it is claimed that at the time of the murder roa sierra was unemployed, and that people described him as a lazy dreamer and extremely quiet and reserved. he was living in the neighbourhood ricaurte with his mother, who was his sole financial support. according to the assistant of jorge eliécer gaitán, cecilia de gonzález, roa sierra went several times to the office two months before the assassination, but she never gave him an appointment with the lawyer. in "el crimen del siglo" torres describes roa sierra's disappointment in gaitán after the latter refused to offer the former a job or any financial help and simply directed him to seek assistance from the government. several accounts of the events claim that gaitán's apparent disregard for roa sierra's economic hardship could have triggered the assassination, although torres himself expresses doubts as to roa sierra's authorship of the crime and instead affirms that the alleged murderer was actually coerced by political and possibly foreign forces to eliminate the man who was likely to become the next president.