Pictured: The internet troll who threatened to kill one of Tory MP Louise Mensch's children

In one message, Zimmerman told the MP: ‘Which kid is to go? Who will you choose?’

He had repeatedly failed to turn up to court and even claimed he was too afraid to leave his house.

But yesterday the internet troll who threatened to kill one of Tory MP Louise Mensch’s children finally faced justice.

Frank Zimmerman, 60, had been found guilty in his absence last month of sending an electronic message that was ‘grossly offensive or of an indecent, offensive or menacing character’.

Wanted: Internet troll Frank Zimmerman was due to be sentenced at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court in Gloucestershire this afternoon but failed to turn up

In one email, he told Mrs Mensch that her computer and phones had been hacked and that images of her family would be posted online. His email contained foul-mouthed insults and ordered Mrs Mensch to stop using Twitter, where she has 50,000 followers.

In the most chilling message, Zimmerman told the 40-year-old Corby MP: ‘You now have a Sophie’s choice. Which kid is to go? Who will you choose?’



The question was a reference to the 1982 film Sophie’s Choice in which a mother, played by Meryl Streep, is forced to decide which of her two children will be sent to the gas chambers.

Mrs Mensch later told police that the message had left her feeling ‘extremely scared’.

Yesterday, police drove Zimmerman to Gloucester Magistrates’ Court for sentencing. But in a further twist, the case was adjourned and he was bailed until next month.



Defence: Zimmerman claimed to have no memory of sending the messages to Mrs Mensch

The white-bearded defendant from Gloucester claims to suffer from agoraphobia and was allowed to sit in a separate room in the court building, participating via video link. He claimed to have no memory of sending the message.

However the malicious emails were traced back to his computer through its IP address, a unique code assigned to every terminal.

