Monday, November 24, 2014

Adam Lanza's Pyschological Report: A Profile of a Killer

On Nov. 21, 2014 The State of Connecticut Office of the Chief Advocate (OCA) released their Report on the Sandy Hook Shooting.  This article is my first attempt at assemilating the information learned in the report into my ongoing investigation into the Sandy Hook shooting.

"People need to undersand [AL] was a rainman of mass murder unlike any other we’ve had; moreover, his sickness and mindset is ONLY matched by the sickest of serial killers. "  -- C.W. Wade, June 6, 2014
"The FBI Behavior Analysis Unit determined after an exhaustive forensic review of AL’s computer usage that his obsession and attention to detail with mass killing was unprecedented."   -  OCA report page 103, released Nov 21, 2014.


Since the OCA report refers to the Sandy Hook shooter as "AL", I will follow suit for this article.

AL class photo. AL is arm's reach from teacher
The report added to the dozens of police and medical professionals who have been involved with the formal investigation, including the Connecticut's Sandy Hook Report.

The OCA report was primarily authored by six noted professionals, including doctors, with eight other contributors, forming a commission.  The commission had access to the full unredacted police report, subpoena powers, access to medical records with signed release by Peter Lanza, AL's "next of kin".  Additionally, the commission had access to first hand witnesses, including medical professionals, educators, and AL's peers and AL's education reports.   The report provides detailed information on statements of witnesses as well as the findings of this commission.

In that light, the report is impossible to forge, by any rational assessment. Therefore, to say this report takes a sledge hammer to Hoaxer claims that "AL isn't real" is an understatement. To make such a claim, in the face of overwhelming evidence, from numerous witnesses to certified death certificate, without any evidence at all, flies in the face of logical discussion. .

The commission reported that Peter Lanza was cooperative with the investigation. I have been very critical of Peter due to my perception that he was withholding information from the general public.

 While Peter still continues to withhold information from the public at large, at least Peter is cooperating with the formal investigation.  That said, noticeably absent from the OCA report is input from AL's brother, Ryan.  Certainly Ryan's perspective would have been a valuable addition.  Indeed, he may have been the only truly sane person in the household for a number of years and he is the only person alive to have witness AL's home-life during later years, first hand.  At this point I must infer he declined.

To those of us that have studied AL's online writings as "Smiggles" as well as numerous other previous reports on his psychological condition, many of the overall findings by OCA report were not new; however, there was significant new detailed information in the report.

AL was different, likely from the moment of his birth.

As a Toddler,  AL was identified for disability, having been seen by the New Hampshire's "Birth to Three" intervention program for "communication, sensory difficulties, socialization delays, and repetitive behaviors".     "Socialization issues and repetitive behaviors" should be noted since eighteen years later, those issues were still present as he attacked the elementary school.

Since his psychological problems presented since infancy, there is no doubt AL suffered very real disability that very likely could have been managed.

Treating his speech and language difficulties, a physical manifestation, was an early educational goal and it appears the treatments were accepted by Nancy.  As such, it appears the treatments were successful  If one listens to AL's speech patterns as an adult or reads his writings, AL speaks and writes with some precision; almost mechanically.

Likely Audio of AL speaking on a radio broadcast:
http://youtu.be/YJpU9RB1b4M?t=30m

AL's preschool evaluator postulated that "AL may have... sensory integration disorder, and that he displayed 'many rituals' in his behavior."  The evaluator recommended  follow-up with neurology, and work with an occupational therapist certified in sensory integration therapy.

Sensory integration disorders are commonly seen in developmental disorders such as autism (1) , therefore, even at the earliest age, he was identified and referred to the appropriate professionals for a full workup.

Throughout the OCA report, we see referrals and we see educators decided his impairments were "not impeding his ability to learn", and thus he was pushed through, despite his presentations.

By age five, AL's neurological assessment noted:

For perspective, I refer to Liza Long, a mother of a child similar to Adam Lanza and author of "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" (2).  I have followed her writings and interviews closely to help me understand AL from her perspective, a mother advocating for her child.  What Ms. Long has said as pertaining to her child has often matched closely with my findings on AL.  For example, Ms. Long's child was noted for severe tantrums by Age 5. So to was AL. (3),

"AL was an extremely active young child—he never slept through the night, continued to make up his own language, and reportedly did not like to be held, kissed or hugged. He was observed and reported to have odd repetitive behaviors and severe temper tantrums.AL was reported, at times, to “sit and hit his head repeatedly.” He did not tolerate touch or textures and refused to dress."
Later the OCA report describes AL's head injury that has been known about:
AL sustained and injury to his head the night before Mrs. Lanza left for a trip to New Hampshire—2 or 3 days prior to the Sandy Hook shooting. Mrs. Lanza describes his injury in a text message reading “bloody, bloody, bloody.” Mrs. Lanza went on her trip anyway, and returned on December 13, 2012.
We will never know what caused this "bloody head injury" but I highly suspect i t was self-inflicted, a tantrum, or head banging incident.

While Liza Long writes she is "Adam Lanza's mother", Liza Long is no Nancy Lanza. Ms. Long's parenting is certainly much different.  she is proactive, seeks treatment and assistance in raising her child; she speaks out, she advocates for therapeutic treatments of her child.  Therein is the likely difference between how AL turned out versus how Liza Long's son will turn out.
"Not the hollow eyed killer, this is the child that needs help." Liza Long
By high school, AL's teachers were clearly very clearly acutely aware of AL, and his special needs.

Here, a high school teacher is responding to the news that AL would be joining her class.  To put this in context, conceptualize that this response clearly demonstrates many discussions among the teachers and quite a reputation that precedes AL.

OH MY GOSH! AL is ready to join my class??? I HAD BETTER GET READY! I’m so nervous! Let’s talk . . . are they starting with a short visit or two or jumping right in and seeing how it goes with the potential to leave early as needed??? What about “prepping” my class before his arrival --- today I have an appointment at 2:30 . . . but we can talk on the phone tonight . . .

The communication demonstrates a near panic from a professional educator that deals with dozens of teenagers every single day. I think this point has been understated.   The school knew AL and knew his problems.  AL was no mystery to these educators.

In AL's early years his parents worked to secure several different evaluations, but they were not diligent in finishing these pursuits. They did not finish what they started.  To me it seems probable that these early interactions and frustrations had a negative impact on Nancy and AL, since the story becomes quite different as AL gets older and he is removed from therapeutic options.

The report details that AL did not receive his well child check ups; even while he was being taken to the hospital to receive treatment for damage to his skin caused by AL's handwashing.   Handwashing to the point of excoriation is obviously significant obsessive behavior.

OCA presents the statement of one of AL's elementary classmates who reported that AL came over to his house for a birthday but he thought it was odd "AL's mother stayed for the entire party."

Ask yourself, why? Then look back and answer, "Severe tantrums."   Nancy wanted her child to socialize but she could not trust AL to leave him alone with other children, not even for a birthday party.

AL did fine with rote learning of material presented in class.  He was exceptional at math. This fostered his ability to work the system, or more appropriately, allowed the system to push AL through, and it allowed AL to work his mother into believing he was gifted.  "Bright" is not "gifted".

Meanwhile, his psychological conditions were not treated at appropriate level or with appropriate interventions, thus resulting in severe physiological response.


Nancy Lanza's Mental Problems

A major area that remains to be thoroughly explored is Nancy Lanza's mental state.  Nancy was the one  whose perceptions were guiding the treatment (or lack thereof) of AL; she was the one interpreting behaviors of AL. Nancy was making the educational and life decisions.   Nancy's restating of his alleged diagnosis is what got charted and listed in school meetings and set the tone for medical evaluation. The school never insisted on a full formal written diagnosis by professionals as was required by state and federal mandate even as the school allowed AL to discontinue schooling. I

It important to note AL was not "home schooled", he was "home bound", deemed physically unable to attend school due to disability.  This fact is based on decisions made by Nancy.

Alcohol, by the case
One subject not explored by the OCA and not discussed by the press is what I consider to be a major "elephant in the room".   Nancy may very well have been an severe alcoholic.

Alcohol was very much a central theme of Nancy.  From her extensive supply, to her decor, to friends statements, to her outings to bars, and trips; Alcohol appears ever present.

While Nancy's home was well stocked with a huge supply of alcohol, we know AL did not tolerate visitors nor drink himself, so who was it for?   George Thorogood's lyric  "when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself" pops to mind.  More photos below showing the alcohol are below. (4).

Additionally, Nancy Lanza pretended to have terminal illness.  An instance in the report from 1999:
Mrs. Lanza talked about having had enough time to get [Ryan and AL] settled in, but that she may have only “months to live.”
The general public has known Nancy Lanza said these things since the earliest reports after the shooting: she "feared her time was running out", written December 18, 2012.

The report divulged an email between AL and Nancy; the email was obviously a conciliatory attempt by AL.  Nancy's response was longwinded and I suggest it be reviewed in it's entirety (7); however, this portion stood out:
There is nothing that I can do about my diagnosis, and I do try to be as healthy as I can, despite the prognosis. I am sure that you noticed that I exercise regularly and do my best to stay in good shape. It’s not like I have the attitude that since I will be crippled anyway I may as well give up and get fat and sedentary now. I am working hard to stay as healthy as I can, for as long as I can.
 What the public didn't have before the OCA report was confirmation that Nancy Lanza did not have a terminal illness.  This fact even shocked Peter Lanza, her ex-husband.

A mother walking around convincing her own husband, friends and family, including her disabled son, that she is in terminal stages of disease, when she in fact does not have that diagnosis nor ongoing medical treatment, demonstrates psychological illness.  This form of psychological illness would not ever likely be recognized by society on first glance; however, its important to note this as we attempt to gain an understanding the factors that fostered her animal living upstairs.


Nonetheless, Nancy Lanza appeared normal to society at large; the reality is she was struggling with mental illness or disease, including likely alcoholism, on her own.  There are certainly indications that she suffered both Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen by Proxy symptoms; however, I think more professional assessments of these mental issues need to be explored.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchausen_syndrome

I will admit that one side of me can't help but wonder if Nancy's claimed disease "MS" stood for "My Son" and Nancy somehow knew her terminal illness was her own son, AL; I digress, for it's best to stay more scientific in analysis.

An Obsessive Compulsive depressed anxiety ridden depressed child.

The following signs and symptoms were observed in AL throughout his life, even from earliest childhood:
  • Aversion to tactile sensations (refusal to touch door knobs, certain textures)
  • Aversion and severe reactions to odors
  • Withdrawal from peers
  • Head banging  
  • Lacked empathy and proper social interaction
  • Depression (note: elementary school diagnosis of this)
  • Panic attacks
  • Obsessive hand washing to the point of excoriated skin
  • Perservative behaviors (uncontrollable repetition of thoughts, actions, and/or emotion) 
  • Severe anxiety ("Most anxious youth" he'd ever seen - Dr. Fox, AL's psychiatrist)
  • Some diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger's Syndrome
  • Phobia's of germs, dirt, and other people
  • Weight loss (full blown debilitating anorexia at death, however, noted several years earlier)

An online post by AL on the subject of Ice Cream, demonstrates his extreme thought process and phobias, written in 2009:
"...when I think of ice cream, I can only see a repugnant lump of pus crushed out of cows' bloody nipples, who spend their entire lives confined in filth, where they're periodically raped so that they're incessantly pregnant, after which their calves are seized from them, destined to live the life of veal, with their only relief being an early death. From there, I always ride the pessimism train down different tracks until it inevitably leads me to contemplating over 500 million years of animals cannibalizing each other. Excuse me for not being thrilled by the extra jimmies on my ice cream cone."


Soy milk, Flax Seed, and Water


When AL was in 8th Grade, Nancy took him to Danbury Hospital because AL was having:
"trouble in school, trouble in groups, and exhibiting repetitive behaviors which had gotten worse in recent days. Mother reportedly feared the “beginning of possible autism.”"
While these were the symptoms, the actual reason she took him to the hospital was to obtain a medical recommendation to allow AL to "stay home from school indefinitely."  Quite obviously, Danbury Hospital personnel referred AL to further testing, as would be an expected reasonable standard of care.  Nancy irrationally declined this further testing, instead seeking out what the report terms to be a "community psychiatrist".

Those of us familiar with this even recognize that is likely Dr. Paul Fox, who surrendered his license and fled to New Zealand after it was revealed Dr. Fox had sex with patients.

AL was never formally diagnosed with Autism or otherwise, because neither of his parents followed through.

The OCA report documents 20 payments to the community psychiatrist by Lanza family between November 15, 2005 and July, 2007.   That translates to about 1 visit per month.  Considering the psychological problems AL was exhibiting, not to mention physical manifestation of the psychological issues, including a complete inability to attend school, it seems Nancy should have sought further evaluation and more treatment and guidance from trained professionals.  Dr. Fox's treatment regime is minimal at best.

Moreover, Nancy declined to a full "work up".  Nancy allowed AL to refuse medication or refused it on his behalf.  Nancy even felt it was "abusive" to allow AL to stay in Danbury hospital or engange in their recommended evaluations or treatments.

The psychiatrist reported that Nancy was not interested in having AL take medications to ameliorate AL's symptoms. She seems to have reinforced these beliefs in AL, as demonstrated by this writing:
"Therapists are secular priests who assert that they have some "truth", and if your values deviate, then you are "wrong". Hence, The Rapist. They impose their values onto you through their mindfucking."
-- AL post in September, 2011

The apple did not fall far from the tree.  Nancy's refusal to allow a full diagnostic workup and refusal to insist on follow up care and refusal to engage in attempts at managing AL's disability demonstrates marked neglect.

That manifested itself to the state of Connecticut in the form of a child not attending school regularly. The report details the deficiency in the school district's responses in dealing with AL, which was not in accordance with state or federal standards.

As the signs were missed, ignored, or disregarded, the progression of AL's illness was drastic as he got older.

The lack of proactive correct rational parenting weighs heavy from the report.  Nancy sought  relatively few professionals and of those few actually consulted, Nancy promptly "fired"  any professional that did not follow what she wanted to be done.   Physical therapeutic treatment of substance were not tolerated by either Nancy nor AL himself.

Nancy seemed happiest to wrap herself in the fantasy AL was some higher functioning quirky human, while physically, mentally, and emotionally, AL wasted away.  While, from a social point of view, it would have been tragic for AL to simply die in his sleep of parental neglect and starvation, the fact is, the children at Sandy Hook Elementary School were not that lucky; for AL attacked, exploded with a final act of abhorrent violence armed with tools of mass killing.

Nancy's parenting failure is aptly demonstrated when Nancy engaged the services of the Yale Child Study Center in 2006.  Peter Lanza, as usual, abdicated involvement; Nancy bearing full responsibility and control.
The Yale psychiatrist's initial report stated that AL presented himself as a “pale, gaunt, and awkward young adolescent standing rigidly with downcast gaze and declining to shake hands.”
Considering his known problems with weight, pale guant skin could be a physical manifestation of early onset of anorexia.(6) AL is 14 years old at the time.  The report goes on:
AL’s mother told the Yale psychiatrist that he used to look at people but did not anymore. AL then asked rhetorically, “Why should I have to.” When the doctor explained all of the information that a person could learn by looking at a facial expression, such as a smile, AL stated that people could interpret smiles differently: “Some primates smile when they are frightened.”
When asked for three magic wishes, AL could not think of any and instead he said that “he would wish that whatever was granting the wishes would not exist.”
“Asked, ‘What is a friend?’ AL replied, ‘It is difficult to define -- in whose culture do you refer?’ Told ‘AL’s,’ he replied, ‘I do not know.’ Asked whether he would like to have more friends, AL said no.”
According to the report, AL displayed a variety of rigid, controlling, and avoidant behaviors including his refusal to open doors for himself because he did not like to touch the doorknobs, and his worries about contamination of grease, dirt, and dust. AL was reported to be placing limits on his mother’s behavior (e.g. by not allowing her to lean on things because it was improper). He had a variety of food rituals as well, related to texture. The doctor noted that AL had experienced a variety of marked changes in seventh grade, including no longer talking on the phone, using e-mail, or engaging in outdoor activities, and he had become increasingly socially withdrawn and reclusive. AL reportedly had not had any psychological testing.
Here, AL is controlling Nancy in what is almost an abusive relationship type manner.  Who is he to tell his mother it is improper to lean on something? AL's email to her, discussed earlier, (7)    also seems to demonstrate that he feels the need to provide her "fatherly" advice, and while he goes so far as to state that the intent is not to be condescending, the message is indeed condescending on it's face.

"You do not seem to understand that I was attempting to comfort you with what I consider to be a maxim with which to live. You unfortunately probably still do not understand what I mean. As a disclaimer: I type nothing in this that is in a tone that is condescending, vindictive, malicious, snide, malignant, or any synonym that you can think of. I mean well."  

"There is something that I can assure you of that will always be true: it does not matter if you live for the next one year, five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, thirty years, fifty years or even 100 years; the day before you die you will regret ever worrying about your life instead of thinking of what you want to do."  AL to Nancy


Ironic "assurance" from the troubled youth, especially considering that a few years later, AL murdered Nancy, shooting her in the head as she slept.

Episodes

According to Liza Long, the parent of a child presenting problems such AL does, begins walking on "egg shells" at home, careful not to cause a situation where the child will have an "episode".  In this way is it is easy to see how the child could gain some control.

The report does seem to display public presentation of Nancy's unwillingness to allow AL to receive proper care and to block it by use of near hyperbole.
"A pediatric visit for joint pain again documented Mrs. Lanza’s statements about the potential for seizures if blood was drawn as part of the diagnostic process. The actuality of a seizure disorder remained unclear. Medical records note a history of possible seizure disorder, and a febrile seizure as an infant."

Considering there was no formal diagnosis of AL's "seizures", this can easily be interpreted to mean Nancy feared AL would throw a fit.  Here again, Nancy is also presenting a false diagnosis of disease that gets charted by medical professionals; however, she never follows up with appropriate medical care.   Yale's Advance Practice Nurse (APRN) convinced AL's mother to try medication ended with a similar "seizure" claim.
In later police interviews the APRN described AL’s mother’s response to her recommendations for medication as “non-compliant.” Immediately after prescribing the medication, the clinician received a call from the mother reporting that AL was “unable to raise his arm.” Mrs. Lanza stated that AL was attributing this symptom to the medication. An email from Mrs. Lanza to the clinic indicated that AL took the medication for three days. Mrs. Lanza wrote an email that AL experienced immediate and diverse symptoms associated with the medication, including “decreased appetitive and nausea . . . dizziness . . . disorientation,” disjointed speech, and sweating. She stated that “he couldn’t think. He sat in his room, doing nothing.”
Despite the APRN’s attempt to convince the mother that the medication could not be producing the problems with AL’s arm, and that other symptoms could be managed with time and appropriate dosing, Mrs. Lanza said AL would be discontinuing the medication. The APRN urged Mrs. Lanza to encourage him to progress with the medication and noted that Mrs. Lanza observed a decrease in some of his obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Mrs. Lanza replied that AL’s symptoms in response to the medication were very severe, that he was “practically vegetative,” so he could not be seen as having improved.

Even if I believed the above was a true physical  response to the treatment, which I don't, I do not believe Nancy's reaction to the alleged symptoms demonstrate appropriate parental response. If your son was truly paralyzed from a response to medication, woudn't you call an ambulance or rush him to the hospital?  Here, Nancy's response was to fire off an email to the ARPR and discontinue all treatment all.  Adam's alleged "seizure" won the day.

It was Reed Coleman on the http://sandyhooklighthouse.wordpress.com/ blog who first observed that the house appeared to display signs of AL's "fits". The wall and door show damage and attempt to hide damage.




Based on Reed's observation, I looked through some other photos and found the house showed other signs of physical damage.








I would like to point out this photo of the blood spattered nightstand near Nancy's bed, below.  It appears the phone has been ripped from the wall before.  Very common in domestic violence is disabling and damaging phones.



It appears AL followed Nancy's lead on aversion to medical treatment.  To coincide with the aversion to medical treatment, she had a propensity to formulate her own diagnosis .

There was never a definitive formal diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome; indeed, based on the OCA report, that appears to have been pushed mostly by Nancy Lanza, who followed up the diagnosis by refusing to engage the appropriate therapeutic treatments of Aspergers syndrome.

For a parent to not seek care of a child allegedly suffering seizures, autism, and Asperger's demonstrates irrational response by Nancy, indicative of her own sunken mental state, which was likely made worse by alcohol.


The shooters Anorexia Nervosa

Early in my research I identified AL's anorexia to be a significant factor in the shooting.  This factor  has been primarily ignored by the press. The press seems to crave the autism angle.  I have always doubted the Autism angle, especially the Aspergers, diagnosis. I feel some vindication after this report since other professionals who treated AL also doubted these diagnosis.

There is no doubt he was severely depressed and suffered debilitating anxieties and phobias and there is now, no doubt about AL's anorexia because this report finally discusses this very important factor.

I included some discussion of AL's obvious anorexia in my video "Adam Lanza Rampage" that I published in April, 2014.

This is important because anorexics suffer metabolic imbalances that lead to sever physiological consequences.   According to the OCA, by 10th grade AL  was 5'10 and weighed 112 indicating possible anorexia even then. The report goes on:

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that at death, AL was anorexic (six feet tall and 112 pounds), to the point of malnutrition and resultant brain damage. This finding raises questions regarding how he, living at home and spending the majority of his time on his own, physically presented to his mother.
I refer you back to the photo above of the refrigerator. The fact is, he was not eating much, if at all.  Nancy Lanza had reportedly taken eight "mini-vacations" leaving AL at home.  I believe that at the time of the attack, AL was in a physical stage of dying of starvation.


For months, he had played Dance Dance Revolution and he had stamina and resistance to pain and exhaustion; however, by December, I believe he was at the end, mentally and physically, and he knew it.

I also note his attire at the time, as viewed from his dirty laudry.  Khaki cargo pants and black polo shirts.  This is significant considering he wasn't leaving the house during this period, so why wear such heavy clothing?  I believe it is to cover his weigh loss by his habitual heavy loose clothing, even at home.

I also note that while he was known for wearing blue shirts, according to many reports and even photographs, its obvious he had changed to black, in his final days, perhaps symbolic of his mental shift.


AL's attire, lifelong affliction with low weight problems, and Nancy's apparent obliviousness (possibly alcohol induced obliviousness) to the realities of her son all combined to allow AL to waste mentally and psychically right in front of her eyes, while she did nothing.

Anorexia has the HIGHEST mortality rate of ANY psychological disorder.  Anorexics have the highest suicide rate of any psychological disorder.  The pre-suicide warning signs include:

Ideation (threatening to hurt or kill oneself)
Substance abuse (increased or excessive substance use)
Purposelessness (no reason for living)
Anxiety
Trapped (feeling there’s no way out)
Hopelessness (about the future)
Withdrawal (withdrawing from friends, family, activities)
Anger
Recklessness
Mood changes
http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/enews_0812_01.shtml

With the exception of substance abuse, every mark hits symptoms presented by AL, as affirmed by the OCA report.

Nancy Lanza steers the conversation towards autism, and even the more remote possibility of Asperger's, even after her death.  It's time the professionals who actually examined and treated AL be considered along with the findings of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The person, lying dead on the floor of Classroom 10, having murdered so many, was an mass murder obsessed suicidal anorexic who suffered a life long affliction with severe anxiety and depression.  That was AL, that is with whom society wrestles with and who destroyed so much.

The Guns

The OCA report also lacks any expertise whatsoever in regards to firearms.  It seems to me a thorough review should have included opinion and review by a firearms expert.  This misses the mark on a very important issue.

The report did not and could not answer the most nagging question:

Nancy, why, if your child was so disturbed, did you purchase him weapons and give access to those weapons?

People close to Nancy have suggested that guns were a means of connecting with AL.  Peter, in the report, stated he would rent firearms and take AL shooting.  This was something AL enjoyed and I'm sure, that as parents, they wanted to engage him in subjects of his interest.  While I can accept that, it it doesn't explain two semi-automatic pistols, a Saiga semi-auto shotgun, and an AR-15 sitting in his gaming room.  Not to mention two other rifles, including the rifle that ended Nancy Lanza, a .22 rifle.

Liza Long, mentioned above, tucks her cooking knives away in tupperware and takes them with her, out of fear of her son.  I think of the box of knives hidden away in the attic of Nancy Lanza's home, obviously out of reach.

Not only the guns were found, but multiple large capacity magazines; including two very expensive  twenty round drum magazines for the Saiga and more than 15 30-round magazines for the AR-15. As I've discussed in video and article, this arsenal was obviously assembled with specific intent and purpose.

Even the gun safe itself was minimal and would not have stopped any one inclined to breach it.  That type of gun safe can be easily breached with crow bar or a hammer, were one inclined to break into it.

In AL's home, not only were the weapons in his gaming room, it appears AL had ready access by means of a key; a key not attached to Nancy's key ring, found in her purse.  It's safe to conclude AL had unfettered access to weapons and means of accumulating ammunition and magazines for those weapons.



Since my first video on the subject "Sandy Hook: The Deadliest Minute" I have openly disagreed with the suggestion that Nancy Lanza was a gun enthusiast, a "prepper", or a survivalist.  This is because Nancy has no gear, books, magazines, or other evidence which would support the claim. Not a camping stove to be had. Nancy's areas of the home were "alcohol, frills, and dolls".  There wasn't so much as a pocket knife photographed in her bedroom.

The gun cleaning kit, found in the dining room, in a oil soaked cardboard box, was a joke, by any firearm enthusiasts standards.  It was a fire hazard and wholly inadequate.

Simply put, this is not the gun cleaning kit of a survivalist, prepper, or gun enthusiast.  This was more of a box stuff that had nothing to do with the care of thousands of dollars worth of firearms. A place where AL threw cleaning items, most of which came with the fire arms upon purchase and of which he had no knowledge of their proper use.

I have noted before, you do not need to clean firearms in video games; video games being the lions share of his "training".




The guns were found in a room I called AL's "Guns and Gaming" room. That is, a bedroom filled with gaming consoles and firearms related stuff.

While the final report concluded that every 5.56 mm casings at the school was fired by the AR-15, the report also demonstrates AL's lack of weapon care stating"

"The physical condition of the bullet jacket surfaces were severely damaged and corroded. They all lacked individual striated marks of sufficient agreement for the identification process. The test fires also exhibited a lack of individual striated marks on the bullet surface for comparison purposes. This condition can be caused by fouling in the barrel of the rifle and the ammunition itself."

That is why this exchange from AL to Nancy in the OCA report popped out to me as significant:
"I also want to mention that I purchased something two weeks ago on Newegg to double your computer’s memory without even saying anything until now. I do not try to avoid doing anything for you as you seem to think."
Here, a 16 year old disabled teen, incapable of going to school, has the capability of online ordering, payments, receiving, and installing computer parts and Nancy never even knew. Nancy's response is telling:
"You should let me know when you do thoughtful things so that you can get credit!"
How much more did he order in her name with Nancy blissfully (and/or drunkenly) unaware?  In terms of weapons, I'm quite sure she played a significant role because of strict laws in Connecticut; however, considering all the "extras" he had, I can't help but wonder if he had free reign and slowly built up the complimentary ammo and magazines to go along with the weapons.




While the report documents emails between Nancy and the suppliers, does one really know to whom they are emailing or mailing?   AL obviously had access to Nancy's computer; confirmed by the OCA report.

In terms of AL, the most significant period was after 2010, and the report is weakest in this area simply because there was little contact with the reclusive AL.

 In my view, that is when he went from ideation to actual planning the massacre and assembling the required implements to carry out his plans.   The report claims that Nancy Lanza's planned move out of the state set him off.  Overlooked is reports that she may have also been planning on selling the guns. Indeed, State Police final report documents she had blank weapons transfer paper work.   His world obsessed on mass murder.  To lose guns could have  also been a tipping point.  Considered his advanced starvation, anything could have set him off.

He created a mass murder spreadsheet that was reportedly over 7 feet long.  To gain an appreciation of what something like this might look like, you can look online http://www.spreekillers.ch  obviously created by mass murder fan boys. AL was just such a person.  This was his online peer group.  An expert who would edit Wikipedia articles about mass murders, perfecting and fine tuning them, going as far back as 2009.

The OCA report provided the following commentary on his mass murder obsessed peer group (Shockedbeyondbelief.com) :
Unlike normalizing influences and positive community peer groups, his cyber group would have had little willingness or ability to stop his dangerous trajectory or to offer cautioning feedback to him about his impulses. The emails exchanged between AL and members of this macabre online community offer a rather breathtaking reflection of a negative micro-society within our midst.
I couldn't help but wonder, wait till society at large get's a load of stalker groups, such as Sandy Hook Hoaxers.

While acknowledging AL's obsession, the OCA report heavily understates his expertise and extensive knowledge and failed to delve far enough into the subject.  The length and breadth of his knowledge of mass murder has been documented by online researchers including myself and the Sandy Hook Lighthouse blog.

This is the key to study of the cause of the Sandy Hook shooting in my view, and this is where the OCA came up short. That is likely because as educators, their focus on understanding AL in terms of helping to recognize mental illness in children by their colleagues, instead of a singular focus on developing on understanding and motive of this particular shooter.

This shooter, AL stood in front of a restroom packed with screaming terrified small children and fired 80 rifle rounds into them, changing magazines and advancing as he fired; unimaginable carnage.  He killed everyone in that bathroom, except one child.  AL was no expert rifleman, it didnt take an expert rifleman, literally nearly anyone could psychically do the task; what makes the AL different is he was mentally able to do the horrendous act.

I stand by my earliest assessments of AL, and feel this new reports supports my initial findings.

AL was, mentally, a serial killer. His act was that of a spree killer same as many others, but his methodology and mind set was sick, that of one of the most cruel, vicious, child killing evil serial killers of our time.  He was a war criminal.  He fermented his twisted mind, untreated, in his dark room, with online peer support.  Feeding his hate of people with his love of the idea of mass shooting sprees.  Meanwhile, his mother aided him, inexplicably arming him, ensuring Adam Lanza was indeed, AL was an able "child", able to commit murder on unimaginable scale.



It is unfortunate treatment for his other disorders was not successfully pursued (or allowed to be pursued); for with diligence, perhaps things would been different.

I have no doubt that had Nancy had the ability to intervene, if she had the mental capacity, if she accepted some help that was offered, if she had accepted appopriate treatments or at least considered multiple option for appropriate treatment, and if she simply had the common sense not to allow him such a deadly array of firearms, Sandy Hook would never have happened.

The report noted several areas where the schools failed compliance with federal and state standards.  Focus may need to be on reinforcing what we already have in place, and improving those areas instead of looking for "new" criteria.

We know children need formal diagnosis to be allowed exemption from education.
We know mentally deranged people should not have firearms.
We know disabled people should receive care.

Nothing new here with AL, we just need to focus on what we know and improve.






References


1. WebMD Sensory Processing Disorder: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/sensory-processing-disorder


2. "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" by Liza Long
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html

3.  Lisa Long: There were signs early on - PBS Newshour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKwe5COmFf4

4.  More photos that indicate alcohol as central theme of Nancy Lanza's home life:


of Nancy Lanza's home.






5.  OCA Report page 31

There is no indication that Mrs. Lanza was provided a terminal diagnosis by doctors at any time. A 2008 medical record indicates some findings “consistent with [Mrs. Lanza’s] known history of multiple sclerosis.” A 2010 medical record for AL indicated that there is a “maternal history of [m]ultiple [s]clerosis.” However, a 2012 medical record signed by Mrs. Lanza’s primary care physician indicated that the physician treated Mrs. Lanza for over eight years, had seen her many times, and had “never noticed or treated any symptoms of multiple sclerosis.” The medical form also stated that there were no related medical conditions or history. This medical record was part of an application for insurance. A psychiatric evaluation of AL in October 2006 outlines family medical history but does not identify a history of maternal Multiple Sclerosis, though Mrs. Lanza was present for the evaluation.
During a present-day interview with OCA, Mr. Lanza initially expressed his belief that Mrs. Lanza had been diagnosed with MS in the late 1990’s, and that her correspondence from the time likely reflected her emotional state in the wake of her diagnosis. According to Mr. Lanza, she subsequently received periodic treatment and evaluation from that time forward. However, Mr. Lanza then later indicated that, after further review of Mrs. Lanza’s records, it did not appear that a doctor seeing Mrs. Lanza in the years prior to her death had actually diagnosed her as having MS, nor did autopsy results confirm the presence of findings consistent with MS.
Authors cannot account for the variable documentation on this issue. However, it is important to note that Mr. Lanza reversed his firm belief in the reliability of Mrs. Lanza’s statements regarding her medical condition and treatment following a review of additional relevant documentation.



6.  Anorexia Signs and Symptoms:
http://www.derangedphysiology.com/files/Anorexia%20Nervosa.pdf


7.  Full text of emails between AL and Nancy from the report

August 2008 (AL is 16 years old, 11th grade): Email from AL to His mother, 11:25 p.m.

You do not seem to understand that I was attempting to comfort you with what I consider to be a maxim with which to live. You unfortunately probably still do not understand what I mean. As a disclaimer: I type nothing in this that is in a tone that is condescending, vindictive, malicious, snide, malignant, or any synonym that you can think of. I mean well.

If you believe that you wasted your life, as you seem to have insinuated, you will gain nothing from regretting it and will only depress yourself; you cannot change anything from the past. There is something that I can assure you of that will always be true: it does not matter if you live for the next one year, five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, thirty years, fifty years or even 100 years; the day before you die you will regret ever worrying about your life instead of thinking of what you want to do.

Every new year that you do live, you will regret not having started anything that you wanted to do the year prior, only regretting the past more.

What I mean is that you should think of what you want to do today; not starting next year or next month, but today. Thinking that you are not going to be able to do anything in the future will only ensure that fate. Also thinking that you are too “old” is going to ensure the same fate.

It is not as though I do not mean that you are homeless and begging; I would spend my life savings to prevent that out of obligation for what you have done for me. My personality is merely inherently unmoving;   I will not be upset over something that you cannot change. And you should not be upset either. What you should do is think about what you want to do.

I also want to mention that I purchased something two weeks ago on Newegg to double your computer’s memory without even saying anything until now. I do not try to avoid doing anything for you as you seem to think. I am glad that I was born, and I appreciate your having taken care of me. (It is not my fault if you have not detected as much of an increase in speed as I would have liked, however; I blame its outdated processor. I would change that if I could, but it’s not possible to do so for your model.) Please read the first paragraph again.

Email Response from Mrs. Lanza, 1:05 a.m.

I appreciate your effort to be a comfort to me. I apologize if I seemed angry or antagonistic. I was simply over emotional and as it is often the case worrying about the future. I admit that I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by my circumstances lately, but in no way do I regret having raised two wonderful children. I have high hopes for you both and will consider my life a success if you and Ryan live happy and productive lives.
There are a few things that I do regret . . . one of the biggest is that I dropped out of college, believing it to be more important to help your father get through college. Financially, it was impossible for us to afford a college education for both of us, and it seemed more important that he receive a diploma. In some ways I regret leaving the workforce as it has severely limited my prospects for the future, but again, it was a decision that I made to take more responsibility for the house and the children, and to allow your father to concentrate on his career. I do feel that I was able to be a better mother and have been able to put great effort into raising you and your brother, so that regret is mitigated in that respect. On the occasion that Ryan or you show some appreciation for my efforts, I feel completely justified in that choice and dually rewarded.

I know that it is harder for you to show appreciation, and that it does not come as a natural response. I really do not want you to feel obligated in that way. I do not expect any help, financial or otherwise, from you or your brother, and would not accept it if it were offered. I am certain that I will not be homeless or begging on a street corner, as your father is obligated by law and morality to see that my 30 years of service and sacrifice are compensated for. He has assured me that I will live a comfortable life and that my health expenses are covered. He is an honorable man. I am grateful that I was married to someone who honors his responsibilities. He has also taking [sic] responsibility to provide a college education for both you and your brother, so that neither of you will have to struggle and sacrifice as we did.

If you choose to, you will emerge from college with a master’s degree of your choice, debt free, to pursue any career in life that you wish. When I think of what I would like to do for the future, I think I would like to get my college 76 degree first. I just thought of that tonight, as a direct result of my conversation with you. I think it would be possible as I dropped out only a year shy of my degree, and it seems as I might be spending quite a bit of time on campus waiting for you to take classes, so why not take advantage of that?! I suppose I could take classes at the same time you are taking classes.

I agree with you when you say that I should try to think positively of the future and what I want to do today. There is nothing that I can do about my diagnosis, and I do try to be as healthy as I can, despite the prognosis. I am sure that you noticed that I exercise regularly and do my best to stay in good shape. It’s not like I have the attitude that since I will be crippled anyway I may as well give up and get fat and sedentary now. I am working hard to stay as healthy as I can, for as long as I can.

At some point, I might like to start a business. I sometimes toy with the idea of an internet business like my friend, [L], owns. (Did I punctuate that last sentence correctly?) Her website is [xxx]. You should have a look at it sometime and let me know what you think of it.


Anyway, I would like you to know that no matter what, I am very proud of the person you are. I have no preconceived notion of how you should react or respond. I know that you tend to be more reserved and less emotional and I do not perceive that as condescending malignant, or callous. You are pragmatic and stoical. These are fine attributes. I am glad to know that you are glad to be born and appreciate being taken care of. I love you very much and am more than happy to take care of you in any way I can. I suppose I have felt that you didn’t even notice how hard I try to make things as tolerable as possible for you and that has made me feel sad in a way. I am much happier now, knowing that you do not despise me for bringing you into this world. Above all, I want you to be happy, no matter what you choose to do.

You may not think I notice, but my computer is working faster and I have been able to download bank statements faster and search the websites quicker. I was able to get baseball scores for all the games in a split second, and watch a video clip that a friend sent without any freezing. I didn’t know that you had worked on it, so I thank you for your efforts. You should let me know when you do thoughtful things so that you can get credit! As an aside, I am having a problem that has been ongoing for months. The cursor abruptly moves to a different place in text now and again when I am in the middle of typing a sentence. It is very strange and annoying. Maybe you can have a look at it sometime? Thank you for taking the time to send me this e-mail. I now understand your motive and meaning, and I truly appreciate it!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

AL read some pretty obscure books per the OCA report, many with themes related to suicide, unique love relationships, heroic deeds, etc. There is also the description of his paper on pedophilia. There is clearly a co-dependent relationship between AL and Nancy and some role reversal. It is interesting that the event took place 10 years after the parents separated and at the school AL was attending. Things to consider...

Sihaya said...

If Lanza was primarily anorexic, that is consistent with suicide, not homicide. I see nothing in the professional literature to indicate that anorexia is symptomatic of a homicidal psychopathy.

Obviously, however, he had an eating disorder that accompanied his OCD diagnosis. Given that, and the weakened, nearly emaciated state he was in at the end of his life, how do you account for his having the strength to carry heavy ammo and guns and take out 26 people on his own? It doesn't seem possible, but perhaps you can provide further comment.

Thanks for the information on his psychological state, however, which is both deeply disturbing and heartbreaking.

SandyHookFacts.com said...

The rifle weighed 8 lbs.. thats all he carries .. the rest of the 20+ lbs was evenly distributed over his body.. so the weight wasnt an issue.. a little child can fire an AR15. furthermore his stamina and resistance to pain was well documented. Regards-CW

Anonymous said...

Interesting article. I feel that there is a lot of blame placed on the mother however and almost no mention of the father basically abandoning them both