Wayne Mathis was relieved Tuesday because the two men allegedly involved in a brutal armed robbery at a Family Dollar in Jacksonville were in Onslow County Jail.

But as the owner of Diamond Center, the business located next door to the Family Dollar at 111 Wilmington Highway, Mathis was still in shock. He isn't convinced he's safe at his business.

"There's plenty of them out there waiting in the wing," said Mathis, 72, who keeps a 12-gauge shotgun and a 9 mm pistol on the premises. He also carries a .22-caliber Magnum in his pocket.

"Ain't it sad when a little businessman has to be worried the minute he comes into his store until the minute he leaves," Mathis said.

He usually keeps a keen eye on both entrances to his store, which he has operated for almost 20 years. He worries about robberies and break-ins.

On Monday afternoon, Mathis closed his store at 1 p.m. and went to lunch. He returned around 2 p.m. A few minutes after he re-opened, Martha McClain, the manager of Family Dollar, came running in.

"She came running in screaming and was covered in blood," Mathis said. "She said, 'I've been robbed and stabbed; call the rescue squad.' I called 911, but I was so shook up I could hardly talk."

McClain fell to the ground and rolled on her back. She was holding her neck, which was cut with a steak knife, Mathis said.

"The blood was unreal," he said. "She was stabbed all over her stomach. She had cuts on her arms. I didn't even recognize her."

When Mathis went to Family Dollar, the front doors were locked and he could see John Mosely, the store's assistant manager, lying on the floor, he said.

Mosely was beaten with a hammer, said Paul Spring, deputy chief of the Jacksonville Police Department.

Both McClain, 47, and Mosely, 47, were taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital. Mosely was moved to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, where he was in good condition Tuesday, said a nursing supervisor. McClain was in stable condition, said Rich Thompson, Onslow County Hospital Authority's director of risk management.

The Family Dollar on Wilmington Highway had never been robbed. Monday's incident surprised officials at the store's corporate office, said George Mahoney, executive vice president of Family Dollar in Charlotte.

"We have never had any issues of this nature that would lead us to believe that something like this could possibly happen," Mahoney said. "It's even more of a shock to us in this location because that has not been the history of this area."

There are counselors available to employees at the four Family Dollar stores located in Jacksonville, and Mahoney is doing what he can to assist the victims and their families, he said.

Within four hours, the Jacksonville Police Department and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department arrested Timothy Lehman, 23, and Sean Curtis, 26, both of Canady Road. The men walked into Family Dollar and appeared to be shopping. Then they went to the cash register and allegedly started assaulting McClain and Mosely, Spring said.

"It was a violent assault," Spring said. "They assaulted both victims with the intent to inflict bodily harm. That was obvious."

Lehman and Curtis left the store in McClain's gold Pontiac Grand Am. Shortly after, they abandoned the vehicle on Blue Creek School Road. Authorities eventually located Curtis at his home at Canady Road and Lehman was found near the residence, Spring said.

Both men were charged with two counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill, two counts of kidnapping, armed robbery and motor vehicle theft. They were placed in jail without bond, Spring said.

After interviewing Lehman and Curtis, the Sheriff's Department determined that they possibly were involved in an Aug. 14 break-in at a home on U.S. 17 in Jacksonville.

An elderly couple was home at the time of the break-in, which occurred sometime around midnight. The man was attacked on his way to the bathroom, said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.

"The wife, who was in the bed asleep, was awakened by another suspect who had placed a knife to her throat," Brown said. "The senior couple's next minutes of life were horrifying as they were threatened and assaulted by the two male suspects who had entered their home through a window on the second floor."

The men allegedly stole firearms, the keys to a vehicle and other items found when they were arrested, Brown said.

Both men were charged with first-degree burglary, common law robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of larceny of a firearm, felony larceny and property damage. Bond was $150,000 each, Brown said.

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Later, as in September or October, I received a letter from Sean in which he gave me a very graphic accounting of what happened that day.

 At the point where he was describing the attack on Ms McClain, he told me "So I took her into the storage room and stabbed her six or seven times, then I cut her throat. And Mom, it felt good, like having sex".  (At that point in reading the letter, I pretty much freaked out.)

 Later, in another letter, he told me that he had been thinking for a long time about killing someone. Anyone, he wasn't particular in whom he killed. He said that he just wondered what it would feel like to take the life of another human.  I found this very disturbing, to say the least.

He also told me that he had no remorse for this or for anything that he had ever done, or would ever do, in his life. He told me "I don't know what the problem is with the courts. They are fine. They are back to work. I don't see the problem and I don't see why they want to give us both such harsh sentences." 

 Here is a tiny peek into Sean. While he was still in county jail, my former employer called me as she had just found out that Sean had sexually molested her three year old. When I asked her to please report it, she refused, stating that she didn't want to put her child or her family through the trauma of being investigated by Child Protective Services. I was appalled and have not had communication with her since this. It was during that conversation that I also found out that Sean had been sexually molesting her 12 year old daughter at the same time. No, Sean has not been charged with either of these crimes, but I do not doubt, in any way, that he committed them. 

 Sean does not feel the same emotions that you and I feel. He does not feel remorse, guilt, or any other emotion. He puts up a mask that is an imitation of these emotions, as he is brilliant and has studied people all of his life.  I fear what he could and would do, should he ever be returned to society. He is a very dangerous individual.

I read an excellent book. "The Sociopath Next Door" by Dr. Martha Stout. It is a very educational book, citing some pretty terrifying statistics, such as 1 in every 25 people in the US are sociopaths. I recommend reading this book