Worldandnation: Athlete's suicide shocks Columbine

Athlete's suicide shocks Columbine

©Associated Press

LITTLETON, Colo. -- A Columbine High basketball star who witnessed last year's bloodbath -- losing one of his best friends -- hanged himself in his garage as a CD, set to replay continuously, blared a song with the words: "I'm too depressed to go on."

It was the second suicide among friends or relatives of the Columbine High victims, shocking the community two weeks after the first anniversary of the massacre.

Greg Barnes, a 17-year-old who averaged 26.2 points a game as a junior last season and had attracted attention from Harvard, Notre Dame and other universities, hanged himself Thursday morning, said neighbor Leonard Purer.

"His father found him hanging," said Purer, who has known the family for nine years. "I do not know if Columbine caused this, but I do know he was upset by it. All the students were upset by it."

Adam's Song, by the group Blink 182, was playing when his parents found the body, said teammate Dave Mitchell. The lyrics include the phrases "I never thought I'd die alone" and "I'm too depressed to go on. You'll be sorry when I'm gone."

The sheriff's office and the Jefferson County coroner declined to provide additional details. "Some things should remain confidential to the family," Coroner Nancy Bodelson said. Friends were mystified, saying there were no signs of turmoil in the teenager's life.

"I talked to him the night before, and it didn't seem like anything was wrong," Mitchell said. "We talked about the usual stuff, girls."

The death of a youth so popular and successful left Jefferson County residents weeping anew and wondering when the scarred community will catch a break.

"We were just saying yesterday, "It's been quiet since the anniversary. We hope we can just finish the rest of the year with no other tremors,' " Jefferson County Schools spokesman Rick Kaufman said Friday as a fresh wave of grief counselors made their way to the Littleton, Colo., high school.

Mental health specialists said they do not know what demons bedeviled Barnes, widely described as a talented student and coachable athlete.

They hesitated to link his suicide to the events of April 20, 1999, when Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 people, wounded 23 more and shot themselves to death.

"Sometimes this happens and it happens everywhere. It's not necessarily related to Columbine. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for teenagers," said Tom Olbrich, a social worker at the Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Arvada, Colo.

"It's such a waste. Even if all the other Columbine things hadn't happened, it's still a tragedy."

Earlier this week, a 16-year-old student at nearby Thomas Jefferson High School shot himself in the school parking lot and remains in critical condition, Olbrich pointed out. More than one middle school student in the Denver area has committed suicide this year, added Les Franklin, who started a foundation for latchkey kids after his own son killed himself in 1990.

Investigators would not say whether Barnes left a note and gave no additional details.

The news was devastating for students and staff at Columbine. Six counselors were at the school to offer help, and substitute teachers were on call to fill in for staff members who wanted to stay home. Many students skipped school. "It's a somber mood at Columbine High School," school district spokesman Rick Kaufman said.

On April 20, 1999, two teenage boys killed 12 fellow Columbine students and a teacher and wounded 23 people before committing suicide in the worst school shooting rampage in U.S. history.

Barnes was in a science room when the gunmen opened fire. He told Sports Illustrated he saw teacher Dave Sanders "take two shots, right in front of me" as he watched the rampage through a window in the door. Barnes was also a good friend of victim Matt Kechter.

"Matt always waited by the mailbox for his little brother to come home from school," Barnes told the Associated Press after the shooting. "He was the most innocent person I knew."

Since the massacre, the Columbine community has almost constantly had to live with grief.

The mother of Anne Marie Hochhalter, a student who was paralyzed in the shooting, walked into a pawnshop in October, asked to see a gun, loaded it and shot herself to death. On Valentine's Day, two Columbine sweethearts were shot to death in a sandwich shop.

The 6-foot-3 Barnes scored 31 points in Columbine's loss during the state quarterfinal playoff game in March. The Denver Post and the Denver Rocky Mountain News named him to their all-state teams, and Barnes would have been the top player in the state next year, according to two coaches whose teams played Columbine.

"He was obviously in a high class of character and talent," said Vanderbilt assistant coach Tim Jankovich, who had an upbeat talk with Columbine basketball coach Rudy Martin on Thursday, before Barnes' body was discovered.

Martin called him "a tremendous worker and a great student and an outstanding basketball talent," Jankovich said. "I think he mentioned that he could be tough on himself at times, but I don't know many competitors who aren't that way."

"I just didn't believe it. It was horrible. It made me mad. Mad at Greg," said Brian Deidel, a teammate and childhood friend. "He had so much going for him. He didn't need to do that to everybody who knows him, who loves him."