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CNN Live At Daybreak
Case Against Sniper Suspects Widens
Aired November 01, 2002 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The case against the sniper suspects has widened. Murder charges have now been filed in Louisiana and Alabama. Louisiana authorities say they have now linked the suspects' rifle to a killing back in September.
CNN's David Mattingly takes a look at these new dimensions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle allegedly used in the Washington, D.C. area sniper killings has now been linked to cases in Montgomery, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Baton Rouge authorities filing first degree murder charges against John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. The two are suspected in a murder and robbery of a woman there on September 23.
CHIEF PAT ENGLADE, BATON ROUGE POLICE: Ballistics comparisons by the Louisiana State Police crime lab have now positively linked the .223 caliber bullet used to murder Miss. Ballinger (ph) with the weapon used in several of the D.C. area sniper killings.
MATTINGLY: They are also raising the possibility a third shooter may have been involved. Two women were shot, one of them killed, in an apparent robbery attempt two days before the Baton Rouge killing. Witnesses place Muhammad and Malvo at the scene, but neither of them seen with the rifle. Police then want to know who could have pulled the trigger.
Attorney General John Ashcroft also releasing a statement raising the possibility of more suspects and more crimes uncovered as the investigation goes on, saying, "We continue to gather evidence and follow leads in an effort to determine the full extent of criminal activity."
All this as an international inquiry is also under way. Investigators on the island of Antigua are looking into John Muhammad's possible involvement in a lucrative passport forgery business. One Antiguan official calls Muhammad "a habitual forger."
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., Maryland prosecutors announced the filing of attempted first degree murder charges against Muhammad and Malvo. This for the sniper shooting of a middle school student in Prince Georges County. Unlike other charges now pending in four states, these charges do not carry the death penalty.
David Mattingly, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 1, 2002 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The case against the sniper suspects has widened. Murder charges have now been filed in Louisiana and Alabama. Louisiana authorities say they have now linked the suspects' rifle to a killing back in September.
CNN's David Mattingly takes a look at these new dimensions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle allegedly used in the Washington, D.C. area sniper killings has now been linked to cases in Montgomery, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Baton Rouge authorities filing first degree murder charges against John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. The two are suspected in a murder and robbery of a woman there on September 23.
CHIEF PAT ENGLADE, BATON ROUGE POLICE: Ballistics comparisons by the Louisiana State Police crime lab have now positively linked the .223 caliber bullet used to murder Miss. Ballinger (ph) with the weapon used in several of the D.C. area sniper killings.
MATTINGLY: They are also raising the possibility a third shooter may have been involved. Two women were shot, one of them killed, in an apparent robbery attempt two days before the Baton Rouge killing. Witnesses place Muhammad and Malvo at the scene, but neither of them seen with the rifle. Police then want to know who could have pulled the trigger.
Attorney General John Ashcroft also releasing a statement raising the possibility of more suspects and more crimes uncovered as the investigation goes on, saying, "We continue to gather evidence and follow leads in an effort to determine the full extent of criminal activity."
All this as an international inquiry is also under way. Investigators on the island of Antigua are looking into John Muhammad's possible involvement in a lucrative passport forgery business. One Antiguan official calls Muhammad "a habitual forger."
Meanwhile, here in the U.S., Maryland prosecutors announced the filing of attempted first degree murder charges against Muhammad and Malvo. This for the sniper shooting of a middle school student in Prince Georges County. Unlike other charges now pending in four states, these charges do not carry the death penalty.
David Mattingly, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
