HARRISBURG -- The suspect is dead and the crime scene secured, but the police work isn't finished in the Amish community of Nickel Mines.

Police were continuing to look for every scrap of evidence in Monday's schoolhouse massacre in Amish country that left five girls dead and five others seriously or critically wounded, said state police spokesman Jack Lewis.

"There's nothing that's going to help those girls and nothing that's going to change what's happened, but we have a responsibility to try to gather all the information about the incident," he said.

The only real mystery that remains is one that police may never solve: Why gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV claimed he was tormented by memories of molesting two relatives 20 years ago when he was 12.

The women, who would have been 4 or 5 at the time, told police they weren't sexually abused.

"They said they don't recall that, and other family members with whom we have spoken said they had never heard about it before," Mr. Lewis said.

The investigation was on hold yesterday while the Amish buried four children and troopers blocked roads to keep outsiders away from the funerals. A fifth girl is to be buried this morning.

Three of the victims showed progress at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, an official said Wednesday.

The hospital said it would not provide further updates but said an 8-year-old was making "encouraging progress" but remained in critical condition with gunshot wounds to her neck and arm, said Gavin Kerr, the hospital's vice president and chief operating officer.

A 12-year-old with arm and leg injuries was in serious condition but able to communicate with her family, he said.

A 10-year-old, who had been shot in the head, was in critical condition and on life support, but able to squeeze her parents' hands.

Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey, where two other girls were being treated, stopped releasing condition reports at parents' request. As of Tuesday, a 6-year-old was in critical condition and a 13-year-old was in serious condition.

A sixth victim was reported in grave condition yesterday. County coroner G. Gary Kirchner said he had been contacted by a physician at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey who said doctors expected to take one girl off life support.

Police were waiting for toxicology reports from the autopsy on Mr. Roberts. The body remains in the custody of the Lancaster County coroner's office.