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Funerals, sadness, and haunting memories for Newtown

In the aftermath of one of the worst shootings in U.S. history, a small Connecticut town tries to remember those they lost

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The magnitude of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre continued to bear down on this small town Wednesday as eight families held services for victims.

Across Newtown and surrounding areas, makeshift memorials grew and police lights, dark hearses, and long funeral processions -- now a familiar sight —passed through town for a third straight day. Police also continued to dig into what led to the tragedy.

Near Sandy Hook Elementary, Gene Rosen, 69, recalled the victims and the time he spent with six children who he believes witnessed the murder of their teacher, Victoria Soto.

"Two boys started crying furiously and saying 'We can't go back to school, we can't go back to school -- our teacher is gone,' " said Rosen who brought the children inside his home after finding them on his front lawn shortly Friday morning. "I was so overwhelmed I could not take in what they were saying."

Adam Lanza, 20, carried out a shooting attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 students and six adults dead. He also killed his mother earlier in the day.

Wednesday, mourners attended funerals and burials for Soto, 27, and students Charlotte Bacon, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, and Daniel Barden, 7. The families of students Benjamin Wheeler, Catherine Hubbard, Allison Wyatt, all 6, and school principal Dawn Hochsprung, 47, also held calling hours.A mourner displays a program for the funeral of slain teacher Victoria Soto, 27, at the Lordship Community Church on Wednesday in Stratford, Conn.(Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

The horror of the day remains with Rosen, who said he had just fed his cats and was getting ready to drive to Sandy Hook diner when he spotted two boys and four girls as he walked down his driveway.

"They looked mortified," Rosen said. "They seemed out of breath as if they had been running and they were crying."

After walking them inside his home, he gave the tiny survivors his grandchildren's toys to play. Soon, the details of what they witnessed came pouring out.

"A boy said, 'He had a big gun and a little gun,'" Rosen recalled. "A girl said 'There was blood in her mouth and she fell to the ground.'"

Working with a bus driver, Rosen called the children's parents who later came to his home. He's hoping when the time is right he will be reunited with the children and their parents who still face days of funerals.

Fourteen miles away from the school, in Woodbury, hundreds of mourners including Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, paid their respects to Principal Hochsprung, who officials say tried to confront Lanza.

Outside Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home, cool air kicked up dust as frigid weather kept those waiting in line shivering. Some cried as they huddled together in jackets and under shared quilts. Others sipped hot chocolate and ate donuts passed out under a nearby tent.

Many passed the time talking about Hochsprung's love of children, her years of experience in Connecticut school systems, and her and her husband's plans to retire in a home they recently built.

Up and down Woodbury's Main Street, crowds of people formed lines in anticipation of a threat by Westboro Baptist Church to protest at the principal's funeral.

Crystal Bogart, 34, drove one hour from her home in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. to help protect the services. "When I found out they were coming I couldn't stay at home," she said. "There's no room in this situation for the hate those people bring."

Westboro Baptist Church has become notorious for picketing the funerals of military personnel, calling their deaths God's punishment for U.S. tolerance of homosexuals. There were no of protests at funerals Wednesday.

Meanwhile, police continued their investigation into what caused Lanza to carry out the killings. Officials are focusing some of their attention on a damaged computer recovered from his Newtown home.

However, it could take weeks to determine if the computer will yield any clues to what prompted the attack, a federal law enforcement official said.

The hard-drive, seized in a weekend search of the home, has been sent to an FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., for examination. The official, who has been briefed on matter but is not authorized to comment publicly, said authorities were only "mildly optimistic'' that the examination could answer could answer crucial questions about the 20-year-old activities in the days before the assaults and why he targeted the school, students and staffers.

Two federal law enforcement officials said that there was an initial surge of hope that the computer could answer a number of questions about the attack, but that was almost immediately tempered when the extent of the damage was assessed.

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance, while not addressing what specific evidence was found, has said a "great deal'' of material was seized from the home, adding that he was "confident'' that investigators would ultimately answer "every question.''

Tomorrow, memorial services for nine victims are scheduled.

"The first few days, all you heard were helicopters," said Dr. Joseph Young, an optometrist who attended one funeral and would go to several more. "Now at my office all I hear is the rumble of motorcycle escorts and funeral processions going back and forth throughout the day."

The Rhode Islander became the first Miss USA to win the title since 1997.

The Rhode Islander became the first Miss USA to win the title since 1997.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 20-year-old beauty queen from Rhode Island was crowned the new Miss Universe on Wednesday, beating out 88 other women during a televised competition at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Olivia Culpo took the crown from Leila Lopes of Angola after strutting in a purple and blue bikini and a red velvet gown.

In the final stages of the competition, she answered a question about her regrets by saying she wished she hadn't picked on her siblings.

Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.

Contestants from 89 countries on six continents spent the past two weeks in Sin City, where they posed in hardhats at a hotel groundbreaking, took a painting lesson, and pranked hotel guests by hiding in their rooms.

The beauty queens took the stage in tight, pleated mini-dresses with glittering sequin bodices and sky high platform shoes, strutting to the hit Live While We're Young, by English-Irish boy band One Direction.

Later in the two-hour show, they walked a stage decked with white Christmas trees and snow flurry effects, throwing off gauzy white wraps to show off tie-dye bikinis in purples, pinks and blues.

For the third elimination round, they strutted in evening gowns as band Train and Australian singer Timomatic performed. Miss Venezuela's straight-cut, emerald-colored gown was perhaps the most distinct, its long sleeves virtually invisible but for the navy blue, garland-like trim encircling them. Miss USA's red velvet number was full-skirted and wintery, except for the deep, plunging neckline. Miss Australia's gown evoked a wedding dress — pure white with sparkles at the waist and a corset-style bodice.

Culpo, from Rhode Island, was trying to end a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition. An American had not won the right to be called Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.

The contestants voted to give the Miss Congeniality crown to Miss Guatemala.

The pageant aired live on NBC and was streamed to more than 100 countries.

Andy Cohen of the Bravo network and Giuliana Rancic of E! News returned to host the pageant, which was back in Las Vegas after being held in Sao Paulo last year.

The panel of 10 judges included singer Cee Lo Green, Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto and Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants.

Asked on the red carpet whether he found playing in the World Series or judging the beauty pageant to be more difficult, Sandoval said both were hard.

Angola sported a low-cut sequined gown and said she expected this night to be the worst part of her year. The 2011 winner offered some advice to the women vying for her crown.

"Be calm and smile," she said. "Smiling helps a lot. Even though they are not relaxed, the judges will think that they are."

Sharply dressed women and men, including a large contingent from South America, held banners and cheered on their favorite contestants.

"I've seen them and they are absolutely gorgeous," said Donald Trump, a co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization. "They're very nervous and they should be. It's a billion people (watching)."

Organizers had considered holding the 61st annual Miss Universe in the popular Dominican Republic tourist city of Punta Cana, but Miss Universe Organization President Paula Shugart said that country's financial crisis proved to be too much of an obstacle.

Contestants in the pageant cannot have been married or have children. They must be younger than 27 and older than 18 by Feb. 1 of the competition year.

The winner of the crown receives an undisclosed salary, a wardrobe fit for a queen, a limitless supply of beauty products, and a luxury apartment in New York City.

The pageant started as a local revue in Long Beach, Calif., organized by Catalina Swimwear. It is not affiliated with the Miss America pageant and unlike that contest, does not include a talent section.