Outside the Newsroom

In addition to the main article describing what happened, Gauen, Goodman, and Eisenhauer quickly planned other aspects of the story to pursue. Gauen says:

To me the imperatives were, find out what the officials have got to say. Find out what the witnesses have got to say. And then start tracking down the threads of the victims and the killer.

Reporter Stephen Deere had grown tired of waiting at the crime scene for a police announcement and thought he could learn more elsewhere. He called Gauen and offered to go to Thorntons house to see if he could find and interview the shooters family members. Gauen was nervous. He knew that the shooter was down, but he did not know whether Thornton had acted alone. He also did not know whether any member of the Thornton household knew what had happened. Gauen recalls: I dont know if his 10-year-old daughter is going to answer the door to a reporter who says, well, your dad just shot up City Hall, and hes dead.

Urging Deere to be careful, Gauen tracked down Thorntons address on the Internet, and Deere drove the short distance there from City Hall. Thorntons brother Gerald answered the door, and Deere told him what had happened. Gerald Thornton registered little surprise. He invited Deere into the house.

Over the next hour, Gerald Thornton discussed his brother with Deere, before the police and other media arrived, showing Deere framed family photographs and explaining Charles Thorntons long battle with Kirkwood. He went to war, Gerald said of the killings. [1] Deere could hear the news on in another room from which, eventually, Thorntons mother emerged. She too seemed unsurprised at the news. By the time television crews arrived, Deere had collected the quotes and background he wanted. He phoned it in to the newsroom and left.

Listen to Deere describe the scene at the Thornton house. Length: 2 min 19 sec



[1] Doug Moore and Stephen Deere, Assailant had history of disputes with city, St. Louis Post-Dispatch , February 8, 2008.