Families of Santa Fe HS Victims May Finally Get Answers with Proposed Texas Bill

SANTA FE, Texas. The families of some of the victims were disappointed in the Santa Fe High School shooting because they said they didn’t have access to things like autopsy reports that would help them understand how their loved ones died.

Now there is a proposed bill in the Texas Legislature that would change that.

Senate Bill 435 will give victims’ families access to things like forensic reports and crime videos.

In the case of the Santa Fe families, such evidence was withheld from them due to the upcoming trial. But five years later, no trial date has been set, and some families claim they deserve answers.

“It’s hard,” said Rosie Stone, who lost her son in the Santa Fe High School shooting.

She said that sewing helped her cope with her grief.

“This is my peace of mind. It’s just a peaceful thing,” Stone said.

She said she took up the hobby after the tragedy.

“It’s hard… you have to wake up every single day and wait to see if today is the day we get information about our children,” she said.

Stone was told that her son had helped save seven other students, but she was not allowed to look at the medical examiner’s report to find out how many times he had been shot and where.

“It’s like the killers have more justice than the victims – why is that? Because they are dead? – she said.

According to the Galveston County District Attorney, the accused in the shooting has not yet been declared legally competent.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 435 could provide some answers to grieving families if passed.

The bill, proposed by State Senator Mays Middleton, would allow prosecutors to share certain information about a crime with victims and their families without requiring the information to be made public.

“I still don’t officially know if Kimberly (Von) was shot from behind or from the front, or with what weapon,” Rhonda Hart said at a press conference outside Santa Fe High School last week.

Her daughter was also killed in the shooting and she spoke out in support of the bill.

“As a parent, as a mom, I was very involved when she came into this world, I had a front row seat and I don’t know how she left it,” Hart said.

Back at Stone’s house, she’ll continue to handle the wait as well as she can. By creating something beautiful, she can take her mind off the issues that still plague her son.

“Nothing can be hidden from us parents. This is just my opinion on the matter,” Stone said.

Galveston County District Attorney Jack Rowdy supported the bill.

“Under current law, victims of crime and their families do not have the ability to access this information prior to trial,” Rowdy said. “It was especially heartbreaking for the families of the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting as the trial in this case has been delayed while we wait for the defendant to recover.”

He said that if he passed, it would allow his office to share some of the information these families were waiting for.