The parents of Santa Barbara murderer Elliot Rodger have not yet read their son's 137-page manifesto of hatred.
It's too much for parents who are dealing with the fact that their son was a sexist psycho who robbed innocent people of their lives on May 23.
'They are mourning the victims more than they are mourning their son,' family friend and spokesman Simon Astaire said Thursday on the 'Today' show.
Astaire appeared on the program to deliver a statement on the family's behalf - their first.
'We are crying in pain for the victims and their families. It breaks out hearts on a level that we didn't think possible. The feeling of knowing that it was our son's actions that caused the tragedy can only be described as hell on Earth,' the statement reads.
Peter Vandenbelt/AP
'It is now our responsibility to do everything we can to help avoid this happening to any other family. Not only to avoid more innocence destroyed, but also to identify and deal with the mental issues that drove our son to do what he did.'
Astaire told Matt Lauer that Rodger's parents have diminished and are virtually unrecognizable.
A social worker called his mother the day of the shootings and asked if she had read her email, Astaire explained. She read the first few lines before looking up her son's YouTube account where she found his 'Retribution' video.
She immediately called her husband and they rushed to find their son in separate cars. While driving, they heard reports of the shooting at University of California, Santa Barbara, involving a black BMW - their son's car.
'They're living their nightmare,' Astaire said. 'They're hearing their son is murdering people.'
Rodger started writing his manifesto three years ago but his parents - Astaire said - never picked up on signs that he would harm others.
mwalsh@nydailynews.com
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
Entities 0 Name: Astaire Count: 5 1 Name: Rodger Count: 2 2 Name: Santa Barbara Count: 2 3 Name: Peter Vandenbelt\/AP Count: 1 4 Name: Elliot Rodger Count: 1 5 Name: University of California Count: 1 6 Name: Earth Count: 1 7 Name: Simon Astaire Count: 1 8 Name: Matt Lauer Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1nxhaUn Title: Parents of California gunman describe 'hell on earth' Description: Credit: Reuters/Phil Klein A picture of Elliot Rodger is displayed during a news conference by Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown (not shown) at Sheriff headquarters in Santa Barbara, California May 24, 2014. Rodger's family members are mourning the victims of Friday's mass shooting more than they are mourning their son, said family friend and spokesman Simon Astaire reading the statement on NBC's "Today" show.
