Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Prosecutors Expected to Rest Case in Trial of Malvo Sometime Tomorrow
Aired November 20, 2003 - 08:17 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Chesapeake, Virginia now. Prosecutors expected to rest their case in the murder trial of Lee Boyd Malvo sometime tomorrow. Meanwhile, another alleged confession tape may be heard in court today.
Patty Davis is there to take us through it -- good morning.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, yesterday, prosecutors put on more than 30 witnesses, including two survivors of the sniper shootings. And the jury heard phone calls made by the snipers demanding $10 million to stop the killings.
Today, prosecutor Robert Horan says that he expects to get into another survivor's story, that of Iran Brown, the third survivor in those sniper shootings. He was just 13 years old when he was gunned down in front of his middle school, Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Maryland. And he was shot in the stomach and survived.
His aunt, a nurse who had just dropped him off, thinking very quickly, scooped him up back into the car and took him to get medical attention. That quick medical attention credited with saving his life.
As you said, we could hear as early as today another taped interrogation with Malvo, this one by Fairfax County police. In that tape, detectives have said that Malvo admitted to some of the sniper killings, including that of Linda Franklin, who was murdered outside a Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia. That detective has said that Malvo admitted to that and even laughed about it.
Now, Franklin's husband Ted sits listening intently in court every day. He was with his wife when she was shot in that parking lot. He has been here from the beginning, not only here at the trial, but at every single motion that has taken place in this Malvo trial and he will most likely hear some more horrific details today -- Bill.
HEMMER: Patty Davis, thanks, in Chesapeake.
Now, the death penalty case against John Muhammad.
Prosecutors rested yesterday after testimony, and chilling, too, from Muhammad's ex-wife Mildred. She says he threatened to kill her after they split back in 1999. Mildred Muhammad and her words yesterday: "Just know this, you have become my enemy and as my enemy, I will kill you." Thats what she says John said to her.
The jury will decide if Muhammad gets life in prison or dies for his crimes.
Michael Ruane, "Washington Post" reporter, co-author of the book "Sniper," back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Michael, nice to have you back here.
MICHAEL RUANE, CO-AUTHOR, "SNIPER": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Prosecutors trying to use Mildred's testimony to contribute to their case and their argument they think he should die for this.
How did her testimony contribute to that argument yesterday?
RUANE: Well, she was a very powerful witness. She was very cool, very much under control. You know, she told the story of how she had been sort of terrorized by her ex-husband, although she was quite interesting in that she showed how she kind of tried to balance her fear of her ex-husband and her children's sort of need for some respect for their father.
She said that she would never criticize him no matter what he had done, what she feared of him, in front of the kids and she read -- there were a couple of notes from the children that she sort of delivered through attorneys to him. The letters were quite poignant.
HEMMER: Yes, one of the letters was from a 10-year-old daughter of theirs, a daughter by the name of Taalibah. And in it she writes -- and it was read yesterday in court: "Why did you do all those shootings?," she's asking John Muhammad, her father.
What was the impact of that?
RUANE: Well, it was very dramatic. I mean the letter from the oldest child is kind of, you know, dad, I'm doing fine in school, I'm having a good time. The second oldest child sort of says the same thing. You get down to the youngest kid, Taalibah, who's 10, and it's just blunt as hell, dad, you know, did you do the stuff they say you did? Why did you do it and did you say my name on TV? It was very, very dramatic.
HEMMER: What was the physical interaction like between Mildred Muhammad and John Muhammad?
RUANE: It was very interesting. She was very, very controlled. She was -- she may have been the best witness at this trial in five and a half weeks.
HEMMER: Did they look at each other, though?
RUANE: Just...
HEMMER: Did they catch each other's eye or not? RUANE: It was hard to tell from my vantage point.
HEMMER: OK.
RUANE: I don't think so. But she was just very under control and very, very much in order.
HEMMER: Michael Ruane, thanks.
We'll talk again as the trial continues there.
Again, the jury may get that case today in the penalty phase for John Muhammad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Sometime Tomorrow>
Aired November 20, 2003 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Chesapeake, Virginia now. Prosecutors expected to rest their case in the murder trial of Lee Boyd Malvo sometime tomorrow. Meanwhile, another alleged confession tape may be heard in court today.
Patty Davis is there to take us through it -- good morning.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, yesterday, prosecutors put on more than 30 witnesses, including two survivors of the sniper shootings. And the jury heard phone calls made by the snipers demanding $10 million to stop the killings.
Today, prosecutor Robert Horan says that he expects to get into another survivor's story, that of Iran Brown, the third survivor in those sniper shootings. He was just 13 years old when he was gunned down in front of his middle school, Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Maryland. And he was shot in the stomach and survived.
His aunt, a nurse who had just dropped him off, thinking very quickly, scooped him up back into the car and took him to get medical attention. That quick medical attention credited with saving his life.
As you said, we could hear as early as today another taped interrogation with Malvo, this one by Fairfax County police. In that tape, detectives have said that Malvo admitted to some of the sniper killings, including that of Linda Franklin, who was murdered outside a Home Depot in Falls Church, Virginia. That detective has said that Malvo admitted to that and even laughed about it.
Now, Franklin's husband Ted sits listening intently in court every day. He was with his wife when she was shot in that parking lot. He has been here from the beginning, not only here at the trial, but at every single motion that has taken place in this Malvo trial and he will most likely hear some more horrific details today -- Bill.
HEMMER: Patty Davis, thanks, in Chesapeake.
Now, the death penalty case against John Muhammad.
Prosecutors rested yesterday after testimony, and chilling, too, from Muhammad's ex-wife Mildred. She says he threatened to kill her after they split back in 1999. Mildred Muhammad and her words yesterday: "Just know this, you have become my enemy and as my enemy, I will kill you." Thats what she says John said to her.
The jury will decide if Muhammad gets life in prison or dies for his crimes.
Michael Ruane, "Washington Post" reporter, co-author of the book "Sniper," back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Michael, nice to have you back here.
MICHAEL RUANE, CO-AUTHOR, "SNIPER": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Prosecutors trying to use Mildred's testimony to contribute to their case and their argument they think he should die for this.
How did her testimony contribute to that argument yesterday?
RUANE: Well, she was a very powerful witness. She was very cool, very much under control. You know, she told the story of how she had been sort of terrorized by her ex-husband, although she was quite interesting in that she showed how she kind of tried to balance her fear of her ex-husband and her children's sort of need for some respect for their father.
She said that she would never criticize him no matter what he had done, what she feared of him, in front of the kids and she read -- there were a couple of notes from the children that she sort of delivered through attorneys to him. The letters were quite poignant.
HEMMER: Yes, one of the letters was from a 10-year-old daughter of theirs, a daughter by the name of Taalibah. And in it she writes -- and it was read yesterday in court: "Why did you do all those shootings?," she's asking John Muhammad, her father.
What was the impact of that?
RUANE: Well, it was very dramatic. I mean the letter from the oldest child is kind of, you know, dad, I'm doing fine in school, I'm having a good time. The second oldest child sort of says the same thing. You get down to the youngest kid, Taalibah, who's 10, and it's just blunt as hell, dad, you know, did you do the stuff they say you did? Why did you do it and did you say my name on TV? It was very, very dramatic.
HEMMER: What was the physical interaction like between Mildred Muhammad and John Muhammad?
RUANE: It was very interesting. She was very, very controlled. She was -- she may have been the best witness at this trial in five and a half weeks.
HEMMER: Did they look at each other, though?
RUANE: Just...
HEMMER: Did they catch each other's eye or not? RUANE: It was hard to tell from my vantage point.
HEMMER: OK.
RUANE: I don't think so. But she was just very under control and very, very much in order.
HEMMER: Michael Ruane, thanks.
We'll talk again as the trial continues there.
Again, the jury may get that case today in the penalty phase for John Muhammad.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Sometime Tomorrow>
