It was a shared love of live music that sparked a close friendship between Russ Hanoman and Nancy Lanza more than five years ago. Now, in light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook and recent reports suggesting she was a paranoid survivalist, Hanoman is speaking publicly about the woman he knew. As he told PIX 11, “She was a wonderful, beautiful, elegant woman who loved life, and most importantly she loved her son, Adam.”

Another small detail emerged in the course of the interview, this time about Adam Lanza.

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Lanza was vegan, according to Hanoman, because he "didn’t want to hurt animals.”

You can watch the full interview below.