Lee Boyd Malvo was legally insane during last year’s sniper spree because of intense indoctrination by sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad, a defence psychiatrist testified at Malvo’s trial in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Two men have been charged in the rash of recent sniper shootings in the US as authorities on the West Coast said they were also suspects in the killing of a woman last winter and a shooting at a synagogue.

Cook’s family recognised Muhammad from news photos after his arrest and called authorities, Mattheis said.