FBI says child porn found on Von Brunn's computer

New court documents could reveal another side to the alleged Holocaust Museum shooter

Published June 19, 2009 12:35AM (EDT)

More sad, but in a way unsurprising, news from the ongoing saga surrounding alleged Holocaust Museum shooter James Von Brunn. The Associated Press is reporting that, in a search of a computer taken from Von Brunn's home, the FBI found child porn.

The court documents don't give any further details about the nature of the material, or the quantity, and it's not necessarily the 88-year-old's computer. But if it is, and if it turns out he was seeking out child porn, it would be just one more piece in Von Brunn's already long and disturbing history. His story seems to have ended in tragedy, with the death of a museum guard, but it provides a fascinating, though chilling, psychological portrait of a man consumed by demons and lost in his own hatred.

Von Brunn remains hospitalized; he was shot in the face during the museum attack, but the FBI believes he will live. Court proceedings have begun, but are likely to be delayed for his recovery, and the odds that he'll ever actually face trial seem slim -- a judge would have to find him competent first.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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