According to the State's Attorney's report on the Newtown school shooting on Dec. 14 of last year, police found the body of substitute teacher Lauren Rousseau "close to the children" in Classroom 8 of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Her father, Gilles Rousseau, said he read a preview of the report through tears some time ago. The report doesn't directly say Lauren died trying to defend her kids, but Gilles Rousseau said he's proud that she was brave. That pride helps him cope with his loss.
"She wouldn't want me to be moping around and crying every day," he said. "I cry every once in a while when I talk about her."
He said the report could help other people make peace as well.
"I think it will be good for the residents of Newtown to have some kind of closure, for them to understand more what happened," Giles Rousseau said.
However, many Newtown residents are still struggling with the trauma of that day, and for them, the report could do more harm than good, said marriage and family therapist Jeffrey Schutz.
"This will answer a lot of questions for the police and information many professionals need to know," Schutz said. "I'm not convinced it's gonna answer the deeper questions of why do things like this happen, and why did it happen to us?"
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Schutz said many people are not sure how much time it will take to move on and let go of their emotional memories.
As the anniversary approaches, families, survivors and members of the community are working to heal.
