Records: Eustis soldier was 'preparing for war,' idolized Joker

Records: Eustis soldier was 'preparing for war,' idolized Joker
The Virginian-Pilot - Norfolk,VA,USA
By Kate Wiltrout
Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 13, 2009
Spc. Christopher Lanum loved the Joker, the character from Batman.

There were Joker posters and Joker masks in his barracks room at Fort Eustis.

Early Sunday morning, Lanum cleaned his knives and told his girlfriend, Patsy Ann Marie Montowski, that he was "preparing for war." He'd told her that before, but this time he was dressing the part, putting on a Joker costume he'd worn for Halloween.

He dictated a good bye note to his daughter; Montowski wrote one to her own children. The letter, labeled "To our families and friends," also contained messages to both their parents.

The letter was found hours later in Lanum's car at Fort Eustis, after the couple allegedly attacked Spc. Mitchell Stone, a soldier who shared a suite with Lanum in Building 696 at the Newport News post.
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