As for what kind of person he was, that seems to be a point of debate. Those who knew him at various times in his life have almost contradictory stories to relate about him: born-again Christian, habitual drug user, YMCA camp counselor, college dropout, suicidal mama's boy, likable security guard. Born May 10, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas, the murderer obviously had a troubled childhood, as evidenced by his fake model city of "little people" -- toy soldiers -- whom he saw himself ruling over like a benevolent, and sometimes not-so-benevolent, god.
When he entered college, he was exposed to the novel The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, a classic tale of a troubled youth who disdains "phonies" and, by the end of the novel, has become so unraveled that he is put away in a mental institution. The killer identified strongly with the novel and the iconic image of John Lennon (he'd always been, like many of his peers, a big Beatles fan). During his college years, however, he suffered a mental breakdown and began to obsess over John far more than was healthy, going so far as to take a Japanese wife in honor of Yoko Ono. When he left his last job as a security guard, on October 23rd, 1980, he signed out using John's name. Then he crossed the name out.
