BATH — A woman who lost her son and husband in the Lewiston mass shooting was granted legal power to request the gunman's medical and military records.
Cynthia Young was made special administrator over Robert Card's estate in Sagadahoc County Probate Court on Tuesday, almost a year after Card committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, killing 18 people. The victims included Young's husband, Bill, 44, and their 14-year-old son, Aaron, who she had just dropped off at Just-In-Time Recreation an hour before the first 911 calls were made.
"This will be really beneficial toward the healing of all the families of the victims, the survivors, and I'm really hopeful that we'll be able to move forward," Young told reporters Tuesday following the brief hearing with Sagadahoc County Probate Judge David Paris.
Card's body was found in Lisbon two days after the shooting. Although he left a note at his home with information about how to access his accounts, court filings indicate that he had no will.
Card's son and sole heir did not object to Young's request, according to a renunciation form he signed in June. An attorney for Card's son did not return a message from a reporter Tuesday.
Young now has the limited authority to request otherwise confidential records from the U.S. Army, where Card was a reservist, and from two hospitals where he was held for mental health treatment — Keller Army Community Hospital and Four Winds, a private psychiatric hospital.
"If a loved one passes away, we would presume that we just have the automatic right to get those records — but that's not actually how the law works," Young's attorney Travis Brennan said Tuesday. "The law says that when someone passes away, you need to be bestowed with the power to make those requests. And that power is provided through the probate court."
Card's mental health had deteriorated in the months leading up to the shooting. He had been hospitalized in New York in summer 2023, and his family had asked police to check on him, though they never made contact.
The shortcomings of various agencies, including law enforcement and the U.S. Army, have been the focus of reports and investigations in the last year. But these agencies have refused to share Card's medical records with the public.
Brennan said Young will begin requesting Card's records as soon as possible.
"I think it's a great service that Cynthia was willing to take on this responsibility," said Brennan, who is from one of four law firms representing roughly 90 people who survived or lost loved ones in the Lewiston shooting. "I think she sees it as a responsibility that will not just benefit her own understanding as to Mr. Card's mental health decline last year, but also help the broader group of clients that we're working with. It may provide some insight as well for the Card family."
It's unclear when she might get records back and if the records will be shared with the public. Brennan said they're still in "step one of the process" and they respect the sensitivity of these materials.
So far, the lawyers have sent preservation letters to the military and the hospitals that cared for Card, asking that they maintain any records related their dealings with him in case of legal action — though the lawyers have not yet said who they plan to sue, and for what.
They've sent public records requests to several agencies, including Maine law enforcement and a state commission that was formed to investigate the Lewiston shooting. Public records requests submitted by the Portland Press Herald over these medical records have also been rejected or severely redacted, citing medical privacy laws.
The attorneys have also requested that the Department of Defense appoint an inspector general to investigate Card's case, after two other Army reviews offered what Brennan called "conflicting conclusions" on what happened.
But even with all of the information that's been unearthed, Brennan said there are still clear cracks in the story.
Outside the old Sagadahoc County courthouse on Tuesday, where the probate court still operates, Brennan stood beside Young and her father-in-law, rattling off the biggest questions his clients still have.
— Why was Card allowed to leave a New York hospital and return to his firearms in Maine after his Army colleagues reported that he was experiencing delusions and sharing homicidal ideations?
— Why was Card barred from having firearms on the Army reserve base in Saco, but still allowed to have guns in the community?
— At what point in Card's years with the military, where he was liked and respected, did his mental health take a turn for the worse? Did his exposure to explosives and other military devices have any role?
"Having a full accounting as to what happened is really important — really important to ensuring that there's accountability, and ensuring that something like this never happens again in Maine," Brennan said.
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