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Oct 3, 2006 8:37 pm US/Eastern
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Amish Shooting: A Closer Look At The Gunman
NICKEL MINES, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
Details continue to emerge about what could have possibly driven Charles Carl Roberts to embark on his deadly shooting rampage that claimed the lives of five little girls and left five others wounded.
Authorities Tuesday discussed Roberts' tormented existence, a reality that included anguish over the loss of a child, as well as talk of child molestation.
"You can kind of maybe grasp it if it was a terrorist, and maybe that would even be hard, but not a normal guy," said Roberts' neighbor, Steve Cipos.
Neighbors say they had no clue Charles Carl Roberts IV had demons lurking inside, neither did his family. Police say those demons, that Roberts may have molested other children as a preteen and had the urge to do it again, may have fueled his rampage.
"I guess sick and evil, those are two good words, but it's something I guess that was festering inside of him and it was fear of repeating it," said Cipos.
Roberts wife, Marie, painted a loving picture of her husband who she said in a statement was a, "kind and loving man."
Marie's words are a stark contrast to her husband's last words, written in a suicide note:
"I don't know how you put up with me all those years. I am not worthy of you, you are the perfect wife you deserve so much better. We had so many good memories together as well as the tragedy with Elise. It changed my life forever I haven't been the same since it affected me in a way I never felt possible. I am filled with so much hate, hate toward myself hate towards God and unimaginable emptyness it seems like everytime we do something fun I think about how Elise wasn't here to share it with us and I go right back to anger."Elise, police said, was the daughter of Charles and Marie, born prematurely nine years ago and died only 20 minutes after birth.
Police said Marie described her husband as calm over the weekend, while his co-workers and brother-in-law said they noticed a change in mood. But nothing that would have led them to believe Roberts was capable of the unthinkable.
October 2, 2006 - Shooting Timeline3:00 Arrives home from work
7:30 Gets children ready for school with wife
8:45 Walks children to bus stop
9:00 Wife leaves house for prayer group
9:14 Buys eye bolts, zip ties and hardware from store
10:00 Arrives at West Nickel Mines Amish School
10:30 Teacher calls authorities
10:50 Calls wife, stated "I am not coming home. The police are here"
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)