Nashville Shooter’s Autopsy Indicates No Testing Ordered for Potential Prescription Medications

Police chief previously said the transgender assailant was being treated for an 'emotional disorder'

Audrey Hale points a gun inside the Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023. Nashville Police Department via The Epoch Times

The autopsy and toxicology report for the shooter in the attack at a Nashville Christian school in March showed no “positive findings of toxicological significance” in blood and urine tests performed, according to new autopsy and toxicology reports released to The Epoch Times from Nashville’s medical examination and forensic pathology services provider.

Nashville’s Police Chief John Drake said previously, the shooter was under a doctor’s care for an “emotional disorder“ but noted that officials were unclear of what treatment she may have been receiving.

The autopsy also included a summary of physical characteristics, showing the 28-year-old Audrey Hale—who was reportedly transgender and also known by the male name Aiden—had made no listed physical changes to her body in her transition from female to male.

The 11-page document sent to The Epoch Times showed no indication of tests being performed to indicate whether Hale was on any type of medication for a psychiatric condition or any kind of hormone therapy to aid in her transition to male.

The autopsy shows that Hale, as was previously evidenced through body camera footage released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD), was killed on the site of her attack at The Covenant School by officers, succumbing to several gunshot wounds.

The Epoch Times requested the records through MNPD shortly after the March 27 attack but were denied access, while a separate request directly to the Middle Tennessee Regional Forensic Center was approved and released on Monday evening.

Toxicology Report

The majority of the report provided to The Epoch Times focused on the manner of death, while the toxicology report consisted of two pages in which various drugs were tested for but not detected.

Of those drugs tested for included illegal drugs and alcohol. The report indicates that Hale’s blood and urine were tested for amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, cannabinoids, cocaine, fentanyl, methadone, methamphetamine, opiates, oxycodone, and phencyclidine.

Audrey Hale in an undated image. Nashville Police Department via The Epoch Times

No additional tests were performed, according to the information provided in this report to The Epoch Times.

The toxicology section states no positive results on any of the tests were detected.

The report notes the blood and urine samples, unless alternative arrangements are made by law enforcement, will be discarded one year from the date of the report. It is unclear if law enforcement has already sought or will seek additional blood or urine tests.

Manner of Death

The cause of death as listed in the report are gunshot wounds, including to the torso, left arm, head, right shoulder and right thigh. The most damage was done by a gunshot wound to the lungs and a skull fracture, with resulting hemorrhages.

The report also indicated “minor blunt force trauma” of the body in the report.

The report stated that an investigator and doctor responded to the school and documented the scene with photography and performed a brief investigation.

“The postmortem examination is significant for perforating and graze gunshot wounds of the body,” the report stated. “The toxicological analysis (basic profile) on the postmortem femoral blood did not detect drugs of abuse or ethanol.

“Based on the circumstances and the collective findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death in this case is gunshot wounds,” the medical examiner wrote.

Clothing Contained Handwriting, Firing Range Logo

On clothing found at the time of her death, Hale was wearing a white shirt with “handwritten words, drawings, and numbers written on it,” as well as a black t-shirt with “a firing range logo printed on the left front side of the shirt and other printed writings and a picture on the back, the report read.

It did not detail what the handwritten words, drawings, numbers, or picture on the shirts were.

Further, the report indicates that Hale was wearing a bra with additional handwritten words and a drawing on it, a black tactical-type vest, a black utility belt with holsters attached, camouflage pants, two red socks, two black shoes, orange ear plugs, two black and blue partial gloves, and an orange smartwatch.

Additionally, a “red hat” was located near her body, according to the report. Multiple ammunition magazines, some of which were “labeled with stickers and/or drawings” and other “weapon items,” including a red pocket knife with the name “AIDEN” monogrammed on it, were removed from her clothing and given to law enforcement.

The home of the Nashville Christian School shooter sits quietly in its south Nashville neighborhood on March 31, 2023, days after police agencies raided the home following the shooting. Chase Smith/The Epoch Times

Her hands had been handcuffed. They were removed at the scene and handed over to law enforcement.

A postmortem X-ray was reviewed by the medical examiner, showing a “well-developed, well-nourished” person who appeared as female.

It also noted her arms had “no track marks” that would indicate illicit intravenous drug use and no scars were found on her wrists to indicate self-harm.

Lack of Information

Republican State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, who is chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee and member of a party suing MNPD for release of public records related to the shooting, told The Epoch Times in recent weeks that legislators want to know what Hale’s autopsy concludes, including what, if any, medications she was taking.

Gardenhire said the legislature was interested in what mental health medication she may have been taking in particular, and were less interested in whether or not she was taking any hormone therapy as part of her transition to male.