Vester Flanagan: Virginia TV Murderer Had Violent Temper, Wore Obama Sticker During Election Coverage

Vester Flanagan, the disturbed Virginia news reporter who shot his former colleagues during a live broadcast, had numerous reprimands on his personal record. The reprimands included warnings for having a volatile temper with photojournalists, being “stiff and nervous” in report delivery, refusing to use a teleprompter, and for wearing an Obama sticker during election coverage. In addition to problems at the Virginia news station, Flanagan also allegedly had problems at home. He was accused of throwing cat feces at neighbors, road rage, and of having a large sex toy collection with a refrigerator covered in photos of himself.

The Daily Mail reports that Vester Flanagan, also known as Bryce Williams, had a disturbing history with the Virginia news station WDBK prior to the murder of fellow reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Flanagan’s troubles with the station continued throughout 2012, until he was ultimately terminated from the station for bad performance reviews in February of 2013.

Performance reviews indicated that Vester had a temper and would often fly off the handle with photojournalists for a “shaky” camera or not framing a shot to his satisfaction. On one occasion, Flanagan was upset over a shaky shot and berated the camera crew in front of shocked bystanders. Flanagan was also reprimanded for “stiff and nervous”-appearing news reports and for being a “human tape recorder.” Supervisors noted that the reporter relied too heavily on his in-hand script, and refused to use the teleprompter. They told the disturbed Flanagan that the papers were “a crutch” and he needed to work on his delivery. Snippets from performance reviews, which were given in Flanagan’s on-air name, Bryce Williams, indicate an ongoing problem at the Virginia news station.

“Your job as a news reporter is to dig for the truth and the facts. You have a tendency to repeat instead of report on many stories which leads to thinly sourced material and a lack of substance.”

Vester was also given a written warning after he violated company policy by wearing an Obama sticker during election coverage. The warning noted that Flanagan was barred from “participating in active partisan politics” which included publicly endorsing a specific candidate for public office. It was noted that Vester was in clear violation of the policy when he wore the Obama sticker during the broadcast.

The troubled reporter also had problems outside of work. Flanagan was accused of throwing cat feces at neighbors from his balcony and for having terrible road rage. When police stormed Vester’s home, they noted a large collection of sex toys in addition to a refrigerator covered in photos of the deranged former reporter.

The Telegraph obtained photos of the interior of Vester Flanagan’s home from the police, which show large pools of cat urine in the kitchen and cat feces smeared on the balcony. A suicide note was also found, in addition to a narcissistic collection of photos on the killer’s refrigerator.

As the disturbing history of Vester Flanagan was revealed, reporters with WDBK were trying to hold back tears as they continued with their daily news reports this morning.

[Image Credit: WDBJ]