SAN ANTONIO -- The wife of the man who opened fire at a Texas church in November, killing more than two dozen people before killing himself, said he tied her to their bed before leaving for the shooting.
In a series of interviews with the San Antonio Express-News, Danielle Kelley said her husband, Devin Kelley, was strangely detached that morning until he put their 2-year-old son in the bedroom and forced her into the room, where he bound her to the bed using rope, handcuffs and tape as their son cried.
She said Devin Kelley told her that he loved her, kissed their 5-month-old daughter in her crib and told their son, "I'll be right back." He grabbed his rifle and two handguns, donned military-style tactical gear and body armor, then left.
Kelley then went to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and killed 25 people, more than half of whom were children. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the victims was pregnant.
Danielle Kelley still uses her husband's surname, saying she's "not going to be ashamed" of it.
The two met when Danielle was 13 and Devin was 17. Both came from unstable backgrounds. Danielle Kelley said her biological parents had abused her before Child Protective Services removed her and she was adopted as a 4-year-old. She said Devin Kelley told her about being bullied as a child.
After Kelley joined the Air Force and married another woman, he and Danielle corresponded through letters. He was court-martialed for fracturing his stepson's skull, served time behind bars, was kicked out of the military and got a divorce.
Devin and Danielle married in April 2014, when he was 23 and she was 19. She said he went with her everywhere.
"It was frustrating. But you would be surprised, when everything's gone, how much I miss it," she said.
Six months before the massacre, Devin Kelley grew more depressed, his temper grew shorter, and he grew less tolerant, Danielle said. "He was shutting down," she said.
In April 2016, he bought an assault-style rifle and gathered more than a dozen magazines capable of holding 30 rounds of ammunition each. He grew more reclusive.
When she persuaded him to attend church services, including at First Baptist, he would laugh during sermons, she said.
"Devin was sick. He lost who he was. Because the real Devin would've never hurt babies. He was a family person. He would never have hurt anybody. He lost touch of reality," Danielle Kelley said.
After the shooting, he called his parents and told them to go to his house, she said. He later frantically phoned Danielle, who put the call on speakerphone for his parents, who had untied her, she said.
"I just shot up the Sutherland Springs church," he said. They pleaded with him to stop, Danielle Kelley said.
"He was like, 'I can't. I've killed so many people -- so, so many people,'" she said. "He kept saying how sorry he was."
He told them he wasn't going to make it home and that he loved them, Danielle Kelley said. They told him the same. Then the call ended.
A Section on 08/13/2018