"I was like 'Oh man, this guy's cute. . And he said to Michael: "I'll be right back.". They married April 4, 2014, when she was 19 and he was 23. Devin Kelley joined the military in 2010, the year after graduating high school in New Braunfels, Texas. In a series of interviews with the San Antonio Express-News, Danielle Kelley, 23, described for the first time publiclyher life with Devin and the events leading to the Sutherland Springs church massacre. We didnt know him.. Copyright IBTimes 2023. "He was like 'I can't, I've killed so many people. Home. Danielle said she was sexually abused by a male relative, but she declined to give details, citing an ongoing court case. Classmates said he groped or harassed them, describing him as "creepy.". The town's museum opened a memorial gallery this month with donated items and belongings of people who were killed. Neither had a stable path through adolescence. We lost our 14-year-old daughter today and many friends.. Some said they had blocked him on Facebook after receiving inappropriate notes or tiring of antagonistic posts. After Kelley was discharged from the Air Force in 2014, he remarried in Texas, to Danielle Lee Shields, in April of that year, according to state records. Devin Kelley served as a low-ranking airman in a logistics readiness unit. She was cared for by her grandmother, Lou White. He seemed disengaged. He would never have hurt anybody. After he joined the Air Force and married another woman, they corresponded through letters. ABC News reporter Mike Levine said, "Authorities are now scrubbing his social media; on Facebook in recent days, he showed off an AR-15 style-looking gun." Danielle is the daughter of Michelle and Ben Shields, and all three of them reportedly had ties with the Texas church where Kelley went on a shooting rampage. Devin Kelley and Danielle Lee Shields were married April 4, 2014, in Comal County. Building the company at the same time as our family involved a whirlwind of activity, he wrote. No matter what, I will love him, Danielle said of Devin, who left behind the couples two infant children. They became reclusive. His wifes whereabouts had not been reported. As of Monday, Danielle's Facebook profile still listed her . He was very sick in the head, Kelleys former girlfriend Katy Landry told NBC News. This was not racially motivated, said Texas Department of Public Safety regional director Freeman Martin. Devin is the perpetrator of the Sutherland Springs church shooting which left at least 26 people dead and 20 others injured in what Texas Gov. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. A profile for the woman on Indeed.com describes a passionate woman whose highest values include being honest, trustworthy and courteous to all persons. Under a section where the website states she was a coach for Special Olympics from 2007-2013, it reads: I provided the fairest and most positive training and competitive experience for every Special Olympics athlete. Danielle Shields Kelley: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. His wife needed help, he said. The page also said Shields was once a coach for Special Olympics and a behavioral leader in the past, and that she volunteered with the elderly. We had joked that night about how much of a jerk he was, said Jackson, who also detected hostility from Kelley when he and wife, Meghan, brought their two kids to the pool. He was not a good fit, said Winter D. Prosapio, corporate director of communications at the company. Michelle and her husband Benjamin Shields attendedFirst Baptist Church, luckily, neither was at the church at the time of the shooting. Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. provides an update to the media on Monday concerning the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. "He was shutting down," Danielle said. Investigators examine bullet holes in the front door of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Tuesday. She stated she witnessed four to five punches and then the male suspect grabbed the dog by the neck and drug him away.. She said it's about the 26 people who were killed. She was not in attendance when Kelley entered the church Sunday. Brennaman, who lives in New Braunfels, declined to be interviewed. Thats the only negative thing I could say that he did while he was here. I didn't want to have the label of my spouse being a mass murderer," she said. Serving in the Air Force from 2010 to 2014, Kelley showed signs of mental illness, Texas Gov. Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, Texas Man Johnnie Langendorff Chased Down Church Shooter, Texas Church Shooting Suspect Identified After Attack, US Supreme Court Scrutinizes Biden College Student Debt Relief, Ukraine War, US-China Tensions To Dominate G20 Foreign Ministers Meet, Murdoch Testified Fox News Hosts Endorsed Idea That Biden Stole Election, 'Havana Syndrome' Not Caused By Foreign Adversary, U.S. Intel Finds, Crime Tops Chicago Voters' Concerns In Mayoral Election. April 4, 2014: Devin Kelley, who was 23 years old at this point, married 19-year-old Danielle Shields in Comal County, Texas. Sutherland Springs is a small, unincorporated town, with two gas stations, a post office and the church at its center. "It was frustrating," Danielle said. It will read "I will carry you with me, 'til I see you again.". Our family is grieving.. He made death threats against his commanding officers and was sent to a mental health facility. Nothing that led me to think he was about [to] do anything close to this, though., It wasnt until after high school that he changed and got super creepy, Emily Elizabeth Robb wrote, noting that she and her friends would talk about the messages Kelley would send them. He lost who he was. Covering for Pastor Frank Pomeroy wasBryan Holcombe, his wife Karla also a close friend of both Michelle and Sherri, was killed by Kelley along her husband, their son Marc Daniel Holcombe, 36, one-year-old granddaughter Noah Holcombe, and their pregnant daughter-in-lawCrystal; three of Crystals five children, alsodied in the shooting as well. By 2017, he had returned to a house in New Braunfels that records show was owned by his parents. Exclusive: Guilt and grief overwhelm the mother-in-law of the Six months later, Sutherland Springs residents count their blessings, Sutherland Springs survivor cheers on the man who saved his life, Sutherland Springs receives millions in donations to massacre relief fund, New Sutherland Springs memorial gallery hurts and heals, Stephen Willeford, a neighbor who had heard the gunfire and ran out barefoot with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News. According to his Linkedin profile, Kelley described himself as serving in the U.S Air Force. "He lost the touch of reality.". They later moved to his parents' 28-acre property in New Braunfels, where he practiced target shooting and regularly went hunting. Most hid under the pews. A LinkedIn account appearing to belong to Kelley says he served in the U.S. Air Force from his high-school graduation in 2009 until 2013. . Law enforcement officers work a barricade near the First Baptist Church on Sunday. He also accumulated more than a dozen magazines, each with a capacity of 30 bullets. While other friends shared their dreams with one other, Devin and Danielle shared their hardships. The coach must, above all, exhibit respect for the athletes, other coaches, volunteers, families and Games officials. His family lived a comfortable, upper-middle-class life, with his father running a software company that specializes in billings. Danielle told only one other person about the sexual abuse: her best friend, Devin Kelley. SAN ANTONIO -- The wife of the man who opened fire at a Texas church last November, killing more than two dozen people before killing himself, says he tied her to their bed before leaving for the shooting. By 2017, Kelley had moved back to Texas to live with his parents in the sprawling, 3,711-square-foot home with a swimming pool where he grew up, located on a rural stretch of rolling brushland dotted with prickly pear cactus. Danielle Shields-Kelley is shown here in a Facebook photo. Nobody truly knows somebody, Danielle told the paper. Kelley also showed an interest in atheism. His short temper got shorter. Shed heard reports of friction with his mother-in-law, but nothing seemed amiss, said Marx, who brought chickens, goats and other animals from her farm to the Oct. 31 event. But he managed to conceal those problems even while plotting mass murder. What we know about Devin Kelley, the Texas shooting suspect The New York Times,November 6, 2017, 2:54 p.m. He told him he wasn't going to make it home. Danielle said she's not sure why Devin chose her church. Why are we still having these debates? She said Devin told her about being bullied as a . Ive been creeped out about that since we were there. he said. The house was about an hour from the church where the shooting occurred. A Facebook post on October 29 shows an assault rifle with the caption: "She's a bad b**ch.". A man identified as Devin Patrick Kelley gunned down 26 people and injured at least 20 more in an attack at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church, before he was found dead in his car. And then it came to where Devin knew everything about me," she said. The barn has recently been converted into an apartment for his son returning from overseas military commitments to allow him a transitional start back into the civilian lifestyle, Deputy Garry Noegel reported. box listed in Sutherland Springs, and her Facebook profile also indicates that she lives in the same town. Smoke filled the air. CBS News has learned Kelley has a wife named Danielle Lee Shields. He seemed annoyed that we were even there, Jackson recalled by phone from Detroit on Thursday, describing Kelley as less than helpful in directing them to their rental house in the dark, rural setting. But Danielle said she had no idea Devin was capable of carrying out such an attack, despite several red flags through the years. The buildings and land have a combined market value of about $800,000, according to appraisal district records, which also reflect business personal property there worth about $500. Friends on Facebook said that in recent years, Kelley had become vocally anti-Christian, to the point where many stopped communicating with him. (AP/AAP) Devin and Danielle married in April 2014 . He ranked 260th out of 393 students in the New Braunfels High School Class of 2009, with a grade average of 77.6, according to school records. CBS News reports he was given a dishonorable discharge and court martialed in 2014. She said Devin told her about being bullied as a child. Neighbors along FM 2722 reported this week that the sound of gunshots was common in recent weeks, coming from the direction of the Kelley property, sometimes for hours. Click here to read more about Danielle. After the couple moved into a mobile home park in Colorado Springs, Colo., Kelley was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty when a woman complained that he had beaten and dragged his Husky puppy, according to the Denver Post. Gunman in church attack was convicted of fracturing stepsons Sutherland Springs gunman had a history of Air Force disciplinary problems. Because no one just leaves in all-black attire with a ballistic vest.. I didnt notice anything particular about him, she said. "It was a lot to bear, and I didn't want to have to do it.". Michelle said she thinks her daughter is still under Devin's spell. Michelles daughter Danielle Lee Shields was married to Devin Kelley, who opened fire atFirst Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people and injuring more before killing himself. Devin was not the man she thought he was. Authorities say Kelley was estranged from his wifes family and had threatened Danielles mother, Michelle, before the church attack. You can live with that person and love that person for years, and you still cannot truly know that person because you cant know their inner thoughts and feelings., I think this is the hardest story Ive ever written.An exclusive with the wife of the Sutherland Springs gunman.https://t.co/414Vv42BYU via @expressnews. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Greg Abbott embraces a woman during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the mass shooting. He later frantically phoned Danielle, who put the call on speakerphone for his parents, who had untied her. "I did pick him over her," Danielle said. "You can live with that person and love that person for years, and you still cannot truly know that person because you can"t know their inner thoughts and feelings.". In November 2012, Kelley was convicted of two charges of domestic assault and sentenced to 12 months in confinement at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in San Diego. Suicide was not far from Danielle's mind the first few months after the massacre. Lisa Krantz is a staff photographer for the San Antonio Express-News. Devin Kelley then went to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and killed 25 people, more than half of whom were children. They both remarked on how he was always the one to speak his mind, while she tended to avoid confrontation. In the weeks following the shooting, Danielle said she couldn't bear to look at her. One neighbor, who would only give his name as Doug, said he heard shots fired at the Kelley property that would set his dogs barking. And then there's times where I don't even I just, can't. But after the Air Force, he was different, Danielle said. Abcarian: Mask mandates? Kelley married another woman, Danielle Lee Shields, in April 2014, according to public records. Danielle said her biological parents had abused her before Child Protective Services removed her and Michelle Shields adopted her as a 4-year-old. Danielle maintains that he didn't do it, that Devin's first wife, the baby's mother, injured the child. He would never have hurt anybody," Danielle said. And they thought Oh this is good, this is progress. And then this happened.. He was 17. According to a profile on Indeed.com, Shields was a teacher for toddlers at First Baptist of Sutherland Springs from June of 2009 to March of 2013. Real trust. Stephen Willeford, left and Johnnie Langendorff, who both chased after gunman Devin Kelley, meet again during a vigil in Sutherland Springs on Monday. A San Antonio woman who brought her two children along as she smuggled more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine to the Alamo City has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison. He was abusing his anxiety medication, Danielle said. Some neighbors said they sometimes heard gunfire from the property. The Texas Department of Public Director Freeman Martin told ABC News that Kelley was wearing all black, including a ballistics vest, at the time of the shooting. Across New Braunfels, flags flew at half-staff Monday outside churches, RV parks and gun stores. / CBS/AP. Danielle saw her mother less and less. The 26-year-old man officials have identified as the gunman in a mass shooting at a. Click Manage settings for more information and to manage your choices. Devin Patrick Kelley (pictured left, and in a mugshot from a previous crime) walked into the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, dressed in full combat gear, and began shooting Sunday. After his confinement, he was discharged from the military with a bad conduct discharge. Ugh.. Because the real Devin would've never hurt babies. He was a family person. At first, the worshipers inside thought they were hearing fireworks. and out of the competitive arena while attending a Special Olympics event. 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