illness. as a society, i don t know what it s going to take for us to pay attention to this issue and to be able to help children and families get the services that the need. reporter: gus deeds was brought in for a mental health evaluation monday. a magistrate issued an emergency custody order. mental health officials told cnn that meant he had been declared homicidal, suicidal or unable to care for himself. but that didn t guarantee he d get treatment. liza long fought to get her son medical help, but he was also turned away from a medical hospital because the were out of beds. but this story is actually incredibly common. parents who are not sure where to turn, not sure how to solve this issue for their child and who are living in fear. reporter: gus deeds was apparently sent home, a practice the inspector general called streeting. a 90-day audit in 2012 found 72 individuals determined to meet the statutory criteria for
case for involuntary hospital skags. cnn found three hospitals in that state that say they could have taken in gus deeds. but officials won t say whether they failed to search hard enough or the clock just ran out. a tragedy happens, the leg you are reacts will you see it in other states and over time the money chips away and these services aren t available. reporter: tonight i spoke to a law professor who was brought in to help reform the facilities and the system. he said he advocated for alternatives to forced hospitalization following the virginia tech shooting. things like crisis centers. things like service that s could be provided in someone s home where perhaps they could be stabilized. the one bright spot if you could even call it that is the fact creigh deeds has been upgraded to good condition in the hospital right behind me. that is a miraculous outcome. thank you for your reporting, chris lawrence. so many people talk about this.
sources close to the investigation are telling us that deeds was stabbed more than ten time outside his home. he then stumbled down the driveway bleeding. his son went inside and shot himself with a rifle. we are learning that the sheriff was called to the house on monday of this week before this ham. brought gus deeds to the hospital for a mental evaluation but he was released after officials failed to find him a bed. we can report though that cnn has learned, there were actually beds available. chris lawrence is in charlottesville, virginia to begin our coverage outfront. this chapter is closed but the next chapter is yet to be written. reporter: never seen far from his son gus, there he is. smiling hundred his dad s right shoulder and again on the campaign trail with his blue grass banjo. the deputies and troopers found gus, the son of mr. deeds, deceased inside the house from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
know, feels satisfies their needs that you can prevent crises from getting worse and things unraveling. reporter: he is including services people might each be able to get in their home where they could at least be stabilized. with the case of gus deeds, we don t know if officials simply failed to call enough hospitals, or in that very limited four-hour window, simply ran out of time. chris lawrence, cnn, sharl west virginia. a plane landed at the wrong airport. one of the world series s lars e landed at a tiny airport ten miles away. that airplane is not designed to handle a plane this big. this is huge, folks. air traffic control and the pilots seemed confused at first
reporter: so how did this father/son team end up like this? the son allegedly killing himself after stabbing his own father in the head and chest ten times. i know as a father he had a lot of concerns about his son. reporter: he is not the only mentally ill person who did not get help in time. james holmes killed 12 people in a colorado movie theater. adam lanza shot 20 people at a newtown elementary school. liza strong created a firestorm last year when she compared her own son to lanza saying she lives in fear of what he might do because of his mental illness. as a society, i don t know what it will take for to us pay attention to this issue. and to be able to help children and families get the services that they need. reporter: gus deeds was brought in for a mental health evaluation monday. a magistrate issued an emergency custody order. mental health officials told cnn, that meant he had been