Splatter Punks
Origin of "Splatterpunk"
According to Fangoria, the term "Splatterpunk" was coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island. It's a movement within the horror fiction genre that favors graphic and gory depictions of violence, including sexual violence. The idea of the Splatterpunk movement is to rebel against the way extreme violence is often merely implied, and show that violence instead. It's the most explicit gore you'll find in the horror genre.
Who are the Splatter Punks?
- Matt Nalty [pp.7542-7644] (originally identified as "Matt Christianson")
- Matt Akard [No interview available]
- Jim Brunetti [11k, pp.7433-7442]
These three individuals were apprehended in a field next to Columbine High School around 2:00 p.m., investigated as suspects, and were later cleared by police.
The Splatter Punks' story
Matt Nalty, Matt Akard, and Jim Brunetti claimed to have heard about the shooting on the news, at which time they decided to drive to the school. They claim they were at Brunetti's apartment picking up cigarettes when they heard about the shootings at Columbine from Brunetti's sister, who was watching the news. They weren't students at Columbine, but said they had friends who went to the school, specifically Brunetti's sister's ex-boyfriend, Anson, and wanted to see if their friends were okay. When they arrived and started walking toward the school, they were apprehended by police. They claim no knowledge of the incident.
Problems with their story
- They told law enforcement they arrived and parked around 2:00 p.m., but three witnesses place them arriving at the scene hours earlier.
- One witness saw them park their car around noon and two other witnesses, who are listed at the end of this page, saw three people matching their description, in Clement Park, right by Rebel Hill (or Columbine Hill) around 11:20-11:30 a.m.
- They gave several different reasons for showing up in Clement Park.
- The first reason was curiosity.
- The second reason was that they had friends at Columbine and wanted to make sure they were okay, but they couldn't remember their friends' names.
- The third reason was that Brunetti's sister had told him that her ex-boyfriend, who goes to Columbine, said he wanted to come to the school and kill all of the jocks, so they wanted to see if the shooter was the ex-boyfriend. When asked for his name, in one interview, Brunetti couldn't remember, and in another interview, he said his name was Anson. However, there is nobody named Anson in the entire 11k.
- The fourth story Brunetti gave was that he told law enforcement that his sister had two ex-boyfriends who were probably both the shooters, and possibly a third friend.
- James said something about their car being parked in the South parking lot, but when asked where he and his friends were walking, when contacted in the park, James said that they were walking to their car that they parked on Wadsworth somewhere. That's not in the same direction.
Witnesses who may have seen the Splatter Punks hours earlier
There are five witnesses who saw the Splatter Punks before they were arrested, and four of them saw them hours before they claimed they arrived at the park.
Cork Chicota [11k, pp.7461-7466]
A witness named Cork Chicota observed Nalty, Akard, and Brunetti park in the medical center plaza right around noon. This is exactly where they told investigators they har parked, but they claimed to have parked there much later. Chicota said they were all wearing black military attire and they stopped to talk with him and said something about how they were "in the area to help their friends at the school." (11k, p.7462)
The SPs told Chicota they attended Wheat Ridge High School, and Chicota advised there was a tall subject with "bad teeth" [Akard] who said he used to go to Columbine. Chicota stated the three males said they communicate with their friends often and knew something bad was going to happen at Columbine. When Chicota commented about how terrible the shooting was, one of the subjects said, "Yeah but they're getting even." After a few minutes, Chicota started to think their "friends" were the shooters.
Chicota's story matched the story that Akard, Nalty, and Brunetti told about talking with a man at the top of the dirt mound, however, the SPs claimed only to have asked the man about what was happening at the school. (11k, pp.7465-7466)
Ken Greenwalt [11k, pp.7487-7491]
Greenwalt worked security for Swedish Medical Center. He said a nurse advised him of "three 'scary looking' subjects in a back parking lot. Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that he went to the window and observed the three males exit the previously mentioned vehicle [a white Ford Aspire license plate GCA9133]... Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that though he believed the subjects to be suspicious, they were not on the Swedish Medical property and therefore he did not contact them."
"Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that he observed the three males stand on a small hill on the Western edge of Clement Park before wandering further into the park... he then observed the three subjects he had observed exit the Ford Aspire being arrested inside Clement Park. He advised that he witnessed the arrest via the television news... a time later, a time he is unsure of, he observed the three subjects returning to the Ford Aspire... when they began to enter the vehicle, he observed all three raise their fists in the air and wave them towards the school 'as if they were happy about what happened.'" (11k, pp.7488-7489)
Nancy Lindsey [11k, pp.976-980]
Lindsey didn't see all 3 Splatter Punks, but she saw an individual that was seen with two people matching the Splatter Punks' description right as the shooting began.
While in Clement Park just after 11:15 a.m., Nancy Lindsey heard a report of gunmen on the roof at Columbine High School. She stopped in amazement and heard three shots fired in the distance at the school, at which time, she saw a man in his late teens or early 20s walking over Rebel Hill ("Columbine Hill") toward her carrying a 4-foot long canvas bag and another duffel bag that didn't look very full. She described him as walking, smiling, and wearing blue jeans.
From Lindsey's interview:
"While Nancy was facing East toward Columbine Hill, she observed a white male in his late teens, early 20's with brown hair, fair complexion, telling me he was average height, about 5'10", anywhere from 160 to 170 pounds, wearing blue jeans. She stated that the individual was about fifty yards away from her. She made eye contact with him and that he smiled at her. I asked Nancy if the individual was carrying anything. She said that in one hand he was carrying a large duffle bag, in the other hand he had a smaller type nylon bag about four feet in length, telling me that she had no idea what was contained inside the bags. I asked Nancy if she ever observed any type of firearm associated with this individual. She stated she did not."
"Nancy stated that the individual appeared to be walking toward the top of Columbine Hill, at which time Nancy turned and started walking back toward her van. I asked if she could tell me where the individual went. She told me that after she started back toward her van, she lost sight of the individual and has no idea where be went." (11k, pp.979-980)
Lindsey didn't see where this man went, but another witness did - Sally Hocker.
Sally Hocker [11k, pp.7510-7513]
From Hocker's interview:
"At approx. 11:30 a.m., as she was walking on the lower trail near Columbine Hill, she heard an extremely loud noise, and thought to herself the school's science lab had blown up. Approx. one minute later, she noticed a white male with dark hair, dressed in a white t-shirt and light colored blue jeans, walking down the hill from the soccer field, away from the school. (W)Hocker stated the male looked to be high school age, 17-18, and appeared very calm, walking in a "nonchalant" manner. She then observed two, slightly older males, walking Northbound on a path leading out of a housing area greenbelt. Both of these males were dressed in all black, with short black coats and black pants. She watched as all three individuals met and talked briefly. According to (W)Hocker, the meeting appeared to be pre-arranged and very matter of fact. She stated all three parties were very calm, showing no emotions. They paid no attention to her and were not bothered by her presence or the activity surrounding them at the school.
(W)Hocker stated she continued her walk, following a path away from the trio. After a short distance, she turned to see where they were and observed they had walked partially up the hill, toward the soccer field and were standing together looking toward the school." (11k, p.7512)
Nalty, Akard, and Brunetti's interviews
Matt Nalty [11k, pp.7542-7644]
In 1999, Matt Nalty was a senior at Standley Lake High School in Westminster, or at least, he went to this school in 1997, we not certain whether or not he remained at this school.
Nalty was read his Miranda rights at 1406 by officer Moore and agreed to talk.
Nalty's story
He stated that he "sells cell phones at King Soopers" and arrived in Clement Park at 1350 after hearing about the shooting on the news. He said he lives in Broomfield and Akard and Brunetti live in the Northern part of the county. Nalty stated he picked them up and they all decided to come down to Columbine to see what was going on.
Nalty stated he drives a 1997 2-door hatchback white Ford Aspire. He said he parked by Swedish Hospital Clinic on Wadsworth and Bowles and walked over when he was contacted by law enforcement officers who took him into custody. (11k, pp.7546-7547)
In a follow-up interview, Nalty stated that he went to Matt Akard's house to pick up Akard and Brunetti to drive to Littleton in order to pick up a birthday present from a friend of his mother's. Nalty's mother confirmed this on the phone with the officer. After he picked up Akard and Brunetti, they drove to Brunetti's house to pick up some cigarettes and then drove to Littleton. When Brunetti came out of his house, he told them about the shooting at Columbine and they left Arvada between 1250 and 1300 hours. He parked at the hospital because the roads were blocked off. Nalty claimed to be familiar with the area because his family used to live in a subdivision called Kipling Villa eight years prior. (11k, p.7548)
Nalty claims to have some "casual acquaintances" at Columbine.
When asked if he was acquainted with anyone from the Trench Coat Mafia, he stated, "No. That's a stupid name."
When advised that police were getting tips that he, Brunetti, and Akard claimed to be part of the Trench Coat Mafia and were planning a similar attack on Pomona High School, he said he had never made those statements even as a joke. (11k, p.7549)
Nalty's phone records were clean
Investigators obtained phone records for Nalty from his former employer and did not find any records matching the phone numbers for Harris, Klebold, and 13 of their associates. (11k, p.7551)
It should be noted that these phone records only go through 3-25-99.
Misc. details about Nalty
Nalty was originally identified as "Matt Christianson."
On page 9801 of the 11k, Nalty is listed as an associate of the TCM under Scott Erzen's reports:
Nalty, Matthew Joseph, dob/04-15-81
W/M 6'01" 175 BRO/BRO
SSN#unknown OLN#CO97-065-0591
5579 West 115th Avenue
Westminster, Colorado 80020
unknown phone Work: unknown
Erzen was told Nalty was an associate of Harris and Klebold.
Matt Akard [11k, pp.9821-9822]
In 1999, Matt Akard was a senior at Pomona High School in Arvada.
From Ralph Gallego's section: [11k, pp.9816-9842]
"On 4-20-99, at 2:00 p.m., I interviewed Matthew James Akard, who had been detained by Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies after having attempted to get close to the Columbine High School by approaching Columbine High School from the West side. Matthew Akard had indicated that he had been with his friend, Matt Nalty, and his friend, James Burchete [James Brunetti]. He stated that they had been at his house. He indicated that James Burchete [James Brunetti] had spent the night and that they left the house with Matt Nalty earlier that morning.
He stated that they were going to Lakewood to pick up a birthday present and were talking about going to a "Drop Kick Murphy" concert later that evening. He stated that they heard on the radio that there had been a shooting at Columbine High School and the were curious about what was going on. He indicated that they then drove from Arvada to Columbine High School, parked their vehicle on the West side of Clement Park by the lake and attempted to get closer to the school when they were confronted by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies.
Matthew James Akard was dressed in black corduroy pants, wearing a black t-shirt with a black military bomber style jacket, which had numerous anarchy patches and a patch with the numbers "5150," a patch with the name "Minor Threat." He was also wearing black combat boots. He is a white male with red and brown hair. He had his hair on top dyed dark red with a black goatee and braces. He could provide me with no additional information."
Additional pages that mention Matt Akard
Chris Akard, Matt's brother [11k, pp.7424-7426]
On page 17328, there is a lead that claims Akard was a student at Pomona High School and has been talking about another bombing that would happen at PHS on 4-26, 4-27, 4-29, and on the anniversary of Hitler's death (4-30). The lead states Akard wears a long black trench coat, claims to be a member of the Trench Coat Mafia, and was present outside of Columbine before the shooting.
Pages 18274 and 19307 contain leads from Cork Chicota, the man who encountered all three SPs at the top of a dirt hill.
Jim Brunetti [11k, pp.7433-7442]
Brunetti was described as W/M 6'01", 160, BRO/BRO
No tattoos; scar on right palm
Was detained wearing a black waist-length jacket, green fatigue pants, knee-high black leather boots with green laces, a dog collar, and band patches that included an anti-swastika, Dead Kennedys, and Bad Religion.
A GRS kit was performed on Brunetti's hands and face and was documented as being "collected by unknown lab person." (Source p.7437)
Brunetti's story
Brunetti was escorted into a van for questioning by Jeffco S.O. Deputy A.R. Walker. The IO, investigator Eaton, met with Brunetti in the van as he was having his hands bagged for his GSR collection kit. He was read his Miranda rights and said he would like to tell his story.
According to Brunetti, he stayed the previous night at Akard's house. They woke up at 10:00 a.m. and Nalty called the house around 10:30 a.m. They were planning on going to a Drop Kick Murphy concert in Littleton.
Brunetti said that when they all went to his house so he could get his cigarettes, his sister was watching the news of the shooting. He said his sister had an ex-boyfriend named Anson who went to Columbine and they wanted to drive over there to see if he was okay. (11k, p.7438)
Note that there is nobody named "Anson" interviewed in the 11k.
Brunetti told a different story while being transported from Clement Park to the command center.
From Annette Walker's section [11k, pp.10037-10041]
"While transporting the male (James) from Clement Park to the command center, he spontaneously uttered the following statements: he said that he was at home in Arvada when he saw the shooting coverage on the news. He said that his sister had told him that her ex-boyfriend (he could not remember his name) had made statements to her about coming to the school and killing all of the jocks.
James said that when he saw the shootings on television, he and his friends wanted to come down to see if it was the ex-boyfriend. James then said that his sister's other ex-boyfriend was probably with the other guy, and maybe another of their friends.
James said something about their car being parked in the South parking lot, but when asked where he and his friends were walking, when contacted in the park, James said that they were walking to their car that they parked on Wadsworth somewhere.
James said that they had friends at Columbine and did not want to see anybody get killed, but when asked the names of their friends, he could not name anybody." (11k, p.10040)
Brunetti said that when they started walking toward some cops to ask them what was going on, they were all apprehended. They were released shortly after and told to leave the scene.
The cops followed Brunetti
A few days after being cleared, Brunetti called his IO and told him the cops were following him and said he wanted some kind of written statement that he and his friends were no longer suspects. The same IO received a call from Matt Nalty who also wanted to be officially cleared. The IO noted "I made no follow-up calls to Mr. Nalty." (11k, p.7439)
Appearance on Sally Jesse Raphael on April 30, 1999
Matt Nalty and Jim Brunetti were flown to New York City to be interviewed on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show. The episode was taped on Tuesday, April 27, 1999 and aired on Friday, April 30, 1999 on Channel 20 at 1:00 p.m.
Investigators taped the show to compare the stories told to the audience with their interviews and found their stories to be consistent. (11k, p.7440)
This episode also featured injured Columbine student Brian Anderson, which is interesting because Anderson called KOA radio on 4-21-99 at 10:30 a.m. and stated that the three males apprehended in the park were involved in delivering pipe bombs. When interviewed about this statement, he told investigators that he believes they are innocent of wrongdoing and they "dress completely different than the Trench Coat Mafia." (11k, p.17864)
Nalty and Brunetti took a polygraph test
Nalty and Brunetti were given polygraph examinations as a condition of appearing on the Sally Jesse Raphael show.
Investigators requested these polygraph records from the company that administered them and found that Nalty gave truthful responses except for when asked if he had ever visited Harris or Klebold's website. His answer of "no" was inconclusive.
What's wrong with their polygraphs? Plenty
Nalty and Brunetti were given a generous "pass" on their polygraph examinations. The IO who requested their polygraph charts examined them and found that Nalty was deliberately altering his respiratory respiration and that the man who administered the polygraph to Brunetti was "generous" when scoring their tests, especially Brunetti's "direct involvement-you phase" chart. (11k, p.7545)
From Nalty's interview report:
Mr. Martin's report indicated that the relevant questions asked of both subjects in the Backster Direct Involvement "you phase" examination were:
a. Prior to the shootings at Columbine High School on April 20th, did you transport any guns or explosives into that school?
b. Did you yourself transport any guns or explosives into Columbine High School prior to the shootings on April 20th?
The relevant questions asked of both subjects in the Backster Exploratory examination were:
c. Prior to April 20th, did you ever visit the Website of Harris and Klebold?
d. Prior to April 20th, were you personally acquainted with either Dylan Klebold or Eric Harris?
e. Prior to April 20th, did you know that the shootings at Columbine High School were gong to take place?
It was Mr. Martin's opinion that Matthew Nalty's "no" response to the relevant questions indicated for him to be answering truthful to them, all except for relevant question "c," which scored in the "inconclusive" range, Mr. Martin opined that Matthew Nalty was not deceptive in his response to any of the relevant questions.
It was Mr. Martin's opinion that James Brunetti's "no" responses to the relevant questions indicated for him to be answering truthfully to all of them.
After reviewing all of the polygraph charts from Matthew Nalty's examination, it is IO's opinion the subject appeared to be deliberately distorting his respiratory tracings in chart #1 and chart #2 of the exploratory examination and to relevant question #35 (b) on chart #2 in the direct involvement "you phase" examination. (11k, p.7544)
"It is the opinion of IO, after analyzing all of the polygraph charts and using a seven point scale in scoring Matthew Nalty's polygraph charts, that his responses to the relevant questions in the direct involvement examination were "inconclusive" and his responses to the relevant questions in the exploratory examination were truthful.
It is the opinion of IO, after analyzing all of the polygraph charts and using the seven point scale in scaring James Brunetti's polygraph charts, that his responses to the relevant questions in the direct involvement and the exploratory examinations were truthful. However, it is IO's opinion that Mr. Martin is very generous to the subject in his scoring evaluation of all the tests, especially the direct involvement "you phase" charts." (11k, p.7545)
Who saw/encountered the Splatter Punks?
Law enforcement who encountered the SPs
- Scheieterman [11k, pp.8095-8097]
Witnesses who saw the SPs before they went to Columbine
Ken Greenwalt [11k, pp.7487-7491]
Greenwalt worked security for Swedish Medical Center. He said a nurse advised him of "three 'scary looking' subjects in a back parking lot. Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that he went to the window and observed the three males exit the previously mentioned vehicle [a white Ford Aspire license plate GCA9133]... Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that though he believed the subjects to be suspicious, they were not on the Swedish Medical property and therefore he did not contact them."
"Greenwalt advised Investigator Eaton that he observed the three males stand on a small hill on the Western edge of Clement Park before wandering further into the park... he then observed the three subjects he had observed exit the Ford Aspire being arrested inside Clement Park. He advised that he witnessed the arrest via the television news... a time later, a time he is unsure of, he observed the three subjects returning to the Ford Aspire... when they began to enter the vehicle, he observed all three raise their fists in the air and wave them towards the school 'as if they were happy about what happened.'" (11k, pp.7488-7489)
The lead for Greenwalt is located on p.18007
Witnesses who saw the SPs at Columbine
- Nancy Lindsey [11k, pp.976-980]
- Sally Hocker [11k, pp.7510-7513]
- Jennifer Tindall's brother [11k, pp.3720-3727] From Jonathan McMaster's interview: In McMaster's interview, the IO discusses an interview with Kristen Schoenhoff, who said she spoke with Jennifer Tindall, who said her brother was at home during the incident and saw the three detained individuals walk past the house talking on cell phones. This was seen through a window facing the field behind the school. (11k, p.3727)
Witnesses who saw the SPs after the shooting
Matt Lohrenz [p.1505]
From Lohrenz' interview:
"Matt said that he and Jen Weinman and Lauren Johnson, from the math hall, and his sister Stephanie (Lohrenz) drove over to the public library in Jen Weinman's car He said that they were outside the library and Man had seen his dad. Jim Lohrenz, and his older sister, Ashley Brenning and brother in law, Brian Brenning. Matt said that they were all standing around talking and he saw three people walking down Bowles., about 50 yards away He said that they were looking at the people and grinning. He said that he didn't see them laughing. He described one as wearing a plain white t-shirt, with red suspenders, carrying a black coat with an orange liner over his shoulders, possibly wearing black shorts. Matt described his hair as blonde in a pony tail. Matt said that the other two were about the same height and both had black coats, but he could not describe them any further.
Man Lohrenz said that he thought the three guys that were arrested on 04-20-99 were probably the same three he saw near the public library. He also thought that the one with the blonde pony tail was on the Sally Jesse Rafael show on 04-30-99. He said that he wasn't sure about the other two, because he really didn't get a good look at them." (11k, p.1505)
There is another witness who saw someone in suspenders laughing at people at the library, and we just need to get this reference from our notes.
Additional tidbits
On 4-17-99, two Pomona High School students were arrested for possessing explosives and had been "contacted in early AM hours at Pomona High School in fatigues. Claimed to be on maneuvers."
Investigators concluded that both subjects were facing criminal charges and had been interviewed, but there was no connection to the Columbine incident. (10k, p.17824)