BROOKFIELD, WI (WTAQ) - Some will find this ironic – but the man who killed his wife and two others at a Brookfield spa on Sunday was training to become a nurse in a field that saves lives.

45-year-old Radcliffe Haughton sold cars for 11 years before he started taking classes part-time at Milwaukee Area Technical College in 2010.

This fall, he became a full-time student in the college’s program for nursing assistants. And Kathleen Hohl of MATC said he was active in his classes – and there was no record of any discipline problems in the classroom or on campus.

One of his professors told WITI-TV that Haughton mentioned that his wife Zina wanted him to move out of their Brown Deer home – and he could not afford that as a full-time student.

Hohl said Haughton could have taken advantage of financial help, tutoring, and counseling so he could stay in school – and he initially agreed to the assistance but later changed his mind.

Haughton was taking classes this fall which are pre-requisites for a registered nurse degree.