ORLANDO, Fla. - His marriage long ago went sour, his home taken in foreclosure, his job lost to incompetence, his finances sunk in bankruptcy. Everything Jason Rodriguez sought ended in failure. Except his alleged plot to kill.

Rodriguez, 40, whose life seemed to keep getting worse, was charged yesterday with first-degree murder, accused of killing one and wounding five Friday at his former office. He said nothing in his brief court appearance, but his attorney portrayed him as a mentally ill man who fell victim to countless problems.

"This guy is a compilation of the front page of the entire year - unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce - all of the stresses," said the public defender, Bob Wesley. "He has been declining in mental health. There is no logic whatsoever, which points to a mental-health case."

Police refused to say more yesterday about their investigation into the shooting. But as Rodriguez remained on suicide watch at the Orange County Jail, a portrait of his crumbling life began to emerge.

He couldn't pay the child support he owed for his 8-year-old son. He was nearly $90,000 behind on bills, his bankruptcy file showed. A once-promising, but short-lived, career at an engineering firm faded into a job at a fast-food chain.

Wesley described his client as "very, very mentally ill" but offered no specifics. His former mother-in-law, America Holloway, said he was a schizophrenic who was constantly paranoid, blaming others for all of his woes and always thinking everyone disliked him.

The suspect's own mother struggled for words.

"Sorry for the families involved," Ana Rodriguez said. "I'm really very sorry. It is very hurtful."

Police said Jason Rodriguez himself also offered words of remorse as he was handcuffed Friday, saying that he was going through a tough time. But that was little solace to the victims, all of whom worked at Reynolds, Smith & Hills, where the suspect was an entry-level engineer for 11 months before being fired in June 2007.

Identified as the single fatality in the attack was Otis Beckford, 26, who was standing near the receptionist's desk when the gunman entered the office.

Beckford's mother told the Palm Beach Post that she had last talked to him Thursday night, firming up the family's Thanksgiving plans.

"Now, he won't be there," Icilda Cole told the newspaper. Beckford also leaves a 7-month-old daughter.

Five others were wounded: Gregory Hornbeck, 39; Ferrell Hickson, 40; Guy Lugenbeel, 62; Edward Severino, 34; and Keyondra Harrison, 27. All were in stable condition at Orlando hospitals and were expected to survive.

The Legion Place building, where the shooting occurred, remained cordoned off yesterday with police tape, though some workers came back to get belongings left behind in a scramble to escape. Courtney Moore, a paralegal who returned for her car, remembered frequently sharing an elevator with Beckford or seeing him in the cafeteria.

"He was always so polite and friendly," she said.