RICHMOND, VA – The family of Seung-Hui Cho, the student responsible for killing 32 people at Virginia Tech April 16, has agreed to release his mental health records to a gubernatorial panel investigating the killings.
In 2005, a judge referred Cho to the Cook Counseling Center in Virginia Tech. Records from the institution would help establish what kind of counseling, if any, he received.
Federal privacy laws had previously prevented the panel from viewing Cho’s records without permission even after his death. University officials had been negotiating with his relatives since May, and panel chairman W. Gerald Massengill threatened to take the issue to court.
The family gave their consent late last week. The panel received the records on Wednesday, but they will not be available to the public.
Massengill is pleased with the outcome, but is still pressing for access to other medical and school records. He believes a complete investigation will require information from Cho’s childhood onward.
Additional coverage of the Virginia Tech tragedy can be found here.
