The federal judge deciding whether depositions of the Columbine High School killers' parents should be destroyed said today he will read the lengthy documents before making a decision.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock has previously said the documents, recorded during several hours of questioning in two civil cases, should either be destroyed or held under seal at the National Archives and Records Administration for 25 years.

At the end of 25 years, Babcock has indicated the documents would be destroyed. An attorney representing the archives, however, has said the documents could be permanently preserved at the Denver Federal Records Center.

Parents of some of the students killed during the April 1999 shooting have argued the materials could shed light on the family lives of gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and should be made public.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers also has asked that the depositions not be destroyed. His office would like to see the materials reviewed by an expert on school violence, who could use them for a "comprehensive study" that could help prevent future school shootings.

Harris and Klebold killed 13 people before taking their own lives. Thomas and Susan Klebold and Wayne and Katherine Harris said in court papers that they would not oppose having the documents stored at the national archives, provided they are not made public and are eventually destroyed.

Babcock did not indicate when he will rule.