WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Prosecutors believe that John Lee Malvo, 17, performed most of the Washington-area sniper attacks, a law enforcement official said Monday.
The claim is based on both a lengthy statement Malvo made to Virginia prosecutors and physical evidence recovered from several shooting scenes and from the car he was arrested in on Oct. 24.
Defense attorneys for Malvo -- who along with John Muhammad is suspected in at least 14 shootings in the Washington metropolitan area and several others around the country -- also disputed that their client's statement was legally obtained.
Malvo spoke to Fairfax County, Va., investigators for more than 7 hours Thursday after being transferred for trial on the Oct. 14 killing of Linda Franklin, for which he faces capital murder charges. A law enforcement official confirmed media reports that Malvo admitted killing Franklin to investigators.
That statement and others made during the questioning should be excluded from court because Malvo was not properly represented, Malvo's attorney told several media outlets.
Michael Arif did not immediately return phone calls Monday, but has said that both attorneys and the court-appointed guardian for Malvo had tried to stop the questioning, but were rebuffed by police.
After the arrest of Malvo and his alleged accomplice, Muhammad, investigators found a series of forensic evidence that linked both to the shootings in the Washington area, but only Malvo's prints were found on the .223 caliber rifle that was linked by ballistics evidence to most of the shootings, the law enforcement source said.
There was also further unspecified forensic evidence found at the scene of at least two shootings that also pinpoints Malvo as the triggerman in several of the killings. Which man pulled the trigger in each shooting is critical because Virginia requires proof that the accused had actually committed the murder for capital punishment to be applied to a minor. In many cases, with adults, proof of direct participation can be enough to include capital charges.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has publicly announced his desire to see the men quickly tried, convicted and executed. He concluded a multi-jurisdictional competition over which jurisdiction should prosecute the suspects first by picking the venue he believed would convict and punish the suspects the fastest: Virginia, which ranks second to Texas for its speedy and enthusiastic application of the death penalty.
But the line of prosecutors eager to punish the two men continues to grow as jurisdictions across the nation -- and even some other nations -- examine open case files in an attempt to link the pair to other killings. Several such killings between Tacoma, Wash. -- where Malvo and Muhammad lived last winter -- and their arrest at a truck stop outside Frederick, Md., have already come to light.
Police have already confirmed that evidence links the pair to killings in Muhammad's original hometown of Baton Rouge, La., a double shooting Montgomery, Ala., that killed one and wounded another, and a killing in Atlanta. They are also suspects in at least one killing and another shooting in Tacoma and in a murder of a golfer in Tucson, Ariz. Police believe these 21 shooting incidents will be followed by evidence of others.
