A father of three, a killer of schoolgirls

The spare outline of the gunman's life suggested anything but an executioner of children.

Charles Carl Roberts IV had three young children of his own and had endured the infant death of a fourth.

Though not Amish, he and his family seemed as deeply Christian as any in this rural area of Lancaster County.

His father, Charles, a retired police officer, was licensed to provide paratransit service for the Amish.

And as a truck driver, Roberts, 32, collected milk from local farms - providing sustenance within the community of the plain people, whose children attended a one-room school near his home in Bart Township.

Yesterday, state police say, Roberts arrived at the West Nickel Mines Amish School with deadly cargo: three guns, 600 rounds of ammunition, and a decades-old grudge. He killed three girls execution-style, wounded eight others, then killed himself, police said.

Along with the carnage, he left behind baffling clues: notes to his family that police say suggested he was angry at life and at God, and an unexplained grudge he apparently had been carrying since he was about 12.

"The man who did this today is not the Charlie that I've been married to for almost 10 years," Roberts' wife, Marie, said in a statement read by a family friend. "My husband is loving, supportive, thoughtful, all the things you'd always want and more."

Neighbors said Roberts was not as friendly as most in the close-knit community.

"He was standoffish," said Morgan Erb, 15, who used to baby-sit for two of the Robertses' children, Emily, now 7, and Brice, 5. The family also has a baby boy, 1.

"He was one that never said much to anybody," said Dorothy Rineer, who lives across the street from the Roberts family.

As he often did on a Sunday night, Roberts picked up milk from an Amish farmer in the village of Georgetown about 11 p.m., Rineer said. He picked up milk on dairy farms throughout the area, typically working until the early morning, she said. Neighbors saw no break in Roberts' routine yesterday as he headed out to the school-bus stop with Emily and Brice shortly after 8 a.m.

The children were whisked from Bart-Colerain Elementary School by their grandmother about 11 a.m., said principal Thomas Brackbill.

He said that the Roberts children are well liked by their classmates and that Marie Roberts is an active member of the school's PTO.

Dawn Lamparter, who grew up with Marie, called the Robertses "the ideal family."

Marie Roberts was more outgoing than her husband, neighbors said. She was involved in Christian groups, and her home often was a congregating place for women organizing church activities.

Roberts' parents also are religious. His mother, Teresa, works at Sight & Sound Theaters, a Christian organization that stages Bible plays in Strasburg.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk right now," a tearful Teresa Roberts said upon answering the phone two hours after the shooting.

The father, Charles C. Roberts III, is retired from the Manor Township, Lancaster County, police force. Two years ago, he applied to the state for a special license to provide paratransit service to the Amish.

His request was approved by the Public Utility Commission, and he received his certificate to operate around Thanksgiving of that year. The application listed 29 Strasburg residents as potential riders, several of them his neighbors.

It was unclear how long Charles Roberts IV had been transporting milk. His employer, Northwest Food Products, declined to comment yesterday.

The Robertses suffered a tragedy in 1997 when their firstborn, Elise Victoria, died shortly after birth at Lancaster General Hospital.

He doted on the children who followed.

"He was an exceptional father," his wife said in her statement. "Our hearts are broken, our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the innocence and lives that were lost today."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Contact staff writer Christine Schiavo at 215-348-0337 or cschiavo@phillynews.com.

Contributing to this report were Inquirer staff writers Mario F. Cattabiani, Keith Herbert, Craig R. McCoy and John Sullivan.