Lee Boyd Malvo
Encyclopedia
Lee Boyd Malvo (born February 18, 1985), is a spree killer
convicted, along with John Allen Muhammad
, of murders in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks
, which took place in the Washington Metropolitan Area
over a three-week period in October 2002. According to his own confession they had planned to kill six people a day for a month in order "to terrorize
the nation." The beltway attacks turned out to be only the latest of a series of shootings across the United States
connected to these individuals which began on the West Coast. Muhammad had befriended the juvenile Malvo, and had enlisted him in the murderous rampage under some false pretenses and influences which are still not fully understood by authorities. According to Craig Cooley, one of Malvo's defense attorneys, Malvo believed Muhammad when he told him that the $10 million ransom
sought from the US government to stop the sniper
killings would be used to establish a Utopia
n society for 140 black
homeless children on a Canadian
compound.
in Antigua and Barbuda
around 1999, where Una and Muhammad developed a strong friendship. Later, Una left Antigua for Fort Myers, Florida
, using false documents. She left her son with Muhammad, reportedly planning to have him follow her later. He did join his mother for a short time in 2001. Lee Malvo arrived as an illegal alien in Miami in 2001. He and his mother were apprehended by the Border Patrol in Bellingham, Washington
, in December 2001. In January 2002, Malvo was released on a $1,500 bond. Malvo caught up with Muhammad soon after. In 2002, Malvo traveled to Bellingham, Washington
, where he lived in a homeless shelter
with Muhammad and enrolled in high school
with Muhammad falsely listed as his father, but he did not make any friends according to his classmates. While in the Tacoma, Washington
area, according to his statements to investigators, Malvo shoplifted the Bushmaster XM-15 from Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, a dealer for Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor based in Windham, Maine
. About the same time, Muhammad practiced his marksmanship on the Bull's Eye firing range adjacent to the gun shop. Under federal laws, neither was legally allowed to purchase or possess guns, with both classified as prohibited persons under the Gun Control Act of 1968
.
These victims have also been linked to Muhammad and Malvo:
. He was charged by the Commonwealth of Virginia for two capital crimes: the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin "in the commission of an act of terrorism
" (an addendum to Virginia law that was added after the September 11, 2001, attacks), and the murder of more than one person in a three-year period. He was also charged with the unlawful use of a firearm in the murder of Franklin. Initially, a Fairfax attorney, Michael Arif, was appointed to represent him, along with Thomas B. Walsh and Mark J. Petrovich. Later, prominent Richmond attorney Craig Cooley was appointed to the team and assumed a leadership role. While in jail, he made a recorded confession
to Detective Samuel Walker in which he stated that he "intended to kill them all".
Under a change of venue
, the trial was moved over 150 miles away to the city of Chesapeake
in southeastern Virginia
. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to all charges on the grounds that he was under Muhammad's complete control. One of Malvo's psychiatric
witnesses testified that Muhammad, a member of Nation of Islam
, had indoctrinated him into believing that the proceeds of the extortion attempt would be used to begin a new nation of only pure black young persons somewhere in Canada
.
During the trial, Malvo's defense attorney Craig S. Cooley said that violent video games had contributed significantly to Malvo's mind state and willingness to commit murder. Cooley said: "He's trained and desensitized with video games, computer games, to train him to shoot human forms over and over." Sociologists Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson, however, argue in their book Grand Theft Childhood that other factors were much more significant. "In court, Lee Malvo admitted that he trained by shooting a real gun at paper plates that represented human heads. Also, Malvo had a long history of antisocial and criminal behavior, including torturing small animals – one of the best predictors of future violent criminal behavior."
On December 18, 2003, after nearly 14 hours of deliberation, the jury convicted him of both charges. On December 23, a jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Franklin. On March 10, 2004, a judge formally sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
On October 26, 2004, under a plea bargain
to avoid a possible death penalty, Malvo entered an Alford plea
to the charges of murdering Kenneth Bridges and attempting to murder Caroline Seawell while Malvo was in Spotsylvania County, Virginia
. He also pled guilty to two firearms charges and agreed not to appeal
his conviction for the murder of Franklin. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder, plus eight years imprisonment for the weapons charges.
One Virginia prosecutor in Prince William County
had stated he would wait to decide whether to try him on additional capital charges in his jurisdiction until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on whether juveniles may be subject to the penalty of execution. However, in light of the March 1, 2005 Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons
that the Eighth Amendment
prohibits execution for crimes committed when under the age of 18, the prosecutors in Prince William County have decided not to pursue the charges against Malvo. However, prosecutors in Maryland
, Louisiana
and Alabama
were still interested in putting both Malvo and Muhammad on trial.
As Malvo was 17 when he committed the crimes, he cannot face the death penalty, but still may be extradited
to Alabama, Louisiana, and other states for prosecution. At the outset of the Beltway sniper prosecutions, the primary reason for extraditing the two suspects from Maryland, where they were arrested, to Virginia, was the differences in how the two states deal with the death penalty. While the death penalty is allowed in Maryland, it is only applied to persons who were adults at the time of their crimes, whereas Virginia had also allowed the death penalty for offenders who had been juveniles when their crimes were committed.
In May 2005, Virginia and Maryland reached an agreement to allow Maryland to begin prosecuting some of the pending charges there, and Malvo was extradited to Montgomery County, Maryland
under heavy security.
On June 16, 2006, Malvo told authorities that he and Muhammad were guilty of four additional shootings. The four most recently linked victims were also shot in 2002: a man killed in Los Angeles
during a robbery
in February or March; a 76-year-old man who survived a shooting on May 18 at a golf course in Clearwater, Florida
; a man shot to death while doing yard work in Denton, Texas
, May 27; and 54-year-old John Gaeta who survived being shot on August 1 during a robbery outside a shopping mall near Baton Rouge, Louisiana
.
On October 10, 2006, Malvo pleaded guilty to the six murders he was charged with in Maryland. On November 8, he was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. On October 27, 2006, Malvo told police that he and Muhammad were responsible for the killing of a 60-year-old man on a golf course in Tucson, Arizona
. He claimed that they shot Jerry Taylor while he was practicing chip shots on a local golf course. Tucson police had reportedly sought to speak with Malvo about the March 19, 2002 death of Taylor, who died from a single long range gunshot.
contributed to a landmark $2.5 million out-of-court settlement in late 2004.
, Malvo took the stand and confessed to a more detailed version of the pair's plans. Malvo, after extensive counseling, admitted that he had been lying in the statement he made after his arrest when he had admitted to being the triggerman for every shooting. Malvo claimed that he had said this in order to protect Muhammad from the death penalty, because it was more difficult to achieve the death penalty for a minor. Malvo stated, "I'm not proud of myself. I'm just trying to make amends", expressing his regret in the shootings. In his two days of testimony, Malvo outlined detailed aspects of all the shootings.
Part of his testimony concerned Muhammad's complete, multiphase plan. His plan consisted of three phases in the Washington, D.C.
and Baltimore metro areas. Phase One consisted of meticulously planning, mapping, and practicing their locations around the DC area. This way after each shooting they would be able to quickly leave the area on a predetermined path, and move on to the next location. Muhammad's goal in Phase One was to kill six white people a day for 30 days. Malvo went on to describe how Phase One did not go as planned due to heavy traffic and the lack of a clear shot and/or getaway at different locations.
Phase Two was meant to be moved up to Baltimore. Malvo described how this phase was close to being implemented, but never was carried out. Phase Two was intended to begin by killing a pregnant woman by shooting her in the stomach. The next step would have been to shoot and kill a Baltimore
police officer. At the officer's funeral, they would plant several improvised explosive device
s. These explosives were intended to kill a large number of police, since many police would attend another officer's funeral. More bombs were then to be detonated as ambulances arrived at the scene.
The last phase was to take place very shortly after, if not during, Phase Two. The third phase was to extort several million dollars from the U.S. government. This money would be used to finance a larger plan: to travel north into Canada and recruit other effectively orphaned boys to use weapons and stealth, and send them out to commit shootings across the country.
# 1180834, Inmate # 330873, is incarcerated at the Red Onion State Prison
.
Spree killer
A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
convicted, along with John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
, of murders in connection with the Beltway sniper attacks
Beltway sniper attacks
The Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
, which took place in the Washington Metropolitan Area
Washington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
over a three-week period in October 2002. According to his own confession they had planned to kill six people a day for a month in order "to terrorize
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
the nation." The beltway attacks turned out to be only the latest of a series of shootings across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
connected to these individuals which began on the West Coast. Muhammad had befriended the juvenile Malvo, and had enlisted him in the murderous rampage under some false pretenses and influences which are still not fully understood by authorities. According to Craig Cooley, one of Malvo's defense attorneys, Malvo believed Muhammad when he told him that the $10 million ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
sought from the US government to stop the sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
killings would be used to establish a Utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n society for 140 black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
homeless children on a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
compound.
Joining John Allen Muhammad
Lee Boyd Malvo and his mother, Una Sceon James, first met John Allen MuhammadJohn Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
in Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
around 1999, where Una and Muhammad developed a strong friendship. Later, Una left Antigua for Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, using false documents. She left her son with Muhammad, reportedly planning to have him follow her later. He did join his mother for a short time in 2001. Lee Malvo arrived as an illegal alien in Miami in 2001. He and his mother were apprehended by the Border Patrol in Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, in December 2001. In January 2002, Malvo was released on a $1,500 bond. Malvo caught up with Muhammad soon after. In 2002, Malvo traveled to Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
, where he lived in a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
with Muhammad and enrolled in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
with Muhammad falsely listed as his father, but he did not make any friends according to his classmates. While in the Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
area, according to his statements to investigators, Malvo shoplifted the Bushmaster XM-15 from Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, a dealer for Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor based in Windham, Maine
Windham, Maine
Windham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 17,001 at the 2010 census. It includes the villages of South Windham and North Windham...
. About the same time, Muhammad practiced his marksmanship on the Bull's Eye firing range adjacent to the gun shop. Under federal laws, neither was legally allowed to purchase or possess guns, with both classified as prohibited persons under the Gun Control Act of 1968
Gun Control Act of 1968
The Gun Control Act of 1968 , by president Lyndon Johnson, is a federal law in the United States that broadly regulates the firearms industry and firearms owners...
.
Sniper attack victims
Listed in chronological order, these are the names of the victims who were murdered or wounded in the Beltway sniper attacks.| Name | Age | Status | Date of Attack | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Martin | 55 | Killed | October 2, 2002, 6:04 PM | Wheaton, Maryland Wheaton, Maryland Wheaton is an unincorporated, urbanized area in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, north of Washington, D.C., northwest of Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton , a career officer in the United States Army and volunteer from Rhode Island in the Union Army who rose to the rank of... |
| James Buchanan | 39 | Killed | October 3, 2002, 7:41 AM | Rockville, Maryland Rockville, Maryland Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S... |
| Premkumar Walekar | 54 | Killed | October 3, 2002, 8:12 AM | Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It got its name from aspen trees that once were found near the first post office in the area... |
| Sarah Ramos | 34 | Killed | October 3, 2002, 8:37 AM | Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and... |
| Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera | 25 | Killed | October 3, 2002, 9:58 AM | Kensington, Maryland Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 zip code and its population is an order of magnitude larger than that of the town at its center.... |
| Pascal Charlot | 72 | Killed | October 3, 2002, 9:20 PM | Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
| Caroline Seawell | 43 | Survived | October 4, 2002, 2:30 PM | Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286... |
| Iran Brown | 13 | Survived | October 7, 2002, 8:09 AM | Bowie, Maryland Bowie, Maryland Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of... |
| Dean Harold Meyers | 53 | Killed | October 9, 2002, 8:18 PM | Manassas, Virginia Manassas, Virginia The City of Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Its population was 37,821 as of 2010. Manassas also surrounds the county seat for Prince William County but that county... |
| Kenneth Bridges | 53 | Killed | October 11, 2002, 9:40 AM | Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286... |
| Linda Franklin | 47 | Killed | October 14, 2002, 9:19 PM | Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church, Virginia The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within... |
| Jeffrey Hopper | 53 | Survived | October 19, 2002, 8:00 PM | Ashland, Virginia Ashland, Virginia Originally known as Slash Cottage, Ashland is located on the Old Washington Highway U.S. Route One and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, a busy north-south route now owned by CSX Transportation... |
| Conrad Johnson | 35 | Killed | October 22, 2002, 5:55 AM | Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It got its name from aspen trees that once were found near the first post office in the area... |
These victims have also been linked to Muhammad and Malvo:
- Keenya Cook
- Jerry Ray Taylor
- Paul La Ruffa
- Rupinder Oberoi
- Muhammad Rashid
- Million Woldemariam
- Claudine Lee Parker
- Kellie Adams
- Hong Im Ballenger
- Wright Williams, Jr.
- Billy Gene Dillon
- John Gaeta
Criminal prosecutions
Malvo was initially arrested under federal charges, but they were dropped. He was transferred to Virginia custody and sent to jail in Fairfax CountyFairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
. He was charged by the Commonwealth of Virginia for two capital crimes: the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin "in the commission of an act of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
" (an addendum to Virginia law that was added after the September 11, 2001, attacks), and the murder of more than one person in a three-year period. He was also charged with the unlawful use of a firearm in the murder of Franklin. Initially, a Fairfax attorney, Michael Arif, was appointed to represent him, along with Thomas B. Walsh and Mark J. Petrovich. Later, prominent Richmond attorney Craig Cooley was appointed to the team and assumed a leadership role. While in jail, he made a recorded confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
to Detective Samuel Walker in which he stated that he "intended to kill them all".
Under a change of venue
Change of venue
A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to widespread publicity about a crime and/or its defendant to another...
, the trial was moved over 150 miles away to the city of Chesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
in southeastern Virginia
South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States, and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA with a population about 1.7 million....
. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to all charges on the grounds that he was under Muhammad's complete control. One of Malvo's psychiatric
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
witnesses testified that Muhammad, a member of Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
, had indoctrinated him into believing that the proceeds of the extortion attempt would be used to begin a new nation of only pure black young persons somewhere in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
During the trial, Malvo's defense attorney Craig S. Cooley said that violent video games had contributed significantly to Malvo's mind state and willingness to commit murder. Cooley said: "He's trained and desensitized with video games, computer games, to train him to shoot human forms over and over." Sociologists Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson, however, argue in their book Grand Theft Childhood that other factors were much more significant. "In court, Lee Malvo admitted that he trained by shooting a real gun at paper plates that represented human heads. Also, Malvo had a long history of antisocial and criminal behavior, including torturing small animals – one of the best predictors of future violent criminal behavior."
On December 18, 2003, after nearly 14 hours of deliberation, the jury convicted him of both charges. On December 23, a jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Franklin. On March 10, 2004, a judge formally sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
On October 26, 2004, under a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
to avoid a possible death penalty, Malvo entered an Alford plea
Alford plea
An Alford plea in United States law is a guilty plea in criminal court, where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence...
to the charges of murdering Kenneth Bridges and attempting to murder Caroline Seawell while Malvo was in Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,395 people, 31,308 households, and 24,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 226 people per square mile . There were 33,329 housing units at an average density of 83 per square mile...
. He also pled guilty to two firearms charges and agreed not to appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
his conviction for the murder of Franklin. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder, plus eight years imprisonment for the weapons charges.
One Virginia prosecutor in Prince William County
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
had stated he would wait to decide whether to try him on additional capital charges in his jurisdiction until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on whether juveniles may be subject to the penalty of execution. However, in light of the March 1, 2005 Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons
Roper v. Simmons
Roper v. Simmons, was a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The 5-4 decision overruled the Court's prior ruling upholding such sentences on offenders above or at the...
that the Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
prohibits execution for crimes committed when under the age of 18, the prosecutors in Prince William County have decided not to pursue the charges against Malvo. However, prosecutors in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
were still interested in putting both Malvo and Muhammad on trial.
As Malvo was 17 when he committed the crimes, he cannot face the death penalty, but still may be extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Alabama, Louisiana, and other states for prosecution. At the outset of the Beltway sniper prosecutions, the primary reason for extraditing the two suspects from Maryland, where they were arrested, to Virginia, was the differences in how the two states deal with the death penalty. While the death penalty is allowed in Maryland, it is only applied to persons who were adults at the time of their crimes, whereas Virginia had also allowed the death penalty for offenders who had been juveniles when their crimes were committed.
In May 2005, Virginia and Maryland reached an agreement to allow Maryland to begin prosecuting some of the pending charges there, and Malvo was extradited to Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
under heavy security.
On June 16, 2006, Malvo told authorities that he and Muhammad were guilty of four additional shootings. The four most recently linked victims were also shot in 2002: a man killed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
during a robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
in February or March; a 76-year-old man who survived a shooting on May 18 at a golf course in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
; a man shot to death while doing yard work in Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, May 27; and 54-year-old John Gaeta who survived being shot on August 1 during a robbery outside a shopping mall near Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.
On October 10, 2006, Malvo pleaded guilty to the six murders he was charged with in Maryland. On November 8, he was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. On October 27, 2006, Malvo told police that he and Muhammad were responsible for the killing of a 60-year-old man on a golf course in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. He claimed that they shot Jerry Taylor while he was practicing chip shots on a local golf course. Tucson police had reportedly sought to speak with Malvo about the March 19, 2002 death of Taylor, who died from a single long range gunshot.
Civil lawsuit
In 2003, Malvo and Muhammad were named in a major civil lawsuit by the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence on behalf of some two of their victims who were seriously wounded and the families of some of those murdered. Co-defendants Bull's Eye Shooter Supply and Bushmaster FirearmsBushmaster Firearms International, LLC
Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC is a manufacturer and distributor of guns which is based in Madison, North Carolina in the United States. Bushmaster's product line revolves around semi-automatic pistol and rifle variants of the AR-15 design...
contributed to a landmark $2.5 million out-of-court settlement in late 2004.
The "real plan," as told by Lee Boyd Malvo
In Muhammad's May 2006 trial in Montgomery County, MarylandMontgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, Malvo took the stand and confessed to a more detailed version of the pair's plans. Malvo, after extensive counseling, admitted that he had been lying in the statement he made after his arrest when he had admitted to being the triggerman for every shooting. Malvo claimed that he had said this in order to protect Muhammad from the death penalty, because it was more difficult to achieve the death penalty for a minor. Malvo stated, "I'm not proud of myself. I'm just trying to make amends", expressing his regret in the shootings. In his two days of testimony, Malvo outlined detailed aspects of all the shootings.
Part of his testimony concerned Muhammad's complete, multiphase plan. His plan consisted of three phases in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Baltimore metro areas. Phase One consisted of meticulously planning, mapping, and practicing their locations around the DC area. This way after each shooting they would be able to quickly leave the area on a predetermined path, and move on to the next location. Muhammad's goal in Phase One was to kill six white people a day for 30 days. Malvo went on to describe how Phase One did not go as planned due to heavy traffic and the lack of a clear shot and/or getaway at different locations.
Phase Two was meant to be moved up to Baltimore. Malvo described how this phase was close to being implemented, but never was carried out. Phase Two was intended to begin by killing a pregnant woman by shooting her in the stomach. The next step would have been to shoot and kill a Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
police officer. At the officer's funeral, they would plant several improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s. These explosives were intended to kill a large number of police, since many police would attend another officer's funeral. More bombs were then to be detonated as ambulances arrived at the scene.
The last phase was to take place very shortly after, if not during, Phase Two. The third phase was to extort several million dollars from the U.S. government. This money would be used to finance a larger plan: to travel north into Canada and recruit other effectively orphaned boys to use weapons and stealth, and send them out to commit shootings across the country.
Post-sentencing
As of 2011 Lee Boyd Malvo, Virginia Department of CorrectionsVirginia Department of Corrections
The Virginia Department of Corrections is the government agency responsible for operating prisons and correctional facilities for the US Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association and is one of the oldest functioning correctional agencies in...
# 1180834, Inmate # 330873, is incarcerated at the Red Onion State Prison
Red Onion State Prison
Red Onion State Prison is a supermax state prison located in unincorporated Wise County, Virginia, near Pound, operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections, it houses about 800 inmates. The prison opened in August, 1998 and is an identical facility to the Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big...
.
- On October 2, 2007, Malvo called a daughter of one of the victims, Cheryll Witz, to apologize for his role.
- Malvo reportedly sent a letter, dated February 21, 2010, to apologize to John C. Gaeta for shooting him. Malvo wrote: "I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you and your loved ones. I was relieved to hear that you suffered no paralyzing injuries and that you are alive."
- A Wise County, VirginiaWise County, VirginiaWise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. In 1856, the county was formed from land taken from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named after Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. As of 2010, the population was 41,452, making it the largest...
Circuit Judge denied Malvo's request to change his name on July 29, 2011. Malvo petitioned the court for the name change on the basis that it would be safer if his fellow inmates did not know his real name, due to his notoriety.