The Killers

An Analysis of Eric and Dylan

Sam RickerEamon FernandezMaya KnellEmily VanderpoolSteph HonSteph WeissDoug Silverman

Opening Statement

“We are convinced that the only way to truly honor all of the victims of this and other related tragedies is to move clearly and methodically toward an understanding of why

they occur…” – Susan and Tom Klebold

Columbine will forever stain history as a tragic and devastating event. The killers, Eric Harris and Dylan

Klebold were too quickly labeled by the media; taking the easiest and quickest assumption of the “revenge seeking goths”. In order to comprehend their motives, one must

first understand each boy as an individual. Although both Eric and Dylan committed the same crime, their reasons

for murder are traceable through their personalities, past, and are revealed to be starkly different. 

Warning Signs

The inability for teens to withhold information- showing off, asking for help, Freudian slips

Social isolation – confined to their rooms alone

Behavioral changes – depression vs psychopathy

Outlets of emotion – journal entries

Emily’s Family

“How did you not see it coming?”

Loving, normal parents

“Dylan had made parenting easy”

Eric’s therapy

How much can you expect them to know?

83% believe that the parents are responsible- 6 months after the attack

Thirteen Years Later

What we now know- depression and psychopathy

The parents were always around

Sympathy for the parents- What they’ve gone through “The most lonely people on the

planet”The O magazine interview

Dylan’s Motives

Loved explosions and the water – …”what a glorious escape.”

Uniqueness equated loneliness - …”go to school, be scared & nervous, hoping that people accept me.”

Seeker – “one man in search of answers”

Attempted to feel superior like Eric – “My wrath for January's incident will be godlike.”

Dylan’s Motives

Theft showed unscrupulous nature – Eric’s influence

Notebook expressed feelings of “alienation” Contributed to depression Why he grappled on to Eric

Eric’s Motives

Expressed his outrage and frustration towards inferiors

Established his lasting superiority

Enjoyment, thrill, hate

Natural selection “show them who is god”

“I want to leave a lasting impression on the world”

A Friendship

No one knows exactly how their friendship started

The leader and the follower

Why Dylan needed Eric What Matt Stone has to say about

Columbine and about school in general

Eric’s Criminal Development

Vandalismo Targeted houses of those he thought were

inferioro Oct 21,1997-Broke into lockers at school

Petty Thefto Rental Signs

Felony Thefto Jan 30, 1998-Broke into van

Murdero April 26,1998-Outlined attack on a high school

Psychopathy – What is it?

A personality disorder in which a person displays antisocial and

impulsive behavior, disregard for societal standards, and no signs

of fear or guilt.

Psychopaths are not loners.

They put forward a confident, “in control” façade.

They appear normal

They go for the extra-ordinary look

Psychopathy

“Charming, but Callous”

When someone catches a psychopath doing something reckless, they have the ability to talk their way out of it, and place the blame on someone else.

Due to their comfort with lying, they can pass lie detector tests.

When caught stealing or doing something violent, many blame it on amnesia, temporary insanity, multiple personality disorder or blackouts to justify the crime.

When someone asks a psychopath a direct question, they might sneakily evade the answer, by providing responses, that don’t directly answer the question and bring the conversation somewhere else.

In many instances, when caught, they plead sympathy and promise to change, but use the fragile partner as a means of getting ahead and getting stronger.

Psychopathy

Conclusion

Eric’s psychopathy and Dylan’s depression weren’t ignored, they just

went unnoticed. As a nation we continue to struggle with the motives behind the killing spree, and we must

come to understand that there is no one to blame but the killers themselves for

this tragic event.