VA. TECH REVIEW PANEL
Families Want Choice of Panelist
Relatives Ask to Appoint Their Own Private Investigator
Some members of the panel, shown June 11 at GMU, say they have reservations about adding a member.
(By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007; Page B03
The relatives of more than a dozen victims of the Virginia Tech massacre may want to hire their own private investigator to sit on the panel reviewing the shooting to guarantee its work is focused and objective, their attorney said yesterday.
Thomas J. Fadoul Jr., a Vienna lawyer for the families, said relatives have asked that state officials appoint the investigator to the panel "but be responsible to us and take direction from us."
Fadoul made his request late Monday night during a contentious meeting between family members and W. Gerald Massengill, the chairman of the panel, and Larry Roberts, chief counsel to Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).
The meeting occurred after the relatives of 13 of the 32 victims released a statement Monday saying they felt "ostracized" by the panel and Kaine.
Instead of focusing on Virginia Tech's response to the shooting and questions such as why the campus was not closed after the initial reports of gunfire, the family members said they fear the panel is bogged down by what they consider to be extraneous issues.
"It is going completely away from the issue of accountability. . . . We want someone right there with them, every time they meet, to steer the investigation," Fadoul said. "Investigations are all about where they are steered."
Fadoul would not identify who they would like to place on the panel, but he said he knows several investigators, including one who served as an expert witness on the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Late last night, Fadoul said he is hopeful that he and Roberts will come to an agreement soon. He said the relatives may drop their demands for the investigator if "they can get the same thing accomplished by some other means."
Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Kaine, said last night, "We continue to explore with these families what may be an appropriate way for them to continue to participate in the work of the independent review panel."
Kaine has requested a meeting with all the family members in the next two weeks.
Massengill maintained yesterday that he has reservations about adding more people to the panel.
He said he "adamantly opposes" placing one of the relatives on the panel because he wants to make sure its "recommendations are made free of perceptions that they are being driven by the wrong reasons."
