Thomas Fleming had a love for three things: children, baseball and rock music.

"His favorite band was Sevendust," said Jennifer Buffone, a friend for more than 14 years. "We must have seen them about seven times.

"He loved going to concerts," she told The Boston Globe. Fleming, of Worcester, Mass., was a lifelong baseball fan. He had played on the Auburn High School baseball team. After he graduated in 1990, he went to Worcester State College and earned a bachelor's degree in health studies. His friends say he always wanted to be a teacher.

"He was a great guy, kind of a free spirit," said his former high school physical education teacher, Bill Garneau. "I remember back in the late '80s and '90s, he had this long, flowing red hair." The red hair was shorter when Fleming, 30, became a substitute health teacher at the middle and high schools in Auburn. Garneau said Fleming had plans to help coach the baseball team if he landed a permanent teaching position.