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School killer had sex plans
03/10/2006 22:13 - (SA)
Virginie Montet
Nickel Mines - The truck driver who slaughtered five Amish schoolgirls meant to molest them first and confessed to sexually preying on young relatives 20 years ago, police said on Tuesday.
Suicidal killer Charles Roberts, 32, was also "angry with God", hated himself over the death of his premature infant daughter nine years ago and dreamed of molesting again, state police commissioner Jeffrey Miller said.
The sordid revelations came hours after two Amish girls aged seven and eight died of their wounds after they were shot "execution-style" in the head in the rampage which shattered the idyllic rural village on Monday.
It was the third fatal shooting in a US school in a week and five girls from the peace-loving Amish community were still battling for life after the attack. Sexual assault
With meticulous planning, Roberts took wood, latches and a lubricant to the one-room Pennsylvania schoolhouse, indicating intent to restrain and molest the schoolgirls before killing them, Miller said. "With the kind of wood and I-bolts and flex cuffs and KY jelly and other things, ... it's very possible that he intended to victimise these children in many ways prior to executing them and killing himself," said the police chief.
"The KY jelly has no exact reason other than the potential for a sexual assault."
Roberts confessed to the past sexual assaults in a cellphone call to his wife minutes before the slaughter, Miller said.
"He said 'I am not coming home' and he states 'I molested some minor family members that were three or four years old, 20 years ago'," Miller said.
Roberts would have about 12 at the time.
"It's unknown what type of molestation whether it was fondling, or inappropriate touching or sexual assault or if anything occurred, we don't know." Dreams of molesting again
"In his suicide note, he mentioned he was having dreams of molesting again," Miller said.
There was no evidence schoolhouse victims were molested before they were cut down in a hail of bullets which ended when Roberts turned the gun on himself.
In new details which emerged on Tuesday, Miller said a nine-year-old managed to escape before Roberts started shooting.
The killer's wife said he was also traumatised by the loss of an infant daughter who lived for just 20 minutes after birth nine years ago.
"Roberts was angry with God for taking (her) as outlined in the suicide note," Miller said.
The tragic roll-call of the dead reads: Naomi Rose Eversole, 7; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Marian Fisher, 13; Mary Liz Miller, 8; and her sister Lina Miller, 7.
Three girls, aged eight, 10 and 12, underwent surgery for gunshot wounds at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, and remained in critical condition.
Two survivors at the Hershey Medical Centre were a six-year-old in critical condition and a 13-year-old listed in serious condition, according to spokesman Sean Young. Bush 'saddened'
President George W Bush said in California he and wife Laura were "saddened and deeply concerned" like other Americans over a string of school shootings in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Wisconsin.
"We grieve with the parents and we share the concerns of those who worry about safety in schools," he said, adding that his government was planning talks on school safety next week.
Miller said no-one had any idea that Roberts, a father of three, planned such a killing in the quiet farm region about 50km west of Philadelphia.
"There were no outward signs exhibited that he was planning something like this," he said.
Roberts ordered the 15 boys aged six to 13 and their teacher, who summoned the police, to leave, keeping behind 10 girls.
Police said Roberts nailed lumber across the inside of doors of the school. The girls were bound with wire and plastic cord and lined up against the blackboard.
Police rushed the building after hearing after hearing several rapid gunshots. Shot 'execution-style'
"It appears that when he began shooting the victims, these victims were shot execution-style in the head," Miller told reporters on Monday.
Police found a 9mm pistol, a shotgun, a rifle, a stun gun, two knives, smokeless powder and 600 rounds of ammunition on Roberts's body.
The Roberts family released a statement saying: "Our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the innocent lives that were lost today."
Last week, a 16-year-old schoolgirl was killed when a gunman took six hostages at a Colorado school before opening fire and turning the gun on himself as police stormed a classroom.
And the principal of a Wisconsin high school, shot by a student on Friday, died of his wounds a day later.
- AFP
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