Rachel Scott - Encyclopedia Columbine (2024)

Rachel Joy Scott's life

Rachel's death

Witnesses who saw/mentioned Rachel

Abigail Boles [11k, pp.6159-6162]

“When asked if any of the students killed at Columbine High School were known to her, Abigail Boles stated that Isaiah Shoels was a friend of hers and that Rachel Scott used to push her downstairs sometime earlier in their school life history.” (11k, p.6161)

Amy Bierbach [11k, pp.6129-6132]

“Amy said she believed Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were part of the Rebel News Network and said she was aware that they were in the video productions class. Amy said to her knowledge, Harris and/or Klebold had picked or selected Rachel Scott to be with them at their table during this video productions class. Amy said she had no idea why Rachel Scott would have been targeted by the suspects on 04-20-99.” (11k, p.6132)

Christopher Walker [11k, pp.2227-2237]

“He stated that his sister, Melissa Walker, owns a red Geo Metro. He stated that Melissa parked it next to Rachel Scott’s vehicle in the Clement Park parking area along S. Pierce St. and W. Bowles Ave.” (11k, p.2231)

Devin Kathol [11k, pp.921-924]

“He said that he drove to Columbine High School arriving about 11:15 a.m. He said that he usually ate lunch with Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo. […] Kathol said that he was about to step out of his vehicle and that he had started to open the driver’s door when he saw Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris shooting kids by the soccer field.” (11k, p.922)

Eric Veik [11k, pp.10908-10935]

“On the day of the shooting at Columbine, there were RNN anchor trials. Veik stated everybody was discussing “4-20.” He stated he believed it was the time that people would go out and start smoking marijuana. Veik stated that Rachel Scott came and did an audition along with others.” (11k, p.10914)

Hannah Cain (RIP) [11k, pp.1346-1348]

“Cain stated she also heard a rumor that Dylan Klebold liked Rachel Scott a lot and he freaked out when he killed her.” (11k, p.1348)

Jennifer Smull [11k, pp.2182-2192]

“She said that she thought some of the other students at the smoker’s pit might have been Taran Flemming, Brooks Brown, and Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.2185)

Joey Marcotte [11k, PJ Doyle, pp.9027-9032]

“Joey said that she remembered seeing the following people at school that day: Jessica Padilla, Mrs. Black, Joe Deaden, Steve Dreaden, Jill Schneider, Brooke Allison, Mrs. Mosier, Mr. Mosier, Mr. Tank, Steven Curnow, Kelly Fleming, Lauren Townsend, Daniel Rohrbough, Daniel Mauser, and Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.9031)

Lindsay Conwell [11k, pp.2760-2767]

“Lindsay was in the girls’ restroom earlier in the day and spoke to Rachel Scott while in the bathroom. Rachel said something like, “it’s going to be a crazy day.” (11k, p.2764)

Melissa Walker [11k, pp.5992-6002]

“She stated that when she went to school, she parked in the Clement Park parking lot. She and fellow student Rachel Scott then walked from the Clement Park parking lot to the school. They arrived about 0745 hours.” (11k, p.5993)

“Melissa told me that as she was walking in from Clement Park that she walked into school that morning with Rachel Scott and the two of them proceeded into the school.”

“Melissa explained that about 8:10 a.m., Rachel Scott got up and left the cafeteria due to the fact that she had an appointment to speak with the organizers of the Rebel News Network (also known as RNN). Apparently, she was applying for an opening as an anchor person.” (11k, pp.5999-6000)

Nick Baumgart [11k, pp.1778-1781]

“Baumgart has been very actively involved in Forensics and for the first time, took part in the Spring play. His date for the prom had been Rachel Scott (one of the victims of the shooting) who had also been active in theater.” (11k, p.1779)

“Rachel Scott never had anything to do with Dylan or Eric, she probably did not even know them.” (11k, p.1780)

Sarah Arzola [11k, pp.1749-1751]

“Eaton asked Arzola if she was aware of Rachel Scott having any problems with anybody at school and more specifically any problems with Harris or Klebold. Arzola advised that Scott never mentioned to her any problems with Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold or any of Harris and Klebold’s friends and associates. Arzola advised investigator Eaton that it was her opinion that Rachel Scott never had problems with anyone at school.” (11k, p.1751)

Witnesses to Rachel Scott's death:

General - statements that place Scott at the top of the stairs

Adam Thomas [11k, pp.1209-1219]

Summary: Thomas saw Rachel Scott and Richard sitting by the wall near the West doors, but the person he saw get shot was Ann Marie Hochhalter.

“He said he remember seeing two females and one male who were seated over near the North exterior wall of the library about 10-20 feet from the West doors, but he couldn’t provide any information as to their identity. The only thing that he could tell me was that he recognized the parties as being students at the high school and they were involved in the drama club and have participated in the school plays. I asked him if he was sure there were three individuals, he told me he believed there were three, but there could have been just two. Through the course of our investigation, we identified Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo as being in that general area.” (11k, p.1216)

"Adam described a female who he initially thought was Rachel Scott sitting on the grass area, just South of the outside stair case. He told me this female stood up and jokingly commented to Eric and Dylan, ‘Do you guys want to fight? Do you want a piece of me?’ At this point Adam sees Dylan raise some type of rifle, points it at the female who was standing South of them and fire one round. he told me the female is shot, he believes in the stomach area, and she falls to the sidewalk just South of the stair case. Adam told me an unidentified female, who he believes was with the shooting victim, runs over to her and rolls her over and then stands up and yells at Eric and Dylan, ‘You hurt her, she's bleeding.’ (11k, p.4399; El Paso, Cafeteria, p.21-345)

“At the completion of this initial interview, Adam made a comment to me stating that Eric Harris was the first person to start shooting the day of 4-20-99, and Dylan was the first person to kill. I asked him to clarify that for me. He told me that he meant that Eric was the first person to shoot, in reference to when he shot at Adam and his group of friends, and Dylan was the first to kill when he shot the female, who he believed to be Rachel Scott, who was just South of the exterior stairs.” (El Paso, Cafeteria, p.21-346)

“I proceeded to ask Adam how he was identifying the female shooting victim as being Rachel Scott. He told me that he wasn’t sure what the victim’s name was, but he had heard from a friend of his sister’s, Amber Michelle Huntington, that the only female shooting victim outside was Rachel Scott and he had come to the conclusion she was Rachel. Through the course of our investigation we have identified the female who was shot to the South of the exterior stairs as being Ann Marie Hochhalter.” (11k, p.4401; El Paso, Cafeteria, p.21-347)

Alison Brock [11k, pp.4867-4870]

“She stated they then ran up the stairs, past a boy on the sidewalk and a girl om the hill, who she recognized as Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.4869)

Bryan Stepp [11k, pp.1179-1182]

Summary: Stepp saw someone who seems like Rachel Scott get shot, but he reported more to the Denver Post than is included in his interview summary.

“He stated that one person, unidentified, walked out the double doors of the school and the subject in all black with the gun that had the banana clip, shot toward the double doors and the person, what appeared to fall down.” (11k, p.1180)

From The Denver Post "What the witness saw" 4-21-99:

He was walking across the soccer field when he heard shots. He turned around."One guy was wearing a black trench coat. He turned to a girl that was walking near him and he shot her eight times.''

Chris Clark [11k, pp.741-747]

"He said he walked over to the edge of the roof on the North side of the library entrance and looked over to the ground below. He described seeing two students wearing backpacks laying on the ground near the library entrance. He said another student was laying further away from the building, Northwest of the other two that were near the entrance." (11k, p.745)

Denny Rowe [11k, pp.1113-1120]

Summary: Rowe saw a suspect shoot Castaldo and Scott while they were seated, then saw a suspect take off his trench coat.

“They all exited the cafeteria via the West door and walked up the outside stairs to the top of the hill. They then sat behind the two tall pine trees to the West of the West set of school doors.”

“He then noticed that two males with trench coats on were standing near the top of the outside stairs they just went up.”

"He then saw this male shoot two females that were sitting against the wall outside of the West doors by the West exit doors to the library. The girls immediately slumped over. He thought the two suspects were only about 10 feet away from where the girls were shot."

“He then said that the suspect who was standing next to the one who shot the girls then took off his trench coat.” (11k, p.1118)

Janine Roberts [11k, pp.1107-1112]

Summary: Roberts was with Patrice Doyle and saw Richard Castaldo and Rachel Scott eating lunch outside the West doors before the shooting started.

“Roberts advised investigator Eaton that she and Doyle exited the school via the upper level West doors. She advised that there are two sets of doors with an airlock in between. Roberts advised investigator Eaton that as she exited the door, she observed Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo. […] She advised that it appeared that they were having lunch together. Roberts also advised investigator Eaton that as she exited, she observed Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold standing next to the fence and grass at the top of the stairway, which leads down from the upper level to the cafeteria and Senior parking lot.” (11k, p.1108-1109)

Jennifer Tindall [11k, pp.1224-1237]

Summary: Tindall saw Rachel Scott get shot in the leg at the top of the hill.

“Tindall turned towards the school and saw a male wearing a black trench coat walking up the stairs next to the building. Tindall said she noticed another person standing on the hill. This person was shooting at people in the parking lot with a very long, black gun. […] Tindall said she saw the shooter fire and hit a girl in the leg. The girl fell to the ground and an unidentified male student tried to assist her up. The unidentified male then ran back into the school.” […] Tindall states she later learned that the girl she saw shot in the leg was Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.1225)

“Jennifer Tindall said that she believed on 04-20-99, an audition was held that day for staff members for the Rebel News Network. Jennifer Tindall said her friend, Lauren Beacham, told her that she had auditioned along with Rachel Scott for the position on the RNN at Columbine High School on 04-20-99.” (11k, p.1232)

John Cook [11k, pp.754-759]

Summary: Cook saw Rachel Scott shot as she was sitting at the top of the stairs.

“Then the party on the left handed his gun to the other party and took his coat off, dropping it to the ground next to the fence. At this time, John noticed that the party had equipment strapped to him. […] The other party, who was still wearing a trench coat, then turned around and shot a girl that was sitting nearby: Rachel Scott. The girl was sitting down and fell over.” (11k, p.757)

Kari Klapper [11k. pp.944-946]

“Kari related that when she reached the top of the stairs, at about 11:15 a.m., she noticed Dylan Klebold standing near the entry to the building. She sad that Rachel Scott and Richard Castaldo were also sitting on the sidewalk near the entrance having lunch. Kari said that they always have lunch there. She related that she spoke briefly to Rachel and Richard, and as she started to walk down the sidewalk to the “pit” she noticed that Dylan had left and a male subject she believed to be Eric Harris was standing there. […] She advised that he was wearing a white t-shirt, black pants with black suspenders and he was holding a gun at his side with both hands. […] Kari stated that she had walked about 10 feet when she heard a series of very rapid shots behind her and an explosion. She said she briefly turned and looked and saw Harris shooting down the stairs in the direction of the parking lot.”

“Kari stated that just before the shots, the only people at the top of the stairs were Harris, Rachel, and Richard.” (11k, p.945-946)

Kathrine Carlston [11k, pp.2661-2668]

“They went up the stairs past Dan Rohrbough and Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.2665)

Kendra Curry [11k, pp.4915-4917]

“The police escorted her and her classmates out of the school. They exited through the West side of the commons and then ran down the cement stairs. She said that she saw two bodies laying on the ground near the stairs, one who she identified as Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.4916)

Michael Johnson [11k, pp.224-232]

Summary: Johnson saw a suspect shoot Castaldo and Scott while they were seated

“At approximately 11:20 am, Johnson was outside of the CHS West doors sitting on the grass slope with Adam Thomas, Denny Rowe, John Cook, and Mark Taylor. The five students were sitting on the slope and were facing South.” […] “Johnson then heard shooting and he looked East and observed one person shooting two people who were sitting outside, against the library wall near the North library door and the school West door. Johnson believes that the victim closest to him was a male. Johnson described the shooter as a white male wearing black. The shooter was using a long gun and was using both hands to shoot the weapon.” (11k, p.228-229)

“As Michael and his friends sat on the grass, Michael said he heard what he thought was gunfire coming from an area near the school. Looking to his left (East), Michael initially said he saw two people sitting near a wall East of the stairwell eating lunch. Michael described that wall being East of the stairwell that leads up from the cafeteria. Near the wall where he described the people sitting was a chain link fence. Michael said the two people were East of that fence. That is the area Michael said he thought the gunshots originated from. Just West of the chain link fence, Michael recalls seeing an unknown male wearing a “black trench coat and red beret” firing an unknown weapon at his direction. Michael said that individual was standing near the top of the stairs. Michael could not identify or describe the shooter.” (11k, pp.226-227)

Patrice Doyle [11k, pp.779-788]

Summary: Doyle was with Janine Roberts and saw Richard Castaldo and Rachel Scott eating lunch outside the West doors before the shooting started.

"Doyle advised investigator Eaton that she and Roberts exited the building through the upper level West entrance at approximately 1120 hours. She advised that as she and Roberts exited the door, she observed both Rachel Scott and a male sitting right outside the door eating lunch. She advised that Rachel Scott and the male were seated approximately five feet apart. […] She advised she also observed Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris standing at the top of the stairs that are outside the upper level West entrance and lead from the entrance/exit area down towards the cafeteria and Senior parking lot.”

“Doyle advised that after smiling at Harris and Klebold, she and Roberts continued past them and walked down the stairs into the parking lot area. Doyle advised investigator Eaton that as she and Roberts got into the Senior parking lot area of the school, she began to hear numerous popping sounds.” (11k, p.781-782)

Richard Castaldo [11k, pp.193-197]

This portion is buried in the interview with Shari Schnurr, Valeen Schnurr’s mother:

“Castaldo was sitting outside the cafeteria with Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.8799)

Wade Frank [11k, pp.800-804]

Summary: Frank saw someone who seems like Rachel Scott get shot, but he reported more to the Denver Post than is included in his interview summary.

“Witness Frank said he heard a popping sound coming from the top of the stairs, which are on the West side of the school, which head up North to the West entrance of the school. […] Witness Frank then saw a girl fall against the curb in front of the patio located on the Southwest corner of the school.” (11k, p.801)

From The Denver Post "A diary of devastation" 4-23-99:

"The boy in the trench coat turned to a girl and shot her in the leg. Senior Wade Frank watched as another boy ran to help the girl, bleeding on the curb. 'The trench coat walked up and shot the boy point blank in the back.' "

From The Denver Post "What the witnesses saw" 4-21-99:

He was out in the parking lot standing talking to a friend when he noticed one of the shooters in a black trench coat at the top of stairs. The shooter aimed and shot a girl in the leg. She was lying on a curb and a young man came to her rescue.

Note: the person Frank saw shot in the back was likely Richard Castaldo. If he had confused Hochhalter for Scott, that wouldn't make sense because Jason Autenrieth pulled Hochhalter away, but he was never shot. Castaldo, however, was shot in the back.

Wayne Depew, First Responder, Denver PD [11k, pp.7989-7999]

“I took the inner perimeter at the Northwest corner of the building with tech. O’Neill. There were two dead girls lying next to the West door.” (11k, p.7990-7991)

Saw Rachel at the top of the stairs

Alicia Olejniczak [11k, pp.5064-5071]

“They went up the stairs, past the two guys that were dead.” (11k, p.5068)

Matt Depew [El Paso, Case Core, p.1-176]

"I asked Mr. DePew what his exact location was when he first heard gunshots or explosions. Mr. DePew said he was at a table in the cafeteria in the Northwest portion. I asked him if there was anybody with him. Mr. DePew told me Dan Palmeter. […] I asked him if he saw anybody outside get shot. He told me yes, he saw Daniel Rohrbough and a girl near the top of the hill get shot. […] He said Daniel was the first one shot." (El Paso, Case Core, p.1-176)

Tom O'Neil, SWAT [11k, pp.8438-8441]

“Officer O’Neil saw two people that appeared to be “down” (injured and lying on the ground) outside the school. […] Officer O’Neil and Bloodworth approached from the South side near a fenced in are containing what officer O’Neil thought were generators. […] While waiting for the rescue team to arrive, officer O’Neil observed movement in one of the students’ arms (blonde student) the other student appeared to be brunette. Both victims appeared to be females. One of the students was approximately 5’ from the door that the suspect’s rifle was seen behind.” (11k, pp.8439-8440)

Evidence possibly linked to Rachel at the top of the stairs

A piece of scalp [El Paso, FBI Reports, p.20-231]

Item #2263 “Piece of scalp” found “outside library door.” (El Paso, FBI Reports, p.20-231)

Witnesses who saw Rachel on the grass

Michael Naifeh [11k, pp.3877-3883]

"I asked Mr. Naifeh, ‘Did you see anyone outside get shot? If yes, who and do you know who shot that particular individual?’ Mr. Naifeh said he saw Rachel Scott get shot and it is unknown who shot her. Mr. Naifeh said Harris was facing Rachel, and was closer to her than Dylan.” (El Paso, Case Core, p.1-164)

“About 30 yds away there was a girl lying on a grass hill with blood on her leg. There was a guy right next to her holding her. […] The girl had blood on her torso.” (11k, pp.3878-3879)

Seth Dubois [11k, pp.2907-2915]

Summary: saw Rachel Scott after she was shot in the leg, saw someone (possibly Richard Castaldo) trying to help her.

“I was eating lunch in the cafeteria at approx. 11:20 a.m. I heard people screaming and gunshots about 3 shots. I stood up and looked out the window. I saw a girl outside on the hill near the stairway. She was bleeding from her pant leg. A guy grabbed her and was trying to pull her away from the stairway.” (11k, p.2907)

Note: This couldn’t have been Ann Marie Hochhalter because he stated, “Then I glanced to my left and saw another girl about 20’ away from the stairs. She was bleeding from her shirt. Another guy was behind her trying to pull her away from the stairs.” This was Hochhalter. (11k, p.2908)

“Seth Dubois was re-interviewed n 5-6-99 as a result of information from an interview w/Katherine Carlston, who reported to inv. P.J. Doyle that Seth told Katherine that Robert Perry was seen shooting a girl in the back while leaving the library. […] Seth explained that his older sister had a bunch of friends over following the shooting. From conversation, the name of [REDACTED] was brought up. Seth does not know [REDACTED]. A photo of Perry was viewed by Seth as well as an old photo of Dylan Klebold. At that time, he thought the person he saw with the gun outside the window might have been [REDACTED]. Then, when the Senior class photo appeared in the newspaper, he recognized Dylan Klebold, seated at the top left of the student body as the individual he saw outside the cafeteria (11k, pp.6592-6593; El Paso, Cafeteria, p.21-123)

Saw Rachel at the bottom of the stairs by the cafeteria

Nobody saw Rachel Scott at the bottom of the stairs by the cafeteria. The researcher who compiled a list of witnesses who saw Scott being shot included witnesses in this category based on a misunderstanding of Columbine's layout and witness descriptions that were likely hard to visualize even with maps. The witnesses originally added to this section by the researcher either saw Hochhalter or they saw Scott at the West doors.

Justin Alber [11k, pp.2289-2303]

Summary: Alber did not see Rachel Scott get shot. He saw Klebold shoot Lance Kirklin "point blank," but mistook him for a girl.

"There was a white female lying on the ground face up. Dylan went over to her and shot her point blank." (11k, p.2293)

Witnesses in the area Rachel was said to be, but did not see Rachel

Brian Anderson [11k, pp.181-192]

Anderson describes walking out by the West doors, but does not mention seeing Richard Castaldo or Rachel Scott.

Witnesses who interacted with Rachel's body

Vince DiManna, SWAT [11k, pp.8349-8352]

“We had reports of shooting on the West side of the school and kids down. The remainder of us using the truck as cover went to the rear West side. We saw 2 kids down in front of the doors just South of the air cooling units for the school. The male party was moving his hand. […] We went to the first body, a female, she was dead. The male closest to the door was moving.” (11k, p.8351)

Harry Bloodworth (11k, p.8317)

Coming soon!

Witnesses who mistook Hochhalter for Scott

Lacey Hohn [11k, pp.3341-3346]

Summary: Hohn misidentified Hochhalter as Scott.

“Lacey advised that she left the cafeteria by way of the lower level of the auditorium. Lacey said she believed the person who was shot outside the cafeteria was Rachel Scott.” (11k, p.3343)

Out of place statements

Jessica Rosecrans [11k, pp.4237-4240]

“Margetts said her daughter, who goes to Columbine H.S., was at school when the shooting started. Ms. Margetts said her daughter was standing next to her friend R. Scott when Scott was shot.” (11k, p.4238)

“Rosecrans was not near Rachel Scott when she was shot and does not know any specifics of her shooting.” (11k, p.4240)

Anthony Doty [11k, pp.776-778]

“During our conversation, Doty informed me that he had first period lunch, which was about 1105 hours, at the school. He stated he was on the North side of the building, near the smoking pit, which is located near the tennis courts. From there, he said he walked to the Northwest side of the building to the top of the stairs just outside the library. He stated at that time, he heard an explosion from a bomb that had exploded in the parking lot. He then saw a male in a white t-shirt and blue jeans holding a handgun walk from a corner near the cafeteria.”

“I asked him if he could identify the person who fired the weapon at him and he stated he could not. He stated this person was at the bottom of the stairs while he was on top, and there were about 20 yards in distance between them. He informed me he was walking down towards the lunch are to meet Richard Castaldo and Rachel Scott for lunch when the incident occurred.” (11k, p.777)

Rachel's Legacy

Books written by Rachel's family