Families question Va. Tech help claim

BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The families of two Virginia Tech students killed by Seung-Hui Cho say mental health records question the school's handling of the homicidal student.

An attorney for the families of Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, killed by Cho during his 2007 campus shooting spree, said medical records released this week challenge the university's stance regarding Cho's time at the school's Cook Counseling Center, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported Friday

"The records are remarkable for what they don't contain," said attorney Robert T. Hall, whose clients have accused the university of negligence.

Hall said the families want the center's former director, Robert C. Miller, to admit he learned in December 2005 from Tech's director of residence life, Gerald Kowalski, that Cho was a danger to himself and others.

The families also want Miller to admit a center counselor only spent 30 minutes with Cho and did not attempt to implement any follow-up care or diagnose the student.

The Times-Dispatch said Virginia Tech officials insist center staff offered treatment to Cho, who went on to kill 32 students and professors on April 16, 2007, before taking his own life.