Stylists: Lanza never spoke, made no eye contact
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - As a teenager, Adam Lanza would come in for a haircut about every six weeks without speaking or looking at anyone and always accompanied by his mother, said stylists at a salon in the town where Lanza gunned down 27 people last week, including his mother, before killing himself.
He stopped coming in a few years ago, and the employees at the salon thought he had moved away, said stylist Bob Skuba.
The comments from him and his colleagues were among the first describing how the Lanzas interacted with each other. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the attack, one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
Cutting Adam Lanza's hair "was a very long half an hour. It was a very uncomfortable situation," stylist Diane Harty said. She said that she never heard his voice and that Nancy Lanza also hardly spoke.
Another stylist, Jessica Phillips, echoed their descriptions of the Lanzas and added that Nancy Lanza would give her son directions about what to do and where to go.
Adam would move only "when his mother told him to," Skuba said.
"I would say, 'Adam, come on.' He wouldn't move," Skuba said. "And his mother would have to say, 'Adam, come on, he's ready.' It was like I was invisible." He said Adam also wouldn't move from his chair after his hair was cut until his mother told him to.
If a stylist would ask Adam a question, Skuba said, his mother would answer.
"He would just be looking down at the tiles ... the whole time," Skuba said.
Former classmates have previously described Adam Lanza as intelligent but remote, and former high school adviser described him as anxious and shy. Several people who knew his mother have described her as a devoted parent.
Divorce paperwork released this week showed that Nancy Lanza had the authority to make all decisions regarding Adam's upbringing. The divorce was finalized in September 2009, when Adam Lanza was 17.
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Associated Press videojournalist Bonny Ghosh contributed to this report.
He stopped coming in a few years ago, and the employees at the salon thought he had moved away, said stylist Bob Skuba.
The comments from him and his colleagues were among the first describing how the Lanzas interacted with each other. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the attack, one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
Cutting Adam Lanza's hair "was a very long half an hour. It was a very uncomfortable situation," stylist Diane Harty said. She said that she never heard his voice and that Nancy Lanza also hardly spoke.
Another stylist, Jessica Phillips, echoed their descriptions of the Lanzas and added that Nancy Lanza would give her son directions about what to do and where to go.
Adam would move only "when his mother told him to," Skuba said.
"I would say, 'Adam, come on.' He wouldn't move," Skuba said. "And his mother would have to say, 'Adam, come on, he's ready.' It was like I was invisible." He said Adam also wouldn't move from his chair after his hair was cut until his mother told him to.
If a stylist would ask Adam a question, Skuba said, his mother would answer.
"He would just be looking down at the tiles ... the whole time," Skuba said.
Former classmates have previously described Adam Lanza as intelligent but remote, and former high school adviser described him as anxious and shy. Several people who knew his mother have described her as a devoted parent.
Divorce paperwork released this week showed that Nancy Lanza had the authority to make all decisions regarding Adam's upbringing. The divorce was finalized in September 2009, when Adam Lanza was 17.
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Associated Press videojournalist Bonny Ghosh contributed to this report.
I really don't have anything to say to my hairdresser. I appreciate the ones that just cut my hair and leave me alone. I guess that means anybody who doesn't talk to their stylist is mentally unstable?
One of the children of this horrible acts lives in Woodinville, I think we need to show the family support and not report any stories on this POS.
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 @CIAassassin What a disgusting comment
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This might be the most desperately pathetic news story I've ever seen. This kind of garbage is what erodes my faith in humanity. Absolutely unbelievable. Seriously, I think my blood pressure just went up.Â
@jowsuf  It isn't that bad. People are curious about Lanza and not much has come out yet.
 @plantfann And so the media tries keep this rolling to meet their agenda by digging all the way down to his barber? To keep the uproar blaming the guns going the media has to look for anything right down to what kind of toilet paper this murderer used to keep the momentum. To keep the public eye off of the fact that this murderer was completely off his rocker? Notice they are using an old pic?
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You want to read drama? Buy one of those checkout stand rags and enjoy. You want propaganda? You came to the right place.
I was one of those people that wouldn't talk to anyone, did not socialize, and pretty much stayed to myself till I left school. I am still uncomfortable around people now even and school was a long time ago. Why, I was picked on in school. I was bullied physically and verbally. I never fit in and after a time rejected any attempts to help me become socialized. I was smart in school and had no problems with the course, but soon stopped doing the assignments because I now hated school. Why, because I knew I had to go and be around those whom I hated. It soon became physically painful for me to go to school. Stomach cramps, shakes, and poor appetite were the result of me having to go to school. I dropped out and moved on with my life. I found a way out, this poor kid didn't. In many ways I feel sorry for him, but I can not condone or approve of what he did to his mother, those kids and teachers, or himself. Someone was not looking close enough to see what his problem was or how to help him before he went off the edge. Now we can only cry and learn and develop ways to help those that need it.
 @LongBeachBum Now they're saying that his mother was in the process of having him committed to a mental health facility and that he found out and that's what set him off. Â
So desperate to paint a wall that now the media will reach as low as the barrel goes. What about the school lunch lady, the janitor or the guy that lives five blocks away?
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Propaganda at it's best to serve the agenda eh komo/AP/propaganda machine?
 someone beleaves killers like these want fame? suggesting that is absurd in it self and that alone can push a button.
Aside from the fact that I can't believe anyone would take credit for that hairstyle, we get it: He was a weird, abnormal disaffected loser who took his mental health issues out on innocent, helpless kids and the adults who tried to shield them. Now, please, please stop giving him press. It's only helping create his successor somewhere out there.
@belsnickles
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You know, they probably don't use such words as "loser" at mental facilities where such disturbed persons get professional help. They probably don't use the word "weird" either.
Stop reporting stories on this POS.
He was obviously very mentally ill, and it really seems inappropriate to be name calling. Looking at the photos of him, I feel compassion for such an innocent looking child, and also for the odd young man with the very thin face. Don't you want to criticize the mother who thought it would be okay to have these murderous weapons practiced and ready to kill?
 @plantfann Nope. He did it not her. And no he is not a pos, that is too kind.