The journalist who played fireman
November 9, 2005 7:21 AM   Subscribe

Diagnosis or job description? UK tabloids sometimes lead people to believe that all journalists are the scum of the earth. That's obviously not true, but one journalist who actually fits the bill seems to be ex-Woman's Wear Daily staffer, Peter Braunstein. On halloween, he dressed up as a fireman, called around at the apartment of a friend of his ex-wife and repeatedly drugged and raped her. Normally, this would just be another tawdry true crime, but like most writers, he's ended up leaving his mark all over the net.
posted by PeterMcDermott (22 comments total)
 
Yuck.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:38 AM on November 9, 2005


Nice guy. From one of his posts in the final link:

"if you can break away from the inflatable plastic sex doll you spend time with, why don't you name a place and a time and we'll get down, man to wimp. or maybe i'll just find out who and where you are and pay you a visit. but i'm sure that's not your game - that would actually require courage, or virtue."
posted by soiled cowboy at 7:40 AM on November 9, 2005


With the advent of the web we can now watch people go off the deepend in realtime!
posted by photoslob at 7:44 AM on November 9, 2005


Anyone who refers to their ex by the name "Biohazard" and compare himself to Edie Sedgewick is going to be a real sweetie.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:52 AM on November 9, 2005


This story is so titillating it's difficult to keep in mind just how depraved and horrible the crime her perpetrated was. The earlier blog about an ex and the threatening people on comment boards is all bad, but it's possible to read it without getting too upset if you don't know the participants. The all-night rape scene is just chilling though, and makes me kind of sick to my stomach.
posted by OmieWise at 7:53 AM on November 9, 2005


I wonder if people were as freakishly deviant before we had the internet to spread the news about their freakish deviance so quickly? Uh, nevermind.

This guy's sentence should be a naked wrestling match with a chipper/shredder. He's no benefit to society.

Nice to know he'll be out of the public eye for, well, forever.
posted by fenriq at 7:54 AM on November 9, 2005


On halloween, he dressed up as a fireman, called around at the apartment of a friend of his ex-wife and repeatedly drugged and raped her.

Hey...disgusting event and a very disgusting person, but how about we put the word allegedly in there until the guy is tried. We do still have due process and a presumption of innocence here. Or are we now down to accepting trial by press?
posted by spicynuts at 8:13 AM on November 9, 2005


This is perfectly evil. The pieces of this story link together in a way that seems, well, composed.

If you don't have time to browse through all that's posted in the google link above, I'd check out this blog entry for a good rundown.
posted by kosem at 8:19 AM on November 9, 2005


how about we put the word allegedly in there until the guy is tried

Alternatively, you could email him and ask if he really did it.
posted by soiled cowboy at 8:20 AM on November 9, 2005


Alternatively, you could email him and ask if he really did it.

Given that I live in NYC and his picture is plastered all over every newspaper every day and the cops suspect he is still in Manhattan, I'm hoping maybe I can catch him.

posted by spicynuts at 8:29 AM on November 9, 2005


Here's some exceprts of his blog on gawker.

I normaly don't complain about FPPs in thread, but while this is certanly intresting, it was very poorly put together.

You say the guy posted all kinds of stuff on teh web, and yet, all you give us a google search link to hunt around in.

You should have dug the stuff up and linked to each peice, IMO.
posted by delmoi at 8:37 AM on November 9, 2005


Holy crap! I used to live in the victim's building. On the third floor. Creepy.
posted by hyperbolica at 8:41 AM on November 9, 2005


By the way, his 'Kodak moments', the list of 'biohazard's her slights to him are really, really mild.

It's like one or two comments that could theoretically be considered slightly insulting (like mentioning that she could play backgammon alone, which weireded him out!?) or that she 'lied' either to him or too other women at work about why her last fiancé had ditched her.

This is minor, minor stuff. Cripes.
posted by delmoi at 8:42 AM on November 9, 2005


oooh, he's still on the run?

That makes for a good story...
posted by delmoi at 8:43 AM on November 9, 2005


This is minor, minor stuff. Cripes.

Well, to be fair to the original poster, he was convicted of menacing his previous girlfriend and the papers have had statements from his ex's family saying that he'd called them repeatedly threatening to kill them, etc etc. His proven and documentedbehavior in the case of his conviction is pretty disturbing.
posted by spicynuts at 8:59 AM on November 9, 2005


fuckin Peter Braunstein.
posted by nervousfritz at 9:04 AM on November 9, 2005


then forced her to try on clothes and shoes and photographed it, sources said.

This should have been a clue.
posted by jonmc at 9:35 AM on November 9, 2005


they found a trove of books in which he'd underlined creepy passages in classical literature as well as disturbing examples from his own writing

I find it strange whenever I am reading a biography of a serial killer, and am told that police found shocking books in his home, like a biography of a serial killer.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:39 AM on November 9, 2005


Well, to be fair to the original poster, he was convicted of menacing his previous girlfriend and the papers have had statements from his ex's family saying that he'd called them repeatedly threatening to kill them, etc etc. His proven and documentedbehavior in the case of his conviction is pretty disturbing.

Right, but what I meant was that what she had 'done' to him was nothing. I mean the stuff he was complaning about. Reading his story dosn't engender much sympathy.
posted by delmoi at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2005


An IQ of 185?? I think not
posted by snoktruix at 10:14 AM on November 9, 2005


sorry, i'm referring to this which wasn't linked to in the post
posted by snoktruix at 10:18 AM on November 9, 2005


snoktruix: his stratospheric IQ might explain why he never seemed to get anything published of any note whatsoever...he must be one of the world's very very few misunderstood creative genius busboys (oops, i mean, "freelance writers")...
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:37 PM on November 9, 2005


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