Identification delay brings further grief

BLACKSBURG, VA. — Family members were frustrated Wednesday that they could neither see nor claim the bodies of students killed in Monday’s Virginia Tech shooting rampage.

A lengthy official identification process has kept friends and relatives from the next step in their grieving, and delayed arrangements for funerals out of state or, in some cases, overseas.

University President Charles W. Steger met with families at The Inn at Virginia Tech and told them most of the victims’ bodies could not be released for burial.

So far, the bodies of nine of 32 victims have been identified and released.

Joe Samaha was still waiting Wednesday evening to view the body of his daughter Reema J. Samaha, 18, who was killed in Norris Hall.

“The beginning of closure is when we will be reunited with our daughter, to be able to see her, kiss her, touch her,” said Samaha, 51, a real estate broker in Centreville, Va. “I continue to advocate for my family and other families to see the bodies of our children.”

Tracy Littlejohn, a cousin of shooting victim Erin N. Peterson, 18, also of Centreville, said Peterson’s parents and other relatives had asked to identify her body, but “that’s not what the university is allowing.”

“You can imagine how frustrated they might be because they cannot be in contact with their loved ones,” Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations, said of the victims’ families at a news conference Wednesday.

Marcella F. Fierro, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, has said she needs “scientifically validated proof” of the shooting victims’ identities before bodies can be released.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management considers “face identifications” by relatives “unreliable,” especially when families are under stress and prone to mistakes, according to a statement released late Wednesday.

Instead, investigators asked families to provide fingerprints of their relatives, and may request dental records too, the statement said.

“We want to err on the side of caution,” said Bob Spieldenner, a department spokesman who was at the inn Wednesday. “It is frustrating for the families, but we want to be right and not cause undue grief for them.”

Some families said they were told early Wednesday that as many as 28 bodies could be identified and released by day’s end. But Spieldenner said no new identifications were likely until today, when he expected to release a “significant number,” though not a complete list.

He said staff at the medical examiner’s office was working on “the easiest cases first,” matching bodies to fingerprints and other records.

Among those awaiting news was Harris Iskander, education attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, who represented the family of Virginia Tech doctoral student Partahi Lumbantoruan, 34.

Lumbantoruan’s parents are waiting in Sumatra for Iskander to fly the body home for burial. Iskander had expected to receive the body late Wednesday. Instead, he said, the medical examiner’s office asked for additional medical records.

“The family want to have it as soon as possible,” he said. “I’m caught in the middle.”

Grief counselors were at the inn Wednesday, but few families sought counseling.

“They’re anxious now because they want to move on and get their loved ones’ remains, but it’s not so easy to do that. There’s an investigation and a lot to process,” said Capt. Richard White, the Salvation Army leader coordinating some of the volunteer grief counselors.

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molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes

David Zucchino contributed to this report.

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The victims

Those killed in the shootings at Virginia Tech, as identified by authorities and family members:

Faculty

Christopher James Bishop, instructor, foreign languages; taught German

Jocelyne M. Couture-Nowak, instructor, foreign languages; taught French

Kevin P. Granata, 35, professor, engineering, science and mechanics department

Liviu Librescu, 76, taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years; internationally known for his work in aeronautical engineering

G.V. Loganathan, 51, professor, civil and environmental engineering

Students

Ross A. Alameddine, 20, sophomore, Saugus, Mass.; university studies

Brian R. Bluhm, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; graduate student, civil engineering

Ryan C. Clark, 22, senior, Martinez, Ga.; biology, English and psychology; resident advisor

Austin M. Cloyd, 22, freshman, Champaign, Ill.; international studies

Matthew G. Gwaltney, 24, Chester, Va.; graduate student, civil and environmental engineering

Caitlin M. Hammaren, 19, sophomore, Slate Hill, N.Y.; international studies and French

Jeremy M. Herbstritt, 27, Bellefonte, Pa.; graduate student in civil engineering

Rachel M. Hill, 18, freshman, Henrico County, Va.; biology

Emily J. Hilscher, 18, freshman, Woodsville, Va.; animal and poultry sciences

Jarrett L. Lane, 22, senior, Narrows, Va.; civil engineering

Matthew J. La Porte, 21, sophomore, Dumont, N.J.; university studies

Henry J. Lee, 20, freshman, Roanoke, Va.; computer engineering

Partahi Lombantoruan, 34, Indonesia; doctoral student in civil engineering

Lauren A. McCain, 20, freshman, Hampton, Va.; international

studies

Daniel P. O’Neil, 22, Lincoln, R.I.; graduate student in civil engineering

Juan R. Ortiz, 26, Bayamon, Puerto Rico; graduate student in civil engineering

Minal H. Panchal, 26, Mumbai, India; graduate student in architecture

Erin N. Peterson, 18, freshman, Centreville, Va.

Daniel A. Perez Cueva, 21, Peru; international relations

Michael Pohle, 23, Flemington, N.J.

Julia K. Pryde, Middletown, N.J.; graduate student in biological engineering

Mary Karen Read, 19, freshman, Annandale Va.; interdisciplinary studies and elementary education

Reema J. Samaha, 18, freshman, Centreville, Va.; university studies

Waleed M. Shaalan, 32, Zagazig, Egypt; doctoral student in civil engineering

Leslie G. Sherman, sophomore, Fairfax, Va.; history and international studies

Maxine Turner, 22, senior, Vienna, Va.; chemical engineering

Nicole White, 20, junior, Carrollton, Va.; international studies and German

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Source: Times research, wire reports