Can Good Works Outweigh Murderous Past?

March 18 -- Paul Krueger was once a professor at Penn State University's prestigious school of education, admired by students and colleagues.

"I've had students tell me he was one of the best teachers they'd ever had," says Krueger's former immediate supervisor, Kyle Peck.

"There's those teachers that you run across where you just go 'oh, my'. They're just truly gifted," said Mary Beth Morrison, another colleague. "He was one of those teachers."

Krueger's colleagues use the past tense, but he didn't die. What happened was last year, at the pinnacle of his career, after years of a distinguished academic career, a secret from his past caught up with him. The life that Krueger built for himself fell apart.

Krueger shot three men to death when he was 17 years old. When his conviction was revealed to the world, the news effectively ended his career.

"When I look back now … it's like it's a different person," he told Primetime's Charlie Gibson with tears in his eyes.

A Random Act of Violence

Krueger was a troubled kid from a troubled family in California. His path to tragedy began when he fell in with a local boy and they decided to run away together. He packed up the guns he'd been collecting the past few years and stole his mother's car.

They headed eastward. All along, they feared they were going to get caught. So when they got to Texas, outside of Corpus Christi in the Bay area, they rented a small motor boat.

There, the boys came across three men, lifelong friends who were in the midst of a weekend of fishing. The boys were in their boat. They got out and walked up the dock.

And then, Krueger pulled out his guns and out of the blue, for no apparent reason, started firing at the three men. Every one suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Krueger reportedly fired 40 rounds. It was a random act of violence.

"It was a gruesome, gruesome scene," said Detective Manuel Garza, who was first one the scene. "We saw the three fisherman in the water … They were dead.