdicts on one count of embezzlement and two counts of forgery on Dec. 19.
Lord continues on Page 7
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