Robert Miller, who ran Virginia Tech's Cook Counseling Center from 2002 until February 2006, says he placed the records for Seung Hui Cho in a box of personal documents when he left to take another campus job, according to a statement given to the Associated Press from his lawyer.
Lawyer Ed McNelis said Miller opened the box for the first time last week while searching for any material that could be relevant to a lawsuit filed by families for two of the slain victims in the nation's worst mass school shooting, on April 16, 2007.
Cook Counseling Center policy bars employees from removing records, Virginia Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said.
A state panel that investigated the shootings spent months trying to locate the records, which may shed light on whether Cho received appropriate treatment.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said he would make the records public either by court order or with permission from Cho's family.
"We hope that the contents of the file … will provide important information to the families," Owczarski said.
The lawsuit alleges the school was negligent for failing to spot Cho's deteriorating mental health.
A Virginia Tech senior, Cho had been ordered by a judge in 2005 to undergo outpatient psychiatric treatment and was assessed at least twice by phone and once in person by the campus center.
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