Our Complete Statement on the "Note"

We are deeply saddened by the recent turn of events regarding the release of a note and information given to ORPD by our former daughter in law 3 1/2 years after our son's death.   In October 2013, Alex’s wife emailed us a few sentences from a file that she said she’d found on his computer. She claimed it to be a suicide note but refused to allow us to see it. She told us that it had been “buried under a ton of files.” We had not seen the document, now reported on in the media as a suicide note, until it was released to the ORPD on February 25, 2015.

Alex's wife and her parents (who were in Tennessee at the time of Alex’s death) have denied us access to information that they have held onto for years even though they have known of our investigative efforts. We were devastated when we lost our son and are equally devastated by their recent actions. They have withheld evidence from us and authorities causing multiple ramifications and we cannot understand why. Why did they feel the need to conceal this information until now?

How Alex died is not the only question here. The attention given to the documents received by
ORPD does not change how we were treated or why. It does not excuse them. Nor does it excuse Cocke County or the Oak Ridge Schools from their responsibilities or behaviors towards us.

As Alex’s parents, we have every right to find out what happened to him. We are not to blame for any negative light cast on Oak Ridge or Cocke County. That blame rests entirely on the shoulders of the authorities who have chosen to impede our efforts when they could have been helpful.

As we have stated before we remain open to any and all possibilities. We are treating this as a new discovery of information and will take steps towards authenticating the electronic document due to its untimely release, lack of signature electronic or otherwise and possible modifications made prior to its release as the file properties suggest.

It is our hope and prayer that no other family is put through the kind of heartache we have endured but rather will have confidence that the people they are trusting will uphold the law and do right by them and guide them through such a traumatic and life changing event.

As a final note, all of the above has been shared with various media outlets who have approached us for comment. Most have neglected to fully report our side of this story.