CHESAPEAKE, Va., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Opening statements started Thursday in the Virginia trial of Lee Boyd Malvo, one of two people accused of last year's Washington-area, sniper shootings.
The Washington Post said lead prosecutor Robert Horan Jr. portrayed Malvo and his alleged accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, as calculating killers who spread a reign of terror to intimidate the government into paying them $10 million.
Muhammad is being tried separately in Virginia Beach, Va. Both trials were moved from Fairfax, Va., on change of venue motions.
Horan told the nine women and seven men hearing Malvo's trial: "We will prove to you that (Muhammad) and Malvo were a team. One was a spotter and the other was a shooter and it was designed that way. They planned, did reconnaissance, checked areas, checked escape routes ..."
Malvo is being tried for the shooting death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, who was killed in the parking lot of a Virginia Home Depot store.
Malvo's defense attorneys have indicated they will present an insanity defense for their client.
