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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Wanted Eustis GI killed by law enforcement

Wanted Eustis GI killed by law enforcement
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 12, 2009 20:31:21 EDT

An early morning incident at Fort Eustis, Va., turned into a manhunt in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and the shooting death of Spc. Christopher Lanum by federal and state law enforcement officials.

Lanum, 25, allegedly attacked a fellow soldier, Spc. Mitchell Stone, on March 8 at an undisclosed location on Fort Eustis, then fled the scene, according to a statement released by Fort Eustis.

Both soldiers were medics assigned to the Fort Eustis Medical Department Activity.

“Lanum arrived here in April 2008 and the soldier who was stabbed, Stone, has been here since November 2005,” said Fort Eustis spokeswoman Vicki Bowker.

Stone, she said, was released from the hospital in stable condition.

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