LAUREL, Neb. -- It’s been almost a week since tragedy struck the small town of Laurel in northeast Nebraska.

Early Friday morning after four people were killed, police arrested 42-year-old Jason Jones at his home directly across the street from one of the two houses where the victims were shot and killed before the homes were set on fire, according to police.

When police arrested Jones, he had serious burns on his body and had to be flown to a hospital in Lincoln to be treated.

A judge set Jones' bail at $5 million on Monday.

53-year-old Michele Ebeling, 86-year-old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford, and 55-year-old Dana Twiford were the victims identified by police who were allegedly shot and killed in their homes by Jason Jones.

The community is still in shock.

One thing that the community agreed on was that things like this are not supposed to happen in a small town with a little over 1,000 people.

With some time passing since the incidents took place, some community members and close friends are speaking out about the victims and their impact on the Laurel Community

News Channel Nebraska got the chance to talk with some close friends of the Twiford family in Laurel on Wednesday about their lives and what they meant to the community.

Mary-Ann Christensen who's a lifelong friend of the Twiford’s offered some insight into who they were as individuals as well as a loving family. 

"Piller of the community," is how Christensen described Gene Twiford.

He was a well-respected man around the community. Christensen described his character as “honest, a man of integrity, fun-loving, and could be very passionate about things.”

The two most important things in Gene’s life, according to his close friends, were family and veterans who served overseas in the armed forces including himself.

“He was really passionate about his family, but he was also very passionate about being a veteran and doing what he could to get recognition for people who had served in the armed forces,” Christensen said.

Another close friend of Gene’s was Karen Thompson. She’s also a Laurel resident who knew him and his family for many years.

Years ago when they were both young, she said they only grew up a couple of miles apart.

The word ‘friendly’ keeps being used by close friends to describe him and his overall personality.

“He was a friendly guy. He liked to talk,” Thompson said. “[He] would talk to anybody. Very friendly. Very outgoing.”

Gene’s wife, Janet Twiford was another household name around the Laurel community. Just like her husband, Gene, Janet was a do-it-all type of person - to help anybody and anything in the town.

“She was here - if you needed something down at church, if you needed something in the community. They were just good community people,” Christensen said.

Before meeting Gene and getting married, she worked at a company called Weatherwax. According to Christensen, Janet also worked for some time as a secretary in Wayne at Ameritas Life Insurance.

“She was always kind of a stay-at-home mom until her kids grew up,” Christensen said.

Janet was also heavily involved within the United Lutheran Church, holding multiple positions inside the church.

“If we had something going on at the church and needed help, she was right there to say 'If you need help, please contact me,'” said Sharyl Luedtke, who is another close friend of Janet Twiford's, and first met her at the church years ago.

She also served as the president of the American Legion Auxiliary in Laurel for some time.

According to Luedtke, Janet wanted to give up being president for a couple of years, but nobody wanted to take on the role. Eventually, Luedtke stepped up and took on the role.

“For two years, she wanted to give up the job of being president,” said Luedtke. “Finally, I said I would because I didn’t want the auxiliary to fall apart.”

But even after Janet gave up the role as president at the American Legion Auxiliary, she was always around to offer any help needed.

“If I had any questions about it I could call her and she would tell me what her opinion was,” said Luedtke.

Gene and Janet’s daughter, Dana, she was known for being warm, loving, and outgoing.

Dana lived in the Laurel community all her life and was really close with her family members.

"All about family" is how Christensen described Dana.

People also described her as always having a smile on her face.

“She was just the happiest person in the world,” said Christensen. “I never really saw her unhappy.”

Nebraska Volleyball was another huge passion of Dana’s anytime it was on television.

“She would call some of us on the phone and say ’Nebraska’s playing on TV!’ just to let us know," Christensen said. “I’ll miss that.”

For about 20 years, according to the family's close friends, Dana held a job at a Laurel Care Center as well.

“I think she probably touched a lot of lives because she was always happy, and always had something positive to say to you,” Christensen said.

About two weeks before the tragedy, Dana celebrated her birthday, Christensen said she’s glad she stopped over at their home when she did because it would be the last time she would see her and the rest of the family.

“I’m glad I did because little did I know that would be the last time I would see the three of them,” Christensen said. 

When NCN spoke to community members, Michele Ebeling was newer to town; she wasn’t as well known around the community as the Twiford family.

According to The Associated Press, Michele Ebeling’s daughter, 31-year-old Richele Ebeling of Oklahoma, said her mother had moved to Laurel about two years ago with her boyfriend. Michele's boyfriend travels for his job and was not home when she was killed.

People who work at Laurel’s Hometown Market said Michele was a regular shopper, and workers who didn’t want to be named actually spoke with her the day before the killings.

“I talked with her the day before this happened and she was really upbeat and she was really excited because she was getting new furniture,” said one employee. 

“I don’t think she really got out much, so when she came in she loved it,” said another employee. 

A GoFundMe has been started for Ebeling to help the family with funeral expenses. The goal is $10,000. Over $9,000 has already been raised.

Michele's daughter, Richele wrote on the page about the tragedy, “We can't believe we're even needing to write a statement such as this. This entire incident seems like a bad dream. Michele was a friend, mother, sister, aunt, and grandmother to so many people. She loved people and was always willing to talk to literally anybody. She made a point to regularly call just to check-in. She made one of her 'check-in' calls to her family just 7 hours before this incident happened. That was just who she was as a person. She wanted to check-in with everyone simply because she was sitting at home alone and was thinking about her family. That will be the last conversation all of us have with her. We know all of us will miss those conversations, and we know she will be missed every day. The family has set this page up to help with funeral expenses. We sincerely appreciate any help."

One of the owners of Knuckleheadz Barin Downtown Laurel, Christy Taylor, said a type of tragedy like this has been hard for the community over the past week, but people are stepping up to help in any way they can.

“We have a lot of people coming out to support them whether it’s financially or emotionally,” Taylor said.