Hochhalter committed suicide in this suburban Denver pawnshop

October 24, 1999
Web posted at: 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT)

In this story: 'I just can't take it' Student charged with making threats RELATED STORIES, SITES

LITTLETON, Colorado (CNN) -- Counseling centers opened again in suburban Denver this weekend after the mother of a survivor of April's massacre at Columbine High School killed herself in a pawnshop.

Though the contents of Carla June Hochhalter's suicide note have not been released since her public suicide Friday, many in this community see her as a new victim of the shooting spree that left 12 students, a teacher and two teenage perpetrators dead.

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Hochhalter, 48, asked to see a .38-caliber handgun in the Alpha Pawn Shop in Englewood, a Denver suburb near Littleton, Friday morning. She loaded it with bullets she apparently brought with her and shot herself in the head, police said.

"In a case like this, a tragic loss of life, it rekindles our feelings, and we as a community are here as a resource to each other," said Aura Leigh Ferguson, of the Columbine Connection counseling center.

At another center, counselors are telling parents and students "They need to connect with friends, family and the faith community," said John Eachon, vice president of Access and Extended Services, whose counselors have worked with students in the wake of the attack.

"This is just another layer of tragedy for the people of Columbine to have to deal with," Eachon said.

'I just can't take it'

Hochhalter's daughter, Anne Marie, survived the Columbine massacre but was paralyzed from the waist down. Six months later, she had begun to regain some movement in her legs, and the family was preparing to move into a new home equipped for her wheelchair.

In late August, as Columbine students returned to their school for the first time since the rampage, her husband Ted told reporters the family was "trying to look toward the future with optimism."

Others expressed anger over the latest death.

"I just can't take it," said Steve Cohn, whose 15-year-old son Aaron survived the library attack. "That's my feeling. I can't believe someone killed themselves over those idiots. Her daughter pulled through a lot. It's been terrible for all of us."

Cohn and his son have been to counseling themselves, but he said the sessions have been of little help to Aaron.

"Until he opens up, there's nothing we can do," Cohn said.

Hochhalter's death came just before a television program aimed at helping families deal with the trauma was to premiere. The hour-long program follows a Columbine High family through therapy as both students and parents learn to deal with their emotions.

"We wanted to help people that were the victims recognize some of the trauma that they might be experiencing," said Russell Ruffin, producer of "Columbine: Surviving the Trauma."

A cable television program follows a Columbine High School family through therapy

Student charged with making threats

The same day Hochhalter took her own life, another Columbine student appeared before a judge on charges he threatened to "finish the job" started by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who attacked their fellow students with guns and homemade bombs on April 20.

The student, whose name has been withheld because he is a juvenile, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. Robert Grossman, his lawyer, said the boy is himself tormented by the Columbine shootings and has written about committing suicide.

"He lost many friends of his that he was very close with," Grossman said.

Next Friday, he will appear before Jefferson County Juvenile Court Magistrate John DeVita. DeVita said many people in the community are still trying to sort out the events of April.

"There are those who say, you know, 'It's passed, let's move forward ... let's go on with life.' And there are others who are going to continue to have issues," DeVita said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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