By Katherine Ramsland
Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
April 18, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. (Crime Library) —While there was talk earlier that the V-Tech rampage was sparked by a fight with a girlfriend, nineteen-year-old Emily Hilscher, those who knew the girl vehemently deny she had a relationship with Cho. Yet others say there was certainly an argument, which drew a dorm counselor, Ryan Clark, to come to settle the disturbance (perhaps after Emily had already been shot). Clark, 22, became one of the first two victims, along with Emily.
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| Emily Hilscher |
What's the truth behind these notions? Given what we've heard about Cho from roommates and students in class with him, he was a loner with no real friends. His expression rarely changed, no one ever visited him, and he tended to get ideas about girls — to the point where other boys viewed him as a stalker. In fact, during a rare night out with roommates, they reported, Cho revealed that he had an "invisible girlfriend" who was a "supermodel." He and she even had pet names for each other. So, clearly Cho thought about and desired a girlfriend. He also had a vivid fantasy life. And he was controlling and moralistic — all signs of a seriously disturbed person who, under certain circumstances, could become a stalker.
While some people say that Emily, a popular and pretty girl with many friends, knew Cho but had a boyfriend, it doesn't take much to engage the unwanted attention of a stalker. A person can be married and a mother, yet still inspire a stalker. A glance, a smile to be friendly, a kind word — even just crossing his path without noticing him - have all been ingredients in other incidents for the roiling delusions of stalkers. Sometimes a stalker merely sees an image of the target person and soon absorbs that person into a fantasy of control. In his mind, that person is now a pawn in his game and must act as he dictates. But when reality crashes in and the person does not conform to the fantasy, anger can boil over.
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| Cho Seung-Hui (Virginia State Police) |
So, Emily might have known Cho from a class or study group. They might have spoken. Then he could have developed his own ideas about what she meant to him, as well as how she ought to behave. In that case, he could have gone to her dorm on April 16 to confront her about behavior he disliked — especially if he considered it promiscuous (which he despised). The very same thing happened to Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, star of My Sister Sam, when a fan, Robert Bardo, decided she had taken a role in a film that he found morally repugnant. So, in 1989 he went to where she lived and shot her to death.
Cho shot Emily repeatedly before going off to write a rambling note of blame and disapproval, and then shooting 30 other students in another building. Whether or not she had a relationship with him, a friendship, or just a passing acquaintance, he seemed to have ideas about her that provoked rage.
In November and in December of 2005, two separate women complained to police that Cho had been sending them unwanted text messages. In the first instance, the woman declined to press charges and the matter was referred to the Virginia Tech disciplinary board. Results of the disciplinary board are protected by law.
The second instance in December of 2005 came about the same time as concern from a roomate that Cho seemed suicidal. The cumulative effect of the three contacts with the police and the school administration was that Cho on Dec. 15 sent to Access, an independent mental health facility for evaluation. Cho's mental health records were not shared with the police.
Neither of the women who complained about Cho's behavior were victims of the shooting rampage and there were no similar complaints filed about Cho since the incidents in late 2005.
Police still do not know why Cho went to the dormitory and murdered Emily and Ryan, nor do they know why he targeted the Norris building. Specialists are going through his computer and all of his writings looking for clues to why his rage was directed at Emily and Ryan and the individuals attending class in the Norris building.
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Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
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