Reports: Lanza Smashed Computer Hard Drive

usatoday.com

Before Friday’s school massacre, Adam Lanza removed his computer disk drive and smashed it, making it difficult, if not impossible, to recover data, authorities and tech experts say.

Two sources told The Hartford Courant the hard drive was broken in pieces, while ABC News reports the drive “appeared to have been badly damaged with a hammer or screwdriver.”

Lanza may have also overwritten the drive, wiping out the data, tech experts said.

The FBI electronics experts will examine the drive to see whether its data is salvageable. Authorities are also attempting to learn whether Lanza communicated with others about possible plans to kill his mother and attack the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

The Hartford newspaper writes that one source said Lanza “used the computer to play a violent video game in which life-like characters engage in graphic battle scenes.” The game was not identified, but other news outlets reported that it was Dynasty Warriors.

If the 20-year-old Lanza knew enough to remove the hard drive and break it, data recovery is unlikely, the CEO of Kessler International told Computerworld.