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Sniper Trials

Aired October 17, 2003 - 10:38   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go ahead and return now to the D.C. sniper case and the reunion of sorts of the two suspects, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boy Malvo. Attorneys for the teen sniper suspects say he'll be brought to Virginia Beach this weekend to attend the trial of his accused accomplice.
Our Jeanne Meserve has been chasing the details of this new development, and she joins us now with more.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

It's the sheriff of Virginia Beach, Virginia that confirms that Lee Boyd Malvo will be moved to his city for an appearance Monday in the trial of John Allen Muhammad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF PAUL LANTEIGNE, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.: If in fact he is going to stay overnight, he will be -- remain in the custody of the sheriff's office here in Virginia Beach in our correctional facility, and he will obviously be kept in an isolation cell, but separate from Mr. Muhammad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: "The Washington Post" reports that Malvo is being called so witnesses to a shooting in Montgomery, Alabama can place him at the scene. That September shooting in Montgomery preceded the Washington sniper attacks, but was key to cracking the case. Investigators say a phone call to a priest in Ashland, Virginia in the midst of the sniper slayings suggested that authorities take a look at a shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery.

Two suspects had been chased from that scene, and investigators had recovered a gun magazine on which they found Lee Malvo's fingerprints. They then determined that Malvo had been traveling in the company of Muhammad.

It will doubtless be a dramatic moment Monday, having both Muhammad and Malvo in the same courtroom, but it will not be the first time.

On October 2nd, Malvo appeared at a pretrial hearing for Muhammad. Malvo refused to answer any questions about the older man, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. And his lawyers say he will not testify at Muhammad's trial.

Law enforcement sources say it is likely Malvo will be moved to Virginia Beach the same way Muhammad was, by plane. It's a flight of about 15 minutes, and sources say it's likely the flight would land at naval air station Oceania in Virginia Beach.

The Virginia Beach sheriff said today the two would be kept sufficiently separated in his jail. He refused to spell out what sort of security precautions will be taken in the courtroom -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne, so much of the effort this week for jury selection. Does that mean the jury is set and ready to go?

MESERVE: Not yet. They're continuing that process today. As of the end of the day yesterday, they had 20 jurors that had passed through individual questioning successfully. They need another seven in the pool, then they'll go through the process of striking out some of the jurors. Each side gets six strikes. That will bring them down to the 12 jurors and three alternates that they need for that trial. They anticipate they will get through that process today and be set to go on Monday.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in our Washington D.C. bureau. Jeanne, thank you for that.

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 October 17, 2003 - 10:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go ahead and return now to the D.C. sniper case and the reunion of sorts of the two suspects, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boy Malvo. Attorneys for the teen sniper suspects say he'll be brought to Virginia Beach this weekend to attend the trial of his accused accomplice.
Our Jeanne Meserve has been chasing the details of this new development, and she joins us now with more.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

It's the sheriff of Virginia Beach, Virginia that confirms that Lee Boyd Malvo will be moved to his city for an appearance Monday in the trial of John Allen Muhammad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF PAUL LANTEIGNE, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.: If in fact he is going to stay overnight, he will be -- remain in the custody of the sheriff's office here in Virginia Beach in our correctional facility, and he will obviously be kept in an isolation cell, but separate from Mr. Muhammad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: "The Washington Post" reports that Malvo is being called so witnesses to a shooting in Montgomery, Alabama can place him at the scene. That September shooting in Montgomery preceded the Washington sniper attacks, but was key to cracking the case. Investigators say a phone call to a priest in Ashland, Virginia in the midst of the sniper slayings suggested that authorities take a look at a shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery.

Two suspects had been chased from that scene, and investigators had recovered a gun magazine on which they found Lee Malvo's fingerprints. They then determined that Malvo had been traveling in the company of Muhammad.

It will doubtless be a dramatic moment Monday, having both Muhammad and Malvo in the same courtroom, but it will not be the first time.

On October 2nd, Malvo appeared at a pretrial hearing for Muhammad. Malvo refused to answer any questions about the older man, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. And his lawyers say he will not testify at Muhammad's trial.

Law enforcement sources say it is likely Malvo will be moved to Virginia Beach the same way Muhammad was, by plane. It's a flight of about 15 minutes, and sources say it's likely the flight would land at naval air station Oceania in Virginia Beach.

The Virginia Beach sheriff said today the two would be kept sufficiently separated in his jail. He refused to spell out what sort of security precautions will be taken in the courtroom -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeanne, so much of the effort this week for jury selection. Does that mean the jury is set and ready to go?

MESERVE: Not yet. They're continuing that process today. As of the end of the day yesterday, they had 20 jurors that had passed through individual questioning successfully. They need another seven in the pool, then they'll go through the process of striking out some of the jurors. Each side gets six strikes. That will bring them down to the 12 jurors and three alternates that they need for that trial. They anticipate they will get through that process today and be set to go on Monday.

KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve in our Washington D.C. bureau. Jeanne, thank you for that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com