NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — The Star News Network has published images showing 90 pages of text allegedly written by the Covenant School mass murderer.

In November 2023, images of three pages of the writings of shooter Audrey Hale, whose actions left three co-workers and three young children dead, were posted online. These pages were published by online personality Steven Crowder, who also posted the writings Tuesday morning ahead of publication on the Star News Network.

On March 27, 2023, Hale, who identified as transgender, entered the private elementary school and opened fire. Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers tackled and fatally shot Hale.

During their investigation, Tennessee police found documents left behind by Hale, which led to a legal battle over their release. In the months following the shooting, the National Police Association (NPA), The Tennessean and the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) filed lawsuits demanding that Hale’s documents be released. The school, a group of Covenant parents and others argued that the documents should not be released to avoid possible copycats and to provide closure to the parents who lost their children.

During the course of the litigation, Hale’s parents transferred ownership of the writings to the families of the Covenant School, who were able to claim copyright on the writings and prevent any publication. However, Michael Patrick Leahey of the Tennessee Star, who is also scheduled to appear on Crowder’s show, believes the decision was wrong. Leahey had previously stated: “It was a very bad decision,” Leahey said. “The judge made a very bad mistake by accepting a very dubious copyright claim by the interveners, who, by the way, should never have intervened in the case.”

Last August, The Tennessee Star and TFA appealed the judge’s decision not to release the writings, in which Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles determined that a federal copyright law takes precedence over the Tennessee Public Records Act, meaning the writings, diaries and artwork of Metro Nashville Police shooter Audrey Hale do not have to be released. Star News Digital Media appealed.

Leahey, for his part, explained in a statement on the Tennessee Star website why the media company had published the text:

“We legally obtained this diary – which we are referring to as the 2023 Covenant Killer Diary to distinguish it from the many diaries Hale wrote prior to 2023 – in early June 2024 from a source familiar with the MNPD investigation. We believe it to be authentic. In addition to our belief, the diary’s authenticity was confirmed in court by a Nashville City Council attorney who was present at a June 2024 court hearing, as well as in a court filing filed on June 14, 2024 by MNPD Lieutenant Alfredo Alevado. …

On April 24, 2023, pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act, we formally requested the MNPD, a division of the Metro Nashville Davidson County Government, to release all of Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s writings obtained as part of their investigation into the March 27, 2023 murders. The Metro Nashville Government denied this request a day later, on April 25, 2023, and in May 2023, we filed suit against the Metro Nashville Government in the Chancery Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, to obtain these writings as required by the Tennessee Public Records Act. The case was assigned to Judge I’Ashea Myles. We are well represented in this matter by America First Legal and their outstanding local attorney, Nick Brady.

In May 2023, MNPD provided all of Hale’s writings obtained in her investigation to Judge Myles for her unofficial review. On July 4, 2024, Judge Myles issued her decision in the case denying our motion for two reasons: (1) MNPD’s claim that they were conducting an ongoing investigation into the murders was a statutory exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act that would have granted our motion, and (2) an intervening group’s assertion of ownership of Hales’ writings and a resulting copyright claim constituted a non-statutory exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act.

On July 31, 2024, we appealed the court’s decision to the Tennessee State Court of Appeals. We expect to win our appeal.”