Friend: Abductor Was Mirroring Father, 'Probably Had A Suicidal Plan'

SAN DIEGO (CBS/AP) — A family spokesman says the man who was killed by FBI agents in the Idaho wilderness after allegedly abducting a 16-year-old California girl followed his father's footsteps.

Andrew Spanswick said Monday that James Lee DiMaggio's father committed suicide exactly 15 years before Saturday's shootout that resulted in the rescue of Hannah Anderson.

"He probably had a suicidal plan," Spanswick told KCAL9's Serene Branson. "It's too much of a coincidence that the house would have burned down on the date that his father had disappeared."

Spanswick, a mental health professional, said DiMaggio had a difficult upbringing. He said it appeared as though DiMaggio reenacted a fatherly role with Hannah.

In an eerie twist, DiMaggio was taken out by FBI agents on the anniversary of his father's suicide.

Spanswick says James Everet DiMaggio had a troubled life marred by criminal activity. The elder DiMaggio was arrested after breaking into the home of his ex-girlfriend and holding her 16-year-daughter hostage.

Now in her forties, that woman did not want to reveal her identity but said she awoke to find the elder DiMaggio breaking through her bedroom window. The elder DiMaggio "pulled handcuffs out of one pocket and pulled an apple out of another, put the apple on the end of the shotgun. I asked him what that was for and he said it was to silence the shots." She ultimately escaped.

The 40-year-old DiMaggio is suspected of killing Hannah's mother and younger brother, abandoning them in his burning home near San Diego on Aug. 4.

Hannah Anderson didn't know her mother and brother were dead until she was rescued, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Monday.

"The healing process will be slow," said her father, Brett Anderson. "She has been through a tremendous, horrific ordeal."

The pair was spotted in the rugged terrain of River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho by horseback riders who recognized Hannah from the Amber Alert.

"Some of you might find the Amber alert annoying," said Hannah's father Brett Anderson. "Please pay attention, keep your eyes open. Let's bring those children home. No one should have to go through this."

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