Pa. School Gunman Was Haunted By Past

Told Wife He Molested Young Relatives 20 Years Ago, Dreamed Of Doing It Again

(CBS/AP)  A man who laid siege to a one-room Amish schoolhouse, killing five girls, told his wife by cell phone shortly before opening fire that he had molested two young relatives decades ago and was tormented by “dreams of molesting again,” authorities said Tuesday.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, appeared to have plans to molest children at the small Amish school, but police have no evidence that he actually did, State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said.

Roberts had sexual lubricant with him and plastic handcuffs that he had bought seven days earlier, and he chained the girls together in a line at the blackboard and barricade the doors after sending the boys and adults away, Miller said.

Roberts also had weapons and supplies indicating he was prepared for a long stand-off, Miller said.

"He states in his suicide note that he had dreams about doing what he did 20 years ago again," Miller said.

Police could not immediately confirm Roberts' claim about molesting young relatives when Roberts would have been a just a child himself, Miller said, and he said Roberts' family members knew nothing of molestation in his past.

Roberts left behind notes for his wife and three children that also talked about his anguish over the loss of the couple's newborn daughter, Elise, in 1997, Miller said.

"I don't know how you put up with me all those years," the note reads. "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."

The note went on to allude to another reason for his anger, said Miller, "but he can't discuss it with her and it happened 20 years ago."

When Roberts spoke with his wife by cell phone from inside the school at 10:50 a.m. Monday, he had been there for at least half an hour and he told her then that he had molested young relatives two decades earlier, Miller said.

Shortly after police reached the school, they heard gunfire. The young Amish girls had been shot "execution style" and the gunman was dead in the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week.

Miller identified the victims as Naomi Rose Ebersole, 7; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Marian Fisher, 13; Mary Liz Miller, 8; and her sister Lina Miller, 7.

Local midwife Rita Rhoads helped deliver most of the girls, reports CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts. She remembers Naomi Rose Ebersole, whose parents adored her.

“Their daughter that died was their only daughter. They were a family of boys and I remember that when a girl was born, they were just so tickled they’d finally gotten a girl. And now she’s gone,” Rhoads said.

The Amish don’t take photographs, reports Pitts, but parents are likely to keep a set of clothing, some toys and a lock of their daughters’ hair as keepsakes.

Five other children remained hospitalized Tuesday, four of them in critical condition. State police spokeswoman Linette Quinn said the survivors were “coming along very well.”

"I don't believe there was any sort of malice toward the Amish necessarily," Miller said on CBS News' The Early Show. "I think he sought out a target of opportunity where he had female victims that were young in age, between the ages of 6 and 13, and I think that was really the focus, a place he could get into and out of."

[squiz2]

TooToo68 said: "The perverts, lesbians, ***, child molesters are all freeks of nature and a abomination of the natural order of life... These people are not " a normal part of life"... Look at all of the mass murderers in the world.. They were homosextual or ***. Warmus, Gacy, etc. etc.... God and nature hates ugly...These people are either ***, ***, or other mutation not normal to your way of life..."

Whatever happened to "thall shalt not judge"? Whatever happened to acceptance and forgiveness?
You are using your religion to spread hate. You are a disgrace to what your religion is supposed to be about. How can people like you blame the problems of the world on homosexuals? You fear what you don't know. Stop being ignorant to the world around you. Open your f*ing eyes. Blame individuals and stop generalizing on groups of people. Hatred is the root of all evil, and people like you who claim to believe what your bible tells you, or what your God said is right, are only spreading hate. Accept and love those around you. Respect everyone in your world. Love and acceptance are healing actions. Hate only spurs hate, and these psychos are acting off of hate. Blame yourself, not the good people of the world simply because you don't like their lifestyle. And get a dictionary, moron.

[fedupwithit]

Charles Roberts was a sick man but I am tired of hearing excuses for what he's done. Like somehow in his childhood he didn't get the love he needed and that has now caused him to do this terrible act of violence against innocent children. How can someone say this was a loving father when he looked at a young child the same age as his own and took her life. This person feels no empathy. There's nothing you can do to fix that. God already blessed him with a beautiful wife and children, but it wasn't enough. He was ruled by his perversion. He chose to end his life and chose to spend his final moments acting out his sick perverted fantasies. We have a serious problem in our society with acts of sexual violence agains woman and children. We need stricter consequences and a no tolerance behaviour. I don't want to hear another excuse.

[wendyhoo-2009]

schoollord..... WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eyes of the teddy bears is a very good point.

[res0iuj4]

We are living in a society where people are always on the go and blinded about the true problem of child abuse. Children hunger for love and attention from their parents, but their perceptions are: mom do not love me, she alway screaming at me, why?, dad is angry and don't talk to me,ect. So what is the aftermath of these different situations. The pedophilia come alone and intervene to asume the parents rol of caring, loving, attention and *** orientation. Many children are being abuse without even knowing what is actualing happening. Their innocent minds are distorted and never the same, but victims of the predator who know how to get around and take control pf their children. There are Men like Roberts everywhere, who signal in different ways, for a cry for help and people just do not know how to help. The final outcome is death, because the mind can no longer control their action.

[j_flood]

When will we accept that we are the most violent nation on earth? Not to other countries as some might portray us, but to our own selves. People might use the term 'madness' to describe what we do to each other - and I would agree. Again this case describes the fragility of a child's life and how it can be altered forever. Both the victims and the shooter were damaged as children. The victims are gone forever and the shooter was a ticking timebomb. So sad. And things like this will go on and on.

[jcajjs]

Why do people blame God for what religious hypocrites do? The "kooks" and pedophiles are not following what the bible teaches. And it is not God who brings evil to this Earth and causes suffering. When Adam & Eve decided they wanted to choose for themselves "what was good and what was bad", they chose to side with Satan not God. And people today are just continuing that. They want to decide for themselves what they think is right and what they think is wrong and ignore all of God's standards. So when they do that they only have themselves to blame, not God.
This guy was obviously messed up mentally. Why is everyone to to find someone or something else to blame?

[vipaka]

Charles Roberts hated God because God sent him down with a perversion that he tried to pray away and live apart from. He was praying for a signal from God to come. What came was the death of his child, and his pain and suffering wouldn't go away, so he took out his revolt on God. Hey God, I'll show you, I'll take out the perversion you sent me in with, then took away my trying by rewarding me with death. He defended both perversion and loss with equal vigor. He killed religious little girls. Who forgives God, was probably Charles Roberts' reasoning.

[nothappyatall]

WHy is it it always seems to be these religious kooks who do these things? Dennis Raider remember him? deacon or whatever of his church, big god loving dude, but he liked to kill women. This dude, his wife goes to a PRAYER meeting, so obviously another bible thumper type. Note his suicide notes said he was angry at GOD, if he was athiest he would not believe there is a god and wouldnt be angry with one. Let's not forget the church and it's pedo priests they protected for decades.
Religion STINKS, religion and it's cause, the anti abortin kills more people and caused more blood-shed than anything I can think of. More wars, bloodshed, and death has been propagated BY or in the name of religion. Just read the catholic church history- reformation, crusades, salem witch trial, the anti abortion nuts who shoot doctors are another god loving religious crowd who kill in the name of the lord.

[devilnhell]

Charles Carl Roberts IV hated God. This is too simplistic. Why did he hate God? Was there confusion with something fundamental to religion or a Biblical inconsistency?

[dkotakid]

The issue here is not the type of weapon the person used. When he entered the school he could have had a single shot pistol, or a revolver and any type of firearm. You people don%u2019t see the forest for the trees; if he was going to enter the school and kill those girls he could have used a knife or any other weapon. The 9-11 terrorists did not use guns to over take the plane. It is the people who are sick enough to do this that are to blame the not the type of gun he used, and it is for *** sure not the NRA.

[cntrygrllst]

As a nurse I know medications are controlled that was not my point.
My point is this where do we stop letting the government control our lives?? smoking bans, gun bans, what is next fast food it kills people too.
At some point we need to become responsible for our own actions. Those who do these things are sick and need help.

[ender18-2009]

People have the right to have guns, but not to shoot innocent people. I would not be proud to have supported this gentleman's right have a *semi-automatic* pistol. There needs to be some reasonable limitation so people can retain their rights to arms but prevent the individuals from abusing this right and killing everyone. Regarding medications, there are restrictions on narcotics and paralytics. Most people do not have as free access to these medications as they do semi-automatic weapons.

[three-o-six]

raccambell
First of all the term AUTOMATIC is used incorrectly -- it was a semi-automatic pistol -- every time you pull the trigger you get ONE shot -- and yes politicians do have to answer to us --
we vote and we have one of the most powerfull loby organazations ever assembled -- the NRA -- so for the foreseeable future these types og guns will be available to the public

[racampbell-2009]

Five Amish girls killed by an AUTOMATIC Handgun. Do the makers of this weapon have to sell them to other than law enforcement people to keep the costs down? Do congressmen really yeald to pressures of gun makers and sportsmen? Who will confront law makers, gun makers and 'sportsmen'?

[cntrygrllst]

Her weapon of choice Lethal Drug doses .... maybe we should ban all medications too along with the guns television and all books while we at is, goodness knows we don't what to be able to think for ourselves at all

[cntrygrllst]

Here is a case in point on the fact that someone wanting to kill will use whatever means at their diposal to do so.... "Death Nurse" Vickie Dawn Jackson, from Texas

[three-o-six]

Said so
maybe we are entering a time in our society when the lines between teaching and law enforcement are crossing?

Yea i like to spur out-of-the-box conversations. Sometimes they lead to a solution.

some people get really upset but you read me like a book

[saidso-2009]

You want to arm school teachers?

What if someone takes thier gun? And You expect the teachers to have a shoot out with the assailant?

This is law enforcement's job not teachers who teach reading and writing.

***sarcasm*** Instead of a PTA, why don't we just have a parent-viligant-armed neighbor watch group to patrol the school? ***sarcasm***

three-o-six do you really believe what your write or do you like starting lengthy arguments? You must be fun at dinner parties.

[cntrygrllst]

Schoollord ..what I meant was this if you take guns away from everyone, then there will only be more on the streets in the hands of criminals.

[three-o-six]

If we trained our teachers in the use of a fire arm -- like we do police then every school room would have an armed defender in it. Also there would be other armed teachers nearby -- not only woul this serve to protect -- it might also serve as a deterant. It says that he picked this school because he knew it would be an easy target -- maybe he would have thought twice if he knew that the teachers would be armed and trained.