Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 9, 1995 TAG: 9501100035
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL BEZDEK and ANNE THOMPSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
He made himself sick taking dietary supplements to bulk up as he lifted weights. He got fired from a job for exposing himself to a woman. He got fired from another job for getting in a fight with a customer.
John C. Salvi III was an odd young man, given to strange ways of getting noticed. ``He always wanted the recognition, was always looking for a way to get recognized,'' said a family friend, Mark Roberts.
Today he is recognized - as the 22-year-old charged with shootings at abortion clinics in Massachusetts and Virginia that left two dead and five injured.
But for years, as he unraveled, he was noticed only by those around him. He was on the fringe, desperate to be somebody, a man who often wore ``a very frightening look,'' Roberts said.
In high school, he prayed to God to make him bigger as he pumped iron and popped pills.
``He would go to extremes, taking too many amino acids, and he got really sick once trying to do it the easy way and had to be taken to the hospital,'' said one former friend, Cory Kness.
The two had been close as sophomores, joining the wrestling team together, but by their senior year they hardly saw each other. Kness was captain of the varsity wrestling team. Salvi never made it past junior varsity and quit the sport.
Salvi, an only child, started hanging out with a few local toughs. He emerged with no police record, but with a reputation for trouble.
The Salvi family lived in Naples, Fla., where Salvi's father, John, owns a dental supply business. John Salvi helped his son get a job with Roberts' construction company after high school.
Roberts soon became wary of his friend's son. He said he decided not to give Salvi any more work after he exposed himself to a passing woman as he worked on a roof.
Salvi then went to Massachusetts to live with an uncle.
A former neighbor in Ipswich remembered the young Salvi playing with her son, taking tennis lessons and hanging out at the beach.
``He was very considerate. There was no indication there was anything wrong with him emotionally,'' said Ann Hughes.
Salvi did odd jobs. He seldom used his clamming license.
``Basically, he seemed like a nice enough kid, but he seemed like he didn't have any direction,'' said Charlie Hall, a mechanic who lived nearby and lent tools to Salvi. ``He didn't deal too well.''
When his uncle developed heart problems, Salvi moved to Everett, outside Boston.
Cindy Lockshire of Everett lived in the same rooming house where Salvi paid $72 a week in rent in 1993. Her 19-year-old daughter, Cynthia, went on a few dates with Salvi, who poured hot tar for a construction company.
``He would kind of go into a stare and be by himself when he was angry, but you could see his anger in his eyes,'' Lockshire said.
That summer, Salvi went to the Immaculate Conception Church in Everett and asked to distribute color photographs of aborted fetuses, said the pastor, the Rev. Edmund Sviokla. Then, Salvi returned in the fall and asked if he could stand in the pulpit on Sunday and address the congregation. Each time, Sviokla said no, because Salvi didn't understand the complexity of the issue.
Next, Salvi moved to New Hampshire, where he studied to become a hairdresser. He worked at a salon in Hampton, slowly learning the business. Mostly, he swept floors and ran errands for $5 an hour. He lost the job after a tug-of-war with a patron over a coat.
Last January, he attended a Massachusetts Citizens for Life meeting. ``We've had no further contact with him,'' said executive vice president Frances X. Hogan.
When his parents visited him at Christmas, he reportedly argued with his father over his career. They then went to Christmas Eve Mass, where he erupted into a disjointed speech about how the Catholic Church oppresses its members.
Five days later, authorities say, he shot at the Massachusetts abortion clinics, then fled to Norfolk, Va., and shot at another. Salvi never mentioned abortion after his arrest. He did say he wanted to be interviewed by Barbara Walters.
by CNB