Death penalty sought in teenage sniper suspect case

Prosecutors seeking a death penalty case against 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo said fingerprints on the murder weapon and other evidence linked him to three of the killings and a fourth attack that critically wounded a man.

Prosecutor Robert Horan Jr also said Malvo tried to extort more than $10m (€9.4 m) from authorities in exchange for stopping last autumn’s attacks, making his demands through a pair of notes and two phone calls.

“All of this was an attempt to intimidate the government to pay in excess of $10m (€9.4m) for these defendants and this defendant in particular to stop the shooting,” Horan said at a juvenile court hearing in Fairfax, Virginia, to determine whether Malvo should be tried as an adult and possibly face the death penalty.

The extortion claim is a key element of a new Virginia anti-terrorism law that allows the death penalty for killers convicted of trying to intimidate the public or coerce government policy. Malvo, a Jamaican citizen, is also charged under a law that allows the death penalty for a suspect who commits multiple murders.

The hearing was due to continue today. Even if the judge decides against Horan, the prosecutor has the option of obtaining a direct indictment from a grand jury.

Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, 42, are accused of killing 13 people and wounding five more in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC, last year. They are being tried first in Virginia, Malvo in Fairfax County and Muhammad in nearby Prince William County.

Authorities have previously said Malvo’s prints were found on the Bushmaster rifle used in the killings.

Defence lawyers did not make an opening statement during the hearing, which included tearful testimony from a man who recalled the splatter of blood against his cheek as his wife, FBI analyst Linda Franklin, was gunned down on October 14.

Malvo, who at times rested his head on the desk where he sat with his counsel, faces two counts of capital murder in that killing.

Horan said prosecutors would use fingerprints found on the rifle to link Malvo to four shootings: Franklin, the October 9 killing of Dean Meyers in Prince William County, the October 22 murder of Maryland bus driver Conrad Johnson and the October 19 shooting of a man near an Ashland restaurant.

Horan said Malvo’s fingerprints were on a packet of raisins found at the scene of the Ashland shooting, not far from where police recovered a note from the snipers that warned: “Your children are not safe anywhere at any time.”

A second note, found near the scene of the bus driver’s murder, reportedly demanded $10m (€9.4m), as did the note found in Ashland. Horan said the phone calls were made to authorities after the Franklin killing and the Ashland attack.

Muhammad is due to go on trial in October in Prince William County for the killing of Meyers, 53, at a petrol station in Manassas. He could also face the death penalty if convicted.