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October 17, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 47
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School district leader to retire Arapahoe County Sheriff David Walcher talks Oct. 10 about the criminal investigation of the Dec. 13, 2013 shooting at Arapahoe High School that killed student Claire Davis, along with the shooter, Karl Pierson. Seated along the wall are, from left, District Attorney George Brauchler, Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Scott Murphy, and Claire’s parents, Michael and Desiree Davis. Photos by Christy Steadman
Shooter planned attack for weeks No criminal liability found on part of school district in Arapahoe High attack By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Karl Pierson set the date for his murderous rampage at Arapahoe High School eight weeks prior to carrying it out on Dec. 13, 2013. “It is a day of gore, filled with murder, suicide,” he wrote on Oct. 26 of that year. The words are in a computer diary uncovered by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the murder of Arapahoe student Claire Davis and the attempted murders of a student sitting near her and debate coach Tracy Murphy. Arapahoe County Sheriff Dave Walcher detailed the investigation during a press conference Oct. 10, saying it revealed no criminal liability on the part of the school district. The sheriff’s office released a 37page report that summarizes about 4,000 pages of supporting documents. But reporters pressured Walcher and Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Scott Murphy about whether more could have been done between September 2013, when Pierson was suspended for threatening the debate coach, and the day Pierson took his own life in the school library after mortally wounding Davis. According to the report, Tracy Murphy certainly had concerns after removing Pierson as the captain of a debate team
Micki Jacoby, the step-mother of former Arapahoe High School security guard Cameron Rust talks to members of the media following the conclusion of the Oct. 10 press conference at the Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office. Jacoby spoke about Rust’s experience and his desire to hear the truth come out.
FOR MORE INFORMATION To read the full investigative summary, visit www. arapahoegov.com/DocumentCenter/View/2257
on Sept. 3, 2013. “Tracy never had a kid look at him with the look of hatred that Karl did that day,” reads the report. “It was `haunting’ how Karl looked at him.” Later that day, Pierson was heard
screaming that he was going to kill Tracy Murphy. “A statement on its own isn’t necessarily a crime,” said Walcher, noting that kids say stuff like that all the time. “But how do we get to a point when we know that one or two or three kids down here are actually capable. That’s what we’ve got to figure out.” During his suspension, Pierson was evaluated by school psychologist Esther Shooter continues on Page 22
Scott Murphy has been with LPS for 24 years By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Scott Murphy announced on Oct. 9 that he’ll retire after the close of this school year. “I was looking at doing this earlier, but with all of the events of this year, I decided to wait,” he told the members of the LPS Board of Education during their regular meeting. Murphy’s retirement will be effective June 15, 2015. The announcement came on the evening before he was slated to stand with Arapahoe County Sheriff Dave Walcher and District Murphy Attorney George Brauchler to release the results of the investigation into the shooting at Arapahoe High School on Dec. 13 of last year. It was also the evening the board passed a resolution supporting Safe Schools Month following a discussion of actions taken since the shooting. The board has approved $810,000 for an in-house mental-health clinic and $200,000 for additional school resource officers. The Littleton Police Department has also secured a grant for an SRO dedicated to the Whitman/Options campus, which houses the district’s alternative schools. “We’re working with our partners to make safety our highest priority,” said Melissa Cooper, director of special education/student support services. Board President Lucie Stanish said the board will be working with a search firm to find Murphy’s replacement in time for the 2015-16 school year. “There’s a lot going on, but we’re LPS, so everything will be OK,” said boardmember Kelly Perez. Murphy served as the district’s chief financial officer and assistant superintendent for 16 years before taking the helm as superintendent in 2006. He began his career as a social worker in Boulder and Larimer counties in 1978.
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