True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

                                                             

(Photo cred: TopsiImages) 

I like to write about true crime cases that are not as well known or they took place during the 80s and 90s and some people may not remember or know about them. I remember reading a little bit about Rod Ferrell and the so-called vampire cults of Kentucky in the 1990's. I forgot all about Rod Ferrell until last week when I stumbled on an old documentary about his case on YouTube. 

I decided that I would cover the case on here. I have to warn you (as with other cases I've written about), there may be some details included in my post that may be distressing. I know with this case I will be mentioning things like animal cruelty and self harm which are upsetting. 

Let's begin...

Murray in Kentucky is often referred to as one of the friendliest small towns in America. Home to The Murray State University and The National Scouting Museum and part of the bible belt which runs across America's southern states. This part of the bible belt is known as ''The Buckle''. 

The residents of Murray often attend church and refrain from drinking alcohol. The town sounds like it's never seen any trouble but in the 1990's there was a disturbing trend known as ''Vampire Cults'' that seemed to be popping up around the town. People of the town started to notice some of the young people would be dressing in black, wearing white face paint and rumours around the town began to grow that these Goths were into satanic rituals, drinking blood, taking drugs etc.

In a small town like this, older or straight laced people would often panic if they saw someone all dressed in black and automatically assumed that the person must be a devil worshipper and up to evil deeds. I remember myself living in a small town and being a Goth with rumours around high school that I drank blood and worshipped the devil. I thought it was funny at the time and I actually enjoyed people being freaked out by my appearance but I wasn't a blood drinker or a devil worshipper. People's attitudes back then were a bit over the top when it came to Goths, for example, the West Memphis Three case, where the boys were wrongly convicted of murder (with one of the boys given a death sentence) all because the police and certain members of their town suspected them because of the way they dressed and the music they listened too. People who researched the case and knew they were innocent, campaigned for their release and they were finally let out of prison. 

A lot of the ''Cults'' in Murray were harmless, just groups of bored teenagers who liked playing vampire role plays, dressing in black, hanging out and listening to music. Some went a bit too far with drugs, alcohol and cutting their arms with razor blades so that members of their ''family'' could drink their blood. They called the drinking of the blood ''Embracing''. 

As I mentioned before, Murray was known for being a nice, quiet town with some interesting characters but nothing that really stood out until Rod Ferrell and his ''Vampire Clan'' drew unwanted attention to the town for all the wrong reasons. 

To say that Rod Ferrell had a difficult upbringing is an understatement. There was no proper father figure in his life and his mother seemed to go from one unsavoury character to another. His mother was obsessed with vampires and introduced the young Rod to her dark interests. She was involved with a group who were self proclaimed vampires but she claimed that she never got as far as drinking blood. 

Rod was born on the 28th of March, 1980 in Murray, Kentucky and later said to investigators that one of his earliest childhood memories was being raped when he was five years old during a satanic ritual. He said that his Grandfather was a member of a cult called The Black Mask. Rod said that they had chosen him as the Guardian Of The Black Mask and that the guardian had to become one with everyone in the cult so they molested him and then sacrificed a human in front of him. 

Rod met a boy called Jaden at high school when they were both 15 years old, they both had similar interests in music, style of dress and everything vampire related. Rod would wear a long black trench coat to school and Jaden would wear a long black cloak. Jaden was already the leader of a small group of Goths that he called his family. This group of teenagers would often play Vampire - The Masquerade (a tabletop role playing game) and drink each others blood.  

Rod and Jaden both left school at 16 and they both were unemployed with no career prospects or plans for the future. 

In January 1996, Jaden decided it was time for Rod to crossover (become a vampire by the act of drinking each others blood) and took him to a cemetery where they stood underneath a tree which was where all the previous initiations took place and Jaden considered it sacred. He said all of the chosen ones had been made by their sires. Jaden made a small cut to his arm and instructed Rod to do the same. They then drank each others blood and afterwards they meditated for a few hours before they left. Rod was now a vampire and fully fledged member of Jaden's family. Rod would later say that he saw Jaden as a father figure.

The rules of Jaden's family were that everyone must put the family before anything else and remain completely loyal. Rod said that he hated his life and fantasised about death, he felt like he belonged when he was with the group and he opened up to Jaden about a lot of things. 

As time went on, Jaden said that he began to worry about Rod and that he seemed to be going down a darker path. He would challenge Jaden in role plays and acted like he was the leader of the family. One day Rod and Jaden were taking a walk and Rod had found a kitten wandering about on the street. Rod picked up the kitten and killed it. Jaden said that he was shocked by this and he was already concerned with Rod's obsessive behaviour and drug taking that he began to distance himself from him. The pair ended up having a fight shortly after this and Jaden banished Rod from the family.

On the 30th of May 1996, Rod's mother claims that she came home to find him with an inverted cross carved into his chest. She also found him on another occassion drinking his girlfriend's blood. 

Rod later told the police that he was tired of being a ''Blood Doll'' and wanted to lead his own family. He managed to recruit some members which included Howard Scott Anderson (who would often be described as Rod's right hand man).

Rod began to believe that he was a 500 year old vampire called Vassago and felt that he was a fortune teller who had special powers. His bedroom was full of occult material which included The Satanic Bible, inverted crosses, hooks and broken glass. 

A few months after Rod had been banished from Jaden's family, Rod, Howard Scott Anderson and some other members broke into an animal shelter where they tortured animals and killed two puppies. The police said that they were using the blood from the puppies for some sort of satanic ritual to initiate new members. 

The police suspected Rod Ferrell and Howard Scott Anderson right away and they were being questioned over the incident. The police believed that the vampire clan that Rod and Howard had been connected to had at least 30 members, all of whom had to drink Rod's blood as part of the initiation (crossover) from human to vampire. 

Just six weeks after the animal shelter break-in, Rod decided that he was fed up of the police always getting on his back and suspecting him of being up to no good. He wanted to leave Murray and the members of his Vampire family felt the same way. Rod's family members included, Howard Scott Anderson (16, the same age as Rod), Dana Cooper (19) and Charity Keesee (16).

Rod wanted to go on a road trip and stop off at Florida to see some friends, including Janine, who was his ex girlfriend and according to Rod, her friend Heather wanted to come too so he told them beforehand over the phone to pack some stuff and be ready. 

Continued in part two...

 Please check out my other true crime posts:


- What Happened To Dominique Dunne? | Part One

- What Happened To Dominique Dunne? | Part Two

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part One: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part Two: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | Part Three: Eric & Dylan, The Myths, Columbiners And The Basement Tapes.

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part One 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Two 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Three 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part One 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part Two  

Keep up to date with my latest posts on: @CaledonianTweet & Bloglovin  

Check out my community page & promotional platform for bloggers on twitter: @TheBloggersPost

If you enjoy my content or I have helped promote/share your blog and you would like to say thanks, you can donate a coffee to me, if you like here!! 

For all enquiries and collaborations, please contact: caledoniankblog@yahoo.co.uk

(Continued from part one. As with part one, there may be some details in this post that may be distressing.)

Dominique must have felt that John had finally got the message this time because he moved out of their house and after 4 weeks of being away, she decided to get the locks changed and moved back in.

On the night of the 30th of October 1982, Dominique was in her house rehearsing a script for the V miniseries with her co-star David Packer. During the rehearsal she got a phonecall from her friend, in the middle of the conversation, John Thomas Sweeney instructed the operator to break into Dominique's conversation as it was an emergency.

Dominique's friend recalls Dominique saying ''Oh God, it's John, Let me get him off the phone'' and the line cut off. John Thomas Sweeney had just finished drinking two martinis at the Ma Maison bar and decided to walk to Dominique's house.

Dominique and David continued to rehearse when there was thumping and shouting coming from the front door. They realised it was John and Dominique told him to go away. John refused to leave unless she come out outside and talk to him for five minutes. Dominique probably thought that she'd be safe with David being in the house or maybe she was naive but she opened the door and went out to the porch to talk to him.

The conversation quickly escalated and John lunged towards Dominique, he grabbed her by the throat and dragged her from the porch, onto the driveway and into the next door neighbours driveway. The coroners report stated that he had strangled Dominique for 4 minutes and that she was brain-dead there at the scene of strangulation. John said that he tried to get Dominique to stand up and walk but she vomited and he said that he also vomited. He said that he ran back into the house, swallowed two bottles of pills and ran back outside and laid down beside her. At one point he says he reached into her mouth to pull her tongue out of her throat as he had learned to do that when his father was having epileptic fits.

No evidence was later found that John had swallowed two bottles of pills.

David told the police later that he heard them arguing and then there was the sound of choking. David panicked and rang the police. In a state of confusion he rang the wrong police number and they said that they couldn't come out because it wasn't in their jurisdiction. he then rang a friend and told them ''If If I'm found dead, John Sweeney did it.''

David ran out of the back of the house and walked towards the front driveway where he said that he saw John kneeling over Dominique. John told David to call the police (David Packer is often criticised for not coming to Dominique's aid that night, some people believe that he was terrified of John and can understand how he may have panicked, others think that he acted cowardly).

When the police arrived, John was said to have had his hands in the air shouting that he had killed his girlfriend. John was arrested and at first he was charged with attempted murder but when Dominique died, these charges were dropped and he was charged with first degree murder to which he pleaded not guilty.

Dominique was quickly rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. At various times her heart had stopped beating and she was placed on a life support machine. She was on the life support machine for about a week as doctors tried everything including inserting a bolt into her skull to release the pressure on her brain. Her family visited her in hospital and spoke of how shocked they were at all of the tubes that surrounded her. Her neck was swollen with bruises and her hair had been shaved off because of the bolt procedure.

The doctors did various scans and determined that there was no brain activity. Her family came to the painful decision that they had to let her go. They each said their goodbyes to her and her mother told the doctors that she wanted Dominique's organs to be donated. The doctor respected their wishes and two of her kidneys were donated to two people who were in the hospital at that time. The operations took place straight away. Her heart was sent to a hospital in San Francisco. The family all agreed that this is what Dominique would have wanted, to have had her organs donated to help save someone else's life, that was just the kind of person that she was.

As I mentioned before, due to Dominique sadly passing away, John Thomas Sweeney was now charged with first degree murder.

Dominique's funeral was packed full of people who all loved her, Carrie Fisher and George Clooney were amongst the mourners.

A few nights after the funeral, the episode of Hill Street Blues in which Dominique had played an abused teenage mother, was shown on TV. Both of her parents had watched it. Unknown to them at the time, the bruises on Dominique's face were not makeup, the bruises were real. She'd been assaulted by John the day before and had filming the next day, because of the role that she was playing, the makeup department decided just to leave the bruises as they were. 

The Trial:

John Thomas Sweeney's trial began in August 1983 and would go down in history as one of the most controversial trials. By the end of it, the judge would be voted the fourth worst judge in LA, there would be protests outside of the courthouse and public outrage that is still remembered to this day. 

Having read Dominick Dunne's article in Vanity Fair (published in 1984), it became apparent that the judge was more sympathetic towards John Thomas Sweeney than he was to the Dunne family. Dominick Dunne was advised by a friend to keep a journal of everything that happened in the trial. I was shocked as I had read that during the trial, important information about John's past, including testimony from John's ex girlfriend, Dominique's mother and her friends were kept from the jury and only revealed to them after the sentencing.

John's ex girlfriend testified that he had assaulted her 10 times during their two year relationship. She had been admitted to hospital twice for six days on one occasion and four on another. John had perforated her eardrum, broke her nose, threw rocks at her and she also suffered from a collapsed lung after one of his assaults. She spoke of his outbursts and how he would smash up everything in sight, pictures, furniture etc. 

During his ex girlfriend's testimony, John became enraged and suddenly jumped up from his chair and ran towards the judge's chambers. Armed guards managed to get a hold of him and placed him back in his seat, handcuffing his hands to the arms of the chair. John started to cry, he apologised to the court and the judge accepted his apology. 

During the trial, a letter which was written by Dominique and addressed to John was read out, it said ''The whole thing has made me realise how scared I am of you and I don't just mean physically. I'm afraid of the next time you are going to have another mood swing.''

John's court appointed attorney was especially vicious and seemed driven to protect John at all costs. He would try to paint Dominique in the worst light and John as an all American boy who made a mistake. He was quite vile towards Dominique's family and voiced his annoyance at Dominique's mother attending the trial because he said that people would see the wheelchair and that it would add more sympathy to the Dunne family and more anger towards his client.

John put on a bit of a show and took a bible into the courtroom with him everyday. On one occasion they adjourned for the day because John said that he needed to have a cry because other prisoners had been harassing him. 

When John took the stand he claimed that he and Dominique had reconciled and were planning marriage and children. He said that on the night of the 30th of October 1982, she had suddenly changed her mind. He said that he felt that she had been lying to him and leading him on to which point he lunged towards her. He said he had no memory of hurting Dominique. All he remembered was finding himself on top of her with his hands around her neck. He then talked about how he tried to get her to walk but she fell down and at some point she had vomited. He said that he ran back into the house and swallowed two bottles of pills and laid down beside her, he reached over to her at one point to pull her tongue out of her throat. 

John's attorney pleaded that John had not acted in malice, that what had happened was a crime of passion but Dominique's family argued that John had gone over to her house to try and change her mind and take him back, when he realised that she was serious about the relationship being over, he became enraged.

The police who arrested John that night, said that he appeared calm and collected. One commented that John said ''Man I blew it!, I killed her, I didn't think I choked her that hard but I don't know. I just kept on choking her. I just lost my temper and blew it again''. 

A medical examiner who carried out Dominique's autopsy said that she had been strangled for at least 4 minutes. Prosecutors dismissed what John's attorney had said about a crime of passion. They said that in the time it took John to strangle Dominique, he had plenty of time to regain control of his actions which may have saved her life.

On the 29th of August 1983, John's attorney pleaded that there was insufficient evidence to charge him with first degree murder because there was no evidence of premeditation or deliberation. Judge Katz granted the request and told jurors they could only consider manslaughter or second degree murder.

On the 26th of September 1983, the jury acquitted John Thomas Sweeney of second degree murder and found him guilty of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. He was also convicted of misdemeanour assault for the altercation with Dominique that occurred on the 26th of September 1982.

Dominique's family were outraged by the verdict and called it an injustice after judge Katz excused the jury and told them that justice had been served, Dominick Dunne shouted out ''Not for our family judge Katz.''. The Dunne family accused judge Katz of purposely withholding John's ex girlfriend's testimony from the jury which helped establish his violent history with women. 

On the 7th of November 1983, John Thomas Sweeney was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for Dominique's death plus an extra six months for the assault charge. 

Outside of the courtroom, there were protests from victim's rights groups and the general public were appalled.

At John's sentencing, judge Katz criticised the jury's decision of manslaughter saying that he felt that Dominique's case was a case of murder with malice. The jury's foreman later told the media that he and his fellow jurors were surprised by judge Katz criticism and called his comment a cheap shot. He felt that the judge's criticism didn't stem from their verdict but from the harsh criticism he had gotten after the verdict was given. He said that if the jury had heard all of the evidence they would have convicted John of murder. 

After the trial, John Thomas Sweeney was incarcerated at a prison in Susanville, California. A year after the trial he tried to commit suicide.

John Thomas Sweeney was released from prison in the month of September 1986 after spending just 3 years, 7 months and 27 days of his sentence. 

3 months after his release John was given a job as head chef at an upscale restaurant in Santa Monica, California. Dominique's mother and brother found out about this and began handing out leaflets to restaurant diners which said ''The food that you will eat tonight was cooked by the hands that killed Dominique Dunne.''

John eventually left the restaurant due to the protest and moved out of Los Angeles.

In the mid 1990s, Dominick Dunne was contacted by a doctor who said that he had read his article that he had written about the trial in 1984. He said that his daughter had become engaged to a man called John Sweeney who was a chef and he was wondering if this was the same guy that was involved in Dominique's death. 

It turned out to be the case and the engagement was called off. John Sweeney accused the Dunne family of harassing him and trying to ruin his life. He moved again and changed his name to John Patrick Maura and found a job as a chef.

Years later, Dominick admitted that he had hired a private investigator to follow John for a few years to keep tabs on what he was up to. He then decided to leave things be. 

Before her death in 1997 at just 64 years old, Dominique's mother Ellen had founded Justice For Homicide Victims after Dominique had died and was recognised for her advocacy work by President George H W Bush. 

Dominick passed away in 2009 at the age of 83. I remember watching an interview that Dominick had given years after Dominique's death and he said that the last thing that his daughter had said to him was ''I love you Daddy.'' He said that he was lucky because he saw so many families through his work as a crime writer who'd lost a loved one and never got the chance to tell them that they loved them.

Dominique was only 22 years old when she was murdered, just 19 days before her 23rd birthday. She was laid to rest in Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles just a few feet away from one of her mother's closest friends Natalie Wood and her Poltergeist co-star Heather O'Rourke (who later died in 1988). 

What happened to Dominique was horrendous, a beautiful and talented life cut short by a dangerous man who didn't get the full punishment that he deserved. In my opinion, John should be in prison for life. I feel so bad for her family, what they went through losing her and then the disrespect at the trial and finding out that their daughter's killer was soon back on the streets carrying on with his life as if nothing had happened. From everything I read about John Thomas Sweeney, this seems to be one of those cases of ''If I can't have you, nobody can.'' Dominique was a fantastic actress and her career was taking off, she should have been able to fully enjoy her life and make more movies, who knows where she would have been today. R.I.P Dominique, Ellen and Dominick x

 Please check out my other true crime posts:


- What Happened To Dominique Dunne? | Part One

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part One: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part Two: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | Part Three: Eric & Dylan, The Myths, Columbiners And The Basement Tapes.

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part One 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Two 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Three 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part One 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part Two  

Keep up to date with my latest posts on: @CaledonianTweet & Bloglovin  

Check out my community page & promotional platform for bloggers on twitter: @TheBloggersPost

If you enjoy my content or I have helped promote/share your blog and you would like to say thanks, you can donate a coffee to me, if you like here!! 

For all enquiries and collaborations, please contact: caledoniankblog@yahoo.co.uk

 Please check out my other true crime posts:

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part One: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | 20 Years Later | Part Two: 20th April 1999.

- Columbine High School Massacre | Part Three: Eric & Dylan, The Myths, Columbiners And The Basement Tapes.

- Columbine High School Massacre | Part Four: The Victims, The Aftermath And Final Thoughts

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part One 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Two 

- Kip Kinkel And The Thurston High School Shooting: Part Three 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part One 

- What Happened To Heather Elvis?: Part Two  

Keep up to date with my latest posts on: @CaledonianTweet & Bloglovin  

Check out my community page & promotional platform for bloggers on twitter: @TheBloggersPost

If you enjoy my content or I have helped promote/share your blog and you would like to say thanks, you can donate a coffee to me here!! & I will give you a special shoutout on twitter (I can also include your social media links if you like. Don't forget to leave me your twitter handle) 

For all enquiries and collaborations, please contact: caledoniankblog@yahoo.co.uk

(Continued from Part Three) 

After the school had been thoroughly searched for any remaining explosives which carried on into the next day (21st of April) the official number of victims was announced to the public, 13 of the victims and the bodies of Dylan and Eric had remained in the school for quite some time. At the time none of the victims had been formally identified. The authorities began removing the victims bodies out of the school that afternoon and into the evening, by 5pm the identities of all who were killed were being known.

When Eric and Dylan's bodies were removed that evening a blizzard that came out of nowhere started. The day up until that point had been warm and sunny.

On the 22nd of April officials announced that they found another propane bomb in the school's kitchen.

From the 22nd of April onwards, funerals for the victims began to take place. An official memorial was held in which 70,000 people attended.

On the 30th of April 1999. Officials at Jefferson County and the sheriff's office had a meeting to decide whether they should release that they had prior knowledge of Eric's hit list, pipebombs, threatening behaviour towards the Brown family and his websites. They chose to keep this information from the public and never spoke of it during their press conference or at any other time.

15 wooden (6' tall) crosses had been put up in tribute to the people who lost their lives at the school by a carpenter named Greg Zanis in Clement Park on Rebel Hill. There was a lot of controversy because of the two crosses that were in tribute to the killers. A father of one of the victims removed the 2 crosses which many deemed disrespectful.

On May the 22nd a student memorial was held at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the next day the students returned to school, they attended Chatfield High School in the afternoons whilst Columbine High School was closed to the public.

On the same day that some of the students had returned to school, a 22 year old man named Mark E Manes handed himself into the police and admitted that he had sold the TEC-DC9 to Eric and Dylan. Four months after the shooting, Mark was sentenced to 6 years in prison. He was released after 19 months to a halfway house. He was released in 2002 under electric monitor and denied parole 3 times.

May the 22nd was also the day that Lauren Townsend and Isaiah Shoels were due to graduate. Survivors Valeen Schnurr, Lisa Kruetz and Jeanna Park all received their diplomas.

On May the 27th the family of Isaiah Shoels filed a wrongful death suit against the Harris and Klebold family.

Students were allowed to return to Columbine High School on the 1st of June to collect any belongings they may have left behind during the shooting. The next day, Dylan Klebold's family sent letters to the families of all the victims.

On the 3rd of June renovations began on Columbine High School so that classes could resume in August. Most of the work was done by volunteers. The next day, Robyn Anderson, who was a friend of Dylans and attended prom with him, admitted to the police that she bought the two shotguns and the 9mm carbine from a Denver gun show in November 1998 which she gave to Eric and Dylan. Robyn claimed that she had no idea what the boys planned to do with the guns. No charges were brought against her.

Authorities announced that their investigations of the CCTV footage found that Eric and Dylan were the only ones who carried out the attack. There was no other people involved.

Charges were filed against 22 year old Philip Joseph Duran on the 17th of June for providing a handgun to Dylan and Eric. Philip worked with the boys at Blackjack pizza. Philip later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 4 and a half years in 2000. He was paroled after 3 and a half years.

On July the 20th, students and their families returned to Columbine to decorate memorial tiles.

Four months after the massacre, Columbine High School opened on the 16th of August. The building had been remodelled. 2000 students had turned up to the school and a line of parents and teachers (shielding the students from the media) stood along the sidewalk as the students walked into the building. There was a ''Take Back The School Rally'' before the classes began. After the rally, the American flag which had been at half mast since the shooting was raised and the school was officially announced open.

After the Columbine massacre various lawsuits were filed by the families of the victims against the school, the police and the gunmen's families.

The New Library & Cafeteria Remodelled: 

The school library was originally going to be kept the same but repainted with new furniture. The parents of the victims and local community were outraged by this and insisted that the library be demolished. Eventually the library was demolished, rebuilt with completely new furniture and facilities and was built to one side of Columbine's main building, thanks to hardwork and money raised by HOPE (an organisation formed by families of people who were injured or killed at Columbine).

The library was originally on the second floor above the cafeteria, work crews removed the floor in that section and replaced it with an airy atrium, sky lights and screen murals which completely changed the look of the cafeteria.

The Columbine Memorial:

The Columbine Memorial opened to the public on the 21st of September 2007. There is a Ring Of Healing which has messages on the inside wall to honour and remember those that lost their lives on the 20th of April 1999. You can find out more about the memorial here.

The Victims:

John Tomlin - John Robert Tomlin was born on the 16th of September 1982. He was a native of Wisconsin, his family and friends remember him being a person who had bags of energy and a warm smile.

John wasn't afraid of hard work, after being at school all day he would work at a local nursery. He was very sociable, always busy and was a member of a church youth group where he met his girlfriend of 7 months. John was a big fan of Chevrolet trucks and enjoyed spending time at church.

He had recently got his drivers licence and had bought an old Chevy truck that he'd been working and saving up for since he was 14.

John was just 16 years old when he was killed at Columbine. His truck which was still parked in the parking lot of the school, became a memorial with tributes and flowers left by friends, family and members of the public.

Witnesses say that John spent his lunch breaks in the library regularly and on the day of the shooting he welcomed a girl he didn't know into his hiding place. He held her hand to try and keep her calm.

John's father described him as the perfect son, always a hard worker and going that extra mile to help. He was the sort of person that if you asked him to wash a car, he would wash two cars.

The Thursday following the shootings, his family gathered around his truck (even though the rain was coming down hard) to pay tribute to him. His bible was still sitting on the dashboard where he always left it in the hope that someone would see something there that would bring them closer to God.

On the 23rd of April 1999, John was buried in his hometown of Waterford, Wisconsin in Saint Peter's cemetery. His funeral was held at Foothills Bible Church where he regularly attended.

John was buried in a satin-lined coffin which was embroidered with Chevy trucks.

Rachel Scott - Rachel Joy Scott was born on the 5th of August 1981 and was described by her family and friends as beautiful, kind, vibrant and straight forward. Rachel was a proud Christian and wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in.

She had dreams of becoming an actress and a writer. She played the lead in a student written school play and was in the middle of writing a play for her senior year.

Rachel was a spiritual person who often wrote to God in her diaries, she wrote about wanting to reach the unreached.

Rachel loved photography and was very active in the Celebration Christian Fellowship church. Her father said she was ''made for the camera''. Her mother also said ''There's nothing I can add or take away from what she gave us, in those 17 years, it was complete''.

She had always been close to her brother Craig (who had been in the library during the shooting and miraculously survived uninjured despite being next to his friends Isaiah Shoels and Matt Kechter who were shot and killed) and her family.

She quit smoking at the request of a friend who later took her to the prom. If she hadn't have quit, its quite possible she would have been at the Smokers Pit instead of the line of fire that day. Before she was killed, Rachel had been sitting on the grass outside eating lunch with her friend Richard.

Dylan Klebold had known Rachel since Kindergarten and he'd been the sound technician for the talent show she performed in.

Like John Tomlin, Rachel's car became a memorial in the parking lot, full of flowers and tributes. People would gather around her car (like people did with John's truck) and pay tribute to her.

In 1998 Rachel drew a collage of images that included a rose growing out of a Columbine (flower that the school was named after) with several dark drops spiralling it. On the morning of the shootings, she doodled a reprise of the picture that featured a pair of eyes crying, 13 teardrops onto the same rose (the same number of victims the shooters would kill that day).

Several books and movies have been made about Rachel. Some are based on the journals that she left behind. Her family often travel around the world talking to younger people whilst paying tribute to Rachel and sharing her life to help inspire others.

On the 24th of April 1999, Rachel's funeral took place and was broadcast live on CNN. At that point it had become the most watched event in CNN's history.

Rachel was buried at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in the Columbine Memorial Garden in Littleton, Colorado. Rachel's family and friends wrote messages on her coffin. She was just 17 when she was killed.

Kelly Fleming - Kelly Ann Fleming was born on the 6th of January 1983, her family had moved to Littleton from Phoenix, Arizona 18 months before the shooting. Her father Don said that they scoured the area looking for a good neighbourhood where their daughters would be safe.

Kelly was described as shy, creative and loved all things related to Halloween and Vampires. She was an aspiring songwriter and author who wrote many poems and short stories based on her own life experiences.

She had been in the middle of writing her own autobiography on her home computer, she started at the very beginning of her life when her mother's water broke and had gotten as far as her fifth year.

Kelly liked to go to the library at Columbine to work on her stories and poems. The stories that she wrote always had a happy ending. She often entered writing competitions too.

She was also learning to drive and wanted to get a job in a daycare centre. She was saving money up to buy one of her dream cars, she loved mustangs and corvettes. She longed to be able to drive so that she could take road trips to Phoenix and other places.

Kelly's funeral was held at St Frances Cabrini Catholic church, the same time as Daniel Mauser's on the 25th of April 1999.

Kelly was buried with two teddy bears in her arms. Her grave is located at Mount Olivet cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Kelly was just 16 when she was killed.

Daniel Mauser - Daniel Conner Mauser was born on the 25th of June 1983. He loved swimming and hiking and his father hoped in the summer of 1999 to take him on his first mountain hike.

He was a sophomore and excelled in Maths and Science. Daniel got straight 'A's on his last report card and volunteered at a hospital. His dad described him as a smart young man who wasn't afraid of challenges. Daniel was shy but that didn't stop him from joining the debate team and although he wasn't a natural athlete, he still joined the cross-country team.

Daniel was described by family and friends as a lovable person who wasn't afraid to hug his parents. He was a gentle soul who was close with his sister and loved things like pepperoni pizza, playing video games, The Simpsons and The X-Files. He also liked challenging things like trivia, puzzles and knowledge games.

He loved skiing and camping and had recently returned from a two week trip to Paris with the French club.

Daniel was preparing for confirmation in the Catholic church (he was confirmed two weeks after his death).

Daniel won the ''Stretch For Excellence'' award for being named top biology student of the sophomore class at Columbine High School, sadly he died before he could learn that he'd been selected for the honour.

He was also posthumously accepted for membership into The National Honor Society in September of 1999. He applied for membership weeks before the shootings.

Daniel was concerned about gun safety in America, his father Tom is an activist against the NRA and continues to campaign.

Not long after the shootings Daniel's family along with other parents of victims and survivors created the H.O.P.E organisation and worked together to have the new library at the school built.

Daniel's funeral took place on the 25th of April 1999 (the same time as Kelly Fleming's funeral) at St Frances Cabrini Catholic church. He is buried at Mount Olivet cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Daniel was just 15 when he was killed.

Cassie Bernall - Cassie Renee Bernall was born on the 6th of November 1981. Her parents nicknamed her ''Bunny Rabbit''. She loved rock climbing, her favourite movie was Braveheart and she had just recently visited Great Britain.

Cassie was a born again Christian who was very active in church youth programs and bible study groups.

During the initial reports of what happened at Columbine, there was a lot of confusion with some of the witnesses reporting that they had seen one of the shooters ask if she had believed in God to which she replied yes and was killed. No such conversation between Cassie and the shooters took place. Valeen Schnurr was the girl that was asked if she had believed in God.

Cassie's funeral took place on the 26th of April 1999. She was buried in a white coffin which was covered in messages and tributes from loved ones and friends.

She was buried in Golden Cemetery, Colorado. Cassie was only 17 when she was killed.

Dave Sanders - William Dave Sanders was born on the 22nd of October 1951 and was seen as a real hero the day of the Columbine Massacre. Dave was a computer and business teacher who also coached the girl's basketball and softball teams. He had worked at Columbine for 25 years and was popular with both colleagues and students.

Students at Columbine described Dave as a teacher, a friend, a mentor and an inspiration.

On the 20th of April when the gunmen started firing outside the school, Dave ran to the cafeteria and sounded the alarm. He along with two of the school's janitors, helped get more than 100 students out of the path of danger by herding them away from the shooters. He saved untold numbers of lives that day.

Dave posthumously received The Arthur Ashe Award For Courage. A scholarship and the Columbine softball field was also named after him.

Dave's daughter Angela said at his funeral ''What you did in that school on Tuesday was an amazing act of heroism, even after you were hurt you continued to be the brave, selfless man we all know you are''.

Dave was shot and hid in a classroom with some students who tried to administer first aid to him as they waited for help to arrive. A student in the classroom placed a sign in the window ''1 Bleeding To Death'' as an attempt to get help. Help didn't come till 3 hours later, Dave sadly passed away and his last words were said to be ''Tell my family I love them''.

Dave leaves behind his wife, four children, five grandchildren and an amazing legacy.

Dave's funeral took place on the 26th of April 1999 and he is buried in Littleton's Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. Dave was just 47 when he was killed.

Lauren Townsend - Lauren Dawn Townsend (nicknamed ''Lu Lu'') was born on the 17 of January 1981. She was a senior and a captain of the girl's varsity volleyball team which her mother coached.

Lauren was described as a talented sketch artist who was a straight 'A' student who never got a 'B'.

She was also a member of The National Honor Society and was a candidate for valedictorian of her graduating class.

She volunteered at a local animal shelter and planned to major in biology at Colorado State University when she graduated at Columbine.

Lauren was in the library with her friends during the shooting. like everyone else, she hid under the tables and found herself next to Valeen Schnurr, who was frightened. Lauren put her arm around Valeen and told her that everything was going to be ok.

Lauren would have graduated on the 22nd of May 1999.

Lauren's funeral took place on the 26th of April 1999 at Foothills Bible church. Many of her teachers spoke at her funeral, commenting on her gentle nature, loving spirit and academic excellence. She had a white coffin which family and friends left messages on and she was laid to rest in Littleton cemetery, Colorado.

Lauren was just 18 years old when she was killed.

Kyle Velasaquez - Kyle Albert Velasquez was born on the 5th of May 1982 and was described as a gentle giant who was shy, affectionate and sincere. He loved computers and had only been attending Columbine High School for 3 months.

Kyle had a suffered a stroke when he was a baby that left him mentally disabled and he had severe asthma.

He would regularly be at home for his lunch but in the past few weeks he felt confident to stay at the school for lunch. His family say that he was beginning to come out of his shell.

He enjoyed doing family activities and helping out around the house. Everyday he would kiss his mum on the cheek and tell her that he loved her.

Kyle suffered a lot of bullying growing up so he knew what it felt like to be the odd one out.

Kyle dreamt of joining the Navy like his dad or becoming a firefighter.

His last words to his mum were ''I love you mom''.

Kyle's funeral took place on the 27th of April 1999 and he was buried with military honors in Fort Logan National cemetery in Denver, Colorado since his father was a Navy veteran. His parents were given the flags from his coffin and the one that was flown at half mast in Kyle's honor at the state capital.

Kyle was only 16 when he was killed.

Matt Kechter - Matthew Joseph Kechter was born on the 19th of February 1983. Family and friends remember him as always upbeat, happy and never in a bad mood. Matt had an infectious laugh and the ability to cheer people up when they were feeling down.

Matt was a sophomore who was a member of the football team. He was a grade 'A' student who was always in the library and put academics first. He was always getting good grades in school but he never bragged about it and he planned to go to the University of Colorado in the future. 

''He was a wonderful role model for his younger brother'', his parents read out in a statement at his funeral. They said that Matt and his brother had a really close bond. ''In Matt's heart there was always enough room for everyone to be victorious'', his parents said. 

In September of 1999 Matt was posthumously accepted into The National Honor Society. 

Matt was buried in Mount Olivet cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Sadly a close friend of Matt's (Greg Barnes) committed suicide shortly following the first anniversary of the shootings at Columbine. 

Matt was only 16 years old when he was killed.

Isaiah Shoels - Isaiah Eamon Shoels was born on the 4th of August 1980. Isaiah was popular and well liked by fellow students and teachers at Columbine. On school projects all of the students wanted to work with Isaiah.

Isaiah was born with a heart defect but he was a fighter who overcame his disability and went onto play football and wrestle. He loved playing the keyboard. 

His friends nicknamed him ''Bushwick'', he dreamt of becoming a comedian and also a record producer like his father. 

Isaiah was due to graduate on the 22nd of May 1999 and had plans to attend The Denver Institute Of The Arts. 

He was the last of the Columbine victims to be buried. His funeral took place on the 29th of April 1999 and he was buried in Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. Martin Luther King III (son of Martin Luther King Jr) spoke at his funeral at the Heritage of Christian centre. 

Isaiah was only 18 years old when he was killed.

Daniel Rohrbough - Daniel Lee Rohrbough was born on the 2nd of March 1984 and loved playing computer games and electronics. He was looking forward to getting his driver's permit and people described him as a fun guy and a hard worker who helped out at his father's stereo business everyday after school. He also worked on his Grandfather's farm harvesting wheat as he had done since he was 3 years old.

Daniel's father (Brian) was the person who removed the two memorial crosses dedicated to Eric and Dylan. Brian said at the time ''I don't think any thinking person in this country is going to disagree with me, we never ever honor a murderer in the same place as the memorial for his victims''. 

Daniel laid for nearly 2 days on the sidewalk outside of the school before paramedics were allowed to move him. His family were kept in the dark about what had happened to their son. His family only found out what happened with Daniel when pictures of him were all over the newspapers. 

His funeral was held at the Grace Presbyterian church and he was buried in Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado.

Daniel was only 15 when he was killed.

Steve Curnow - Steven Robert Curnow was born on the 28th of August 1984 and was the youngest of the Columbine victims. He loved soccer and worked part time as a referee. He was very close with his parents and dreamt of becoming a navy top gun pilot.

His favourite colour was green because it was the colour of the field. His favourite classes were Spanish, technology and gym because he got to play sports.

Steve was a huge fan of Star Wars (after his death, Sci-Fi fans nationwide put together a go-to Star Wars memorial day in his honour when The Phantom Menace premiered in theatres in May 1999. Steve was really looking forward to this movie).

Steve's funeral took place at Trinity Christian Centre, members of his soccer team attended his funeral. He was buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

Steve was just 14 when he was killed.

Corey DePooter - Corey Tyler DePooter was born on the 3rd of March 1982 and was a former wrestler who enjoyed hiking, inline skating, wrestling and golf. He was described as an all American kid who put schoolwork before anything else. When he had his wisdom teeth removed he was upset that he had to miss school.

Family and friends remember him as someone who always lifted your spirits and was fun to be around. 

Soon after his death, his grandmother contacted the Marine Corps about holding some sort of ceremony for Corey because he'd always wanted to become a Marine. On the 3rd of May 2000, Corey was granted that dream during a ceremony at his gravesite in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Littleton, Colorado where he was made an Honorary Marine. 

Corey was only 17 years old when he was killed.

Final Thoughts:

It's been quite emotional looking back over the Columbine Massacre. It may have been 20 years ago but to a lot of people especially the families of victims and survivors, it seems like yesterday.

I spent a lot of time researching, there was things that I already knew, things that I wasn't sure about and things that I had only just found out. With these posts, I started from scratch and looked at the evidence, the witness statements, the official timeline of events. I had to be careful not to think back to the original reports where the media made mistakes. 

I may have not have been able to include every tiny little detail in these posts but I think that I've done a good job with what I have included. It was important for me to talk a little bit about who the victims were and that was really hard for me. The sadness at all of these kids who's lives were taken and each one of them was special in their own way. 

I was around about the same age as these kids when this happened and now I'm at an age where I look at them in almost a parental role. They would be around my age now, probably married with children, who knows? They all deserved to have the chance to grow up and work towards their dreams and discover new ones.

When I look back at myself as a 15 year old who was depressed and had all sorts of issues thinking that Eric and Dylan were like me, I realise how that was just a desperate attempt to make myself feel less alone. I was nothing like these people, even at 15 years old. No matter how desperately depressed I was, I could never kill innocent children and laugh and bully them as they did.

I've read a lot of accounts from people who have said that Eric and Dylan bullied younger kids at Columbine and I believe that to be true. I believe that people bullied them too. There was a level of bullying at that school and certain teachers turned a blind eye to it like they did with all the red flags that were as clear as day about Eric and Dylan.

I look back at the Hitmen For Hire tape and the violent essay that Dylan had written amongst other things and I wonder, was that a cry for help? (were they looking for attention, someone to stop them?) or were they just mocking everyone? putting it all out there in plain sight. We'll never know.

Some people who knew them weren't surprised with what they did, others were in shock. Dylan and Eric managed to keep their plans a secret for a year, they collected weapons, built pipe bombs, drew up plans etc. This wasn't a bullied kid who just freaked out with a gun, they manipulated people. They let certain people go that day, they targeted people and made eye contact with them whilst shooting them. They were smiling and enjoying themselves. 

I've seen so many fan sites and videos dedicated to these people and at first I thought it was just misguided kids who didn't know the full facts but I think that they just cut out the bits they don't want to know. A lot of these fans were babies when Columbine happened. There's no excuse for not knowing the full facts, it's all there if they take the time to read it. 

I didn't include everything that was said in the library or at other points by Eric and Dylan because I knew that it would be too distressing. I read a lot of what they said and it made my blood run cold. I was really affected by what they did to Isaiah Shoels, as I was with everyone who was killed, but what they said and did to Isaiah really haunted me. 

I hope that you have found these posts informative and if you have any comments please feel free to leave them below or contact me on any of my social media platforms or email me at: caledoniankblog@yahoo.co.uk 

My heart goes out to all of the victims, the survivors and their families x