Defense Decries Malvo Interrogation
Defense attorneys said Sunday that they will seek to suppress a police interrogation of 17-year-old sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo in which he reportedly confessed to some of the shootings.
Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post reported Sunday that Malvo admitted pulling the trigger on several of the shootings that left 10 people dead and three others wounded during a three-week spree through metropolitan Washington, Virginia and Maryland.
Malvo’s lawyer, Michael Arif, criticized police Sunday for leaking the story and questioned its accuracy.
“The police are flooding the media and poisoning the jury pool with their own paraphrasing and subjective interpretations of statements made during an unconstitutional interrogation,” Arif said.
He said the leak “suggests an insecurity on the part of [Virginia] with the admissibility of these statements.”
Fairfax County police declined to comment about the interrogation; Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Atty. Robert F. Horan Jr. did not return calls Sunday seeking comment.
One of the shootings for which Malvo reportedly took responsibility was the Oct. 14 death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin. Malvo is charged with capital murder in that crime.
Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, 41, were handed over to Virginia authorities Thursday after the federal government dropped charges so the state could prosecute them on death-penalty murder charges.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
