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Malvo Hearing Underway

Aired January 14, 2003 - 14:14   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo will soon find out if he's going to be charged as an adult.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve outside the courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia -- what can you tell us, Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the probable cause hearing is now underway, and the first witness to take the stand in this case was William Franklin. He is the husband of Linda Franklin, the FBI analyst who was shot just three months ago today in a Home Depot parking lot. He testified that he and his wife had gone to the Home Depot store at around 7:00 or 7:30 p.m., had gone in, bought many items, came out, and they were having trouble getting a bookshelf into the back of their car, so he talked about how they were trying to maneuver the backseat and put this in through the trunk or from the front seat. He, at one juncture, was sort of leaning into the car, he says, putting the bookshelf in as best he could when he heard a loud noise and felt a spray hit his face.

He said he looked to the back and saw that his wife had hit the ground. He called 911 and said police got there within one or two minutes. He testified that at a later date he realized that was his wife's blood. That had hit his face.

He was cross-examined by one of the attorneys for Mr. Malvo. They asking whether his wife's work as a FBI analyst had ever put her under threat. He said no. He was asked if they had noticed any white vans in the vicinity of the Home Depot. He said no, but he did say that he had seen some people running away from the scene afterwards.

When pressed who those people might be, he said he believed they were people in the vicinity who realized what had happened and were running to get themselves away from danger.

Now, Robert Horan laid out exactly what he's going to be trying to establish in this courtroom over the next day or two. Twenty-five witnesses came into the courtroom, and were advised not to speak to one another about what they would be testifying to.

Horan said that he would be talking about not only Linda Franklin's shooting, but also that of Dean Myers. That was a shooting in Manassas, Virginia. He also would be referring to notes found in Ashland, Virginia, and also the shooting of a bus driver up in Montgomery County on October 22. He said there was a common denominator in that all of these people were shot in ambush. They were all shot by a rifle, they were all shot by the same rifle, he said. That rifle was found, he said, in the car of the defendant, Mr. Malvo. It was a Bushmaster, and his fingerprints are on that weapon, and he said the ATF has established that it is indeed the killing weapon.

He mentioned the note that was left in Ashland, Virginia behind the Ponderosa Steakhouse. He said there was a raisin bag found on the ground nearby and that carried the fingerprints of Mr. Malvo. An FBI lab expert will testify to that, he said.

He also said -- talked about the threats contained in that note, in which he asked -- someone asked for $10 million from authorities to bring the killing to an end, and he also referred to another note up in Ashland that the prosecutors will be trying to establish that all these things are linked, and that all these things are probable cause for Mr. Malvo's case to be sent to a grand jury where he would be put in the adult court system and eligible for the death penalty.

Those are the highlights thus far, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Live from Fairfax, Virginia, Jeanne Meserve.

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 January 14, 2003 - 14:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo will soon find out if he's going to be charged as an adult.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve outside the courtroom in Fairfax, Virginia -- what can you tell us, Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the probable cause hearing is now underway, and the first witness to take the stand in this case was William Franklin. He is the husband of Linda Franklin, the FBI analyst who was shot just three months ago today in a Home Depot parking lot. He testified that he and his wife had gone to the Home Depot store at around 7:00 or 7:30 p.m., had gone in, bought many items, came out, and they were having trouble getting a bookshelf into the back of their car, so he talked about how they were trying to maneuver the backseat and put this in through the trunk or from the front seat. He, at one juncture, was sort of leaning into the car, he says, putting the bookshelf in as best he could when he heard a loud noise and felt a spray hit his face.

He said he looked to the back and saw that his wife had hit the ground. He called 911 and said police got there within one or two minutes. He testified that at a later date he realized that was his wife's blood. That had hit his face.

He was cross-examined by one of the attorneys for Mr. Malvo. They asking whether his wife's work as a FBI analyst had ever put her under threat. He said no. He was asked if they had noticed any white vans in the vicinity of the Home Depot. He said no, but he did say that he had seen some people running away from the scene afterwards.

When pressed who those people might be, he said he believed they were people in the vicinity who realized what had happened and were running to get themselves away from danger.

Now, Robert Horan laid out exactly what he's going to be trying to establish in this courtroom over the next day or two. Twenty-five witnesses came into the courtroom, and were advised not to speak to one another about what they would be testifying to.

Horan said that he would be talking about not only Linda Franklin's shooting, but also that of Dean Myers. That was a shooting in Manassas, Virginia. He also would be referring to notes found in Ashland, Virginia, and also the shooting of a bus driver up in Montgomery County on October 22. He said there was a common denominator in that all of these people were shot in ambush. They were all shot by a rifle, they were all shot by the same rifle, he said. That rifle was found, he said, in the car of the defendant, Mr. Malvo. It was a Bushmaster, and his fingerprints are on that weapon, and he said the ATF has established that it is indeed the killing weapon.

He mentioned the note that was left in Ashland, Virginia behind the Ponderosa Steakhouse. He said there was a raisin bag found on the ground nearby and that carried the fingerprints of Mr. Malvo. An FBI lab expert will testify to that, he said.

He also said -- talked about the threats contained in that note, in which he asked -- someone asked for $10 million from authorities to bring the killing to an end, and he also referred to another note up in Ashland that the prosecutors will be trying to establish that all these things are linked, and that all these things are probable cause for Mr. Malvo's case to be sent to a grand jury where he would be put in the adult court system and eligible for the death penalty.

Those are the highlights thus far, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Live from Fairfax, Virginia, Jeanne Meserve.

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