:* Hi! Im not inclined to think that the authorities would censor the names of the dead victims in the boys writings. If Dylan wrote about Rachel Scott, why would they redact that? Wouldnt it count as evidence or, I dont know, a better understanding of motives? We know he wrote about Zack and Devon and others, but they survived the attack, so there would be an interest to protect their identity. Do you think the names of the dead were redacted just as well?

The only name not redacted is Eric’s name since he was directly involved in the massacre with Dylan. Everyone else was redacted both in their writings and also in the entire 11K.  Jeffco at least attempted to be consistent with redacting names but there are many mistakes that anyone can easily stumble upon where one paragraph has a name redacted, and literally in the very next sentence the name is unredacted in their oversight.  Zack and Devon’s names were redacted too but it’s obvious Dylan was referencing them based on the timeline of when those two started dating and the redactions are in a pairing. None of the actual victims that they killed would’ve been in their writings because the two weren’t familiar with anyone they killed nor were these people on their hit lists.  There’s a slight possibility that Rachel Scott was mentioned and redacted in Dylan’s writings but we don’t know for certain that Dylan had a crush on her. But again, only Eric’s name was unredacted as part of the crime and no other names mentioned so as to protect privacy. 

Hello, Miss E-C. I’m sort of embarrassed to ask this, but do you perhaps have any tips on starting a research-based blog, much like this one? I hope you’re well.

Hi 🙂  No need to be embarrassed at all. It’s a great question actually!  

I’d say the three most important things for a research-based blog are: 1) research, research, research and know the subject well 2) Don’t just reblog stuff but create your own original content using knowledge from your research – and 3) provide your sources whenever possible.  Hope that helps. 🙂 

What if Dylan was a dog?

Which he’s not..;) but if he was….

image
image
image

A wild Dyl-dog lops across the field, his paw-feet barely touching the ground. 

image

Dylan is a cross between a giant Borzoi with his prominent, long nose and a gangly Saluki with that messy fur-hair framing his head. You could almost picture his beloved Boston Redsox ball cap smooshed down a top it (4th photo down, on the right) with those super long legs and skinny physique.

Traits of these dog breeds match Dyl-dog’s personality perfectly. 🙂 

Borzois are known to be: Gentle, Independent and Quiet
Saluki’s are Reserved, Aloof, Quiet and Intelligent

how did eric and dylan obtain the money to buy the guns? i know some of it came from their blackjacks jobs and robyn bought some of their guns (how she got the money though, i don’t know) but how did they afford all the other equipment? surely their parents must have noticed if they’d stolen money? i’m beyond confused about this.

I know some of you may find this a little difficult to believe but those boys actually did earn their own money to fund their little secret operation. Eric was a long-term employee with Blackjack, and Dylan worked part time on two separate occasions at Blackjack. He then did a lot of odd jobs of ‘98 and finally landed his long-hours stint at the computer store for a few months – which likely earned him some better pay. The boys received their paycheck every two weeks. Eric was likely the more heavy financier of the two. Pre taxes, Eric roughly earned $380 – $400 with each check and Dylan, about $240-$280. They maybe earned a bit more depending on if they worked all weekend as well as weekdays after school. They set aside money towards their monthly car insurance (both parents made sure they were responsible for it (good parents!)) and they kept some for spending cash for movies, music and weekend fun. The rest was stockpiled for NBK.  Yes, it was tight for them but they did it all on their own.  

Robyn did not literally pay for their guns. The boys gave her the money they’d saved up in cash so that she could legally handle the transaction with the dealer because she was of the legal age of 18 and they were still minors. I’m not really sure what you mean by “equipment” because everything they used was pretty much amateur-homemade. They spent on hardware parts to construct their pipe bombs and crickets and propane bombs. They designed their shirts and had them created at a t-shirt shop at their local mall.  Eric already had a few pairs of BDU pants he wore regularly at school and both already had and wore combat boots they wore often They purchased accessories for their NBK “uniform” – their knives, the webbing, ammo pouches, Dylan’s black pants at the army supply store.  The day of the massacre,  E & D bought more propane tanks and the authorities actually found about $200 in cash that Eric had left over which was found(I seem to recall) in his bedroom.  They two were very self-sufficient and resourceful and spent over a year saving, preparing and planning all on their own. So, yes, they earned and spent all their own money for NBK and it was entirely feasible how they did so.  They never needed to steal from their parents and it’s doubtful they’d even consider it as a solution for being short on cash. Plus, it would’ve been too risky with potential consequences right on the heels of being in the diversion program. 

Does Dylan care about girls’ height because he’s too tall? Would he date a very short girl?

I think you probably meant this question in past-tense seeing as Dylan isn’t around ‘here’ anymore?  😉

Honestly, though, Dylan would’ve been simply happy to just have a girl in his life that loved, supported and cared for him.  Don’t get hung up on the notion that he’d have such mono-focused high standards about something as silly as height difference. He hardly could afford to be that nitpicky with girls as he wasn’t at all successful in the dating department. Given the fact that he was a tall dude even if he dated a girl of average height, she’d appear shorter to him by comparison. Most girls were looking up at him including Robyn and Devon (who was on the shorter side of his two female friends).

why do you think eric hated star wars fans so much? was it something the popular kids liked in the 90s?

Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace was just about to come out after absolutely no Star Wars movies since 1983.  Phantom Menace was slated to come out on May  19, ‘99, precisely one month after the Columbine Massacre.  So, you can imagine the hype that was surrounding this movie release. Classic SW and anticipated new SW was in the media and online. Everyone was jacked up and interested in Star Wars mania at the time – talking about it non-stop with high expectations – from the SW geeks(such as myself)  to the ‘popular kids’  to parents, everyone.  To put it into perspective for you, I think the hype was probably much bigger than for Episode 7.  Since Rebby was not into Star Wars at all (terrible, I know) and he was hearing everyone yammer on about it constantly, he was fed up and annoyed with those frickin’, nerdy ass, Star Wars fan geeks.

“YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? STAR WARS FANS!!! GET A FaaaaaaRIGIN LIFE YOU BORING GEEEEEKS!“

Honestly, Rebby, STF dude.  Onne could easily say the same thing about Doom Freaks. A-hem.

I guess you could say that it’s lucky he popped off before SW:PM came out. 😉

Hey EC :) Sorry for my irrelevant question.. But when we pass on, do you think we’re able to meet anyone we want in the after life? Like, people who are not just our family or our friends but other random people who’ve passed on? I know a few people who’ve passed, who don’t know about me but I’d love to meet them in the after life.

Hi and no problem. 🙂  I’d advise you to check out my FAQ under the Spirituality section for similar questions.

In your personal opinion, who do you think Dylan’s poem was about? I have a strong feeling it was about Marla, though obviously we’ll never have any confirmation.

I don’t feel so sure that it’s Marla anymore. Not that I ever really felt ‘strongly’ about her being her to begin with, mind you. it’s just that she just seemed the most likely, simply because there are so few known contenders where Dylan is concerned that knew Dylan and interacted with him.  But we know now according to Sue in her book that this girl didn’t even know Dylan, like, at all. 🙂 That this was just unrequited love and he was pining away for her from afar.  What makes it even harder to solve is that we know Dylan appeared to have crushes on a few different girls as evinced in his writings.  We don’t know if at the time that he wrote the poem that it’s about a girl which mutually knows him or a girl that had no clue he existed at all.

Author Tim Krabbé filled in Dylan’s acrostic poem using Marla’s first and last name which tends to make people think it’s a confirmed done deal. But no, that doesn’t solve the riddle either.  The thing about the acrostic poem is that it’s fairly interchangeable using the letters of any girl’s name with 10 letters – if you’re a bit creative to make it fit.  I’ll be posting a couple of examples of that soon. 🙂 

Do you think jeffco actually destroyed the evidence, or do you think that they’re just saying that because they don’t want people trying to release them/harass them about the tapes etc? Also whatvare your opinions on it? Love your blog btw ❤

This has been answered many, many, many times before.  Please use the E-C Search and type in ‘basement tapes’ or ‘columbine evidence’ to locate similar discussions.

Thank you!. ❤

Do you know what software they used to edit their videos? They seem poorly edited lol but i can understand why

Probably any of these: Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere,  or Corel Videostudio. This was a year before Windows Movie Maker came out. 

First, the boys would have to transfer the VHS video tape or Hi8 digital 8 mm format from a camcorder to their computer before editing – see here  See here, here and here.

Do you think the columbine massacre exhibit is still open? Because I would really like to see it up close.

The Columbine exhibit was a one time only event that took place Feb 24-26, 2004 and held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.  See here and here.

“Kelley says Sheriff Ted Mink approved the destruction of the tapes – along with shell casings, weapons, and other remaining Columbine evidence – in early 2011.”   See here.