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CNN Sunday Morning
Osbourne to Go Before Court in Michigan Later Today
Aired October 27, 2002 - 11:02 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with developments in the Washington area sniper investigation. A third man arrested in connection with the shootings heads to a courtroom later this hour in Flint, Michigan. Authorities are calling Nathaniel Osbourne a material witness, not a suspect. Carol Lin is following developments for us in Montgomery County, Maryland -- good morning.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, Heidi. Yes, we have an update for you. In fact, 26-year-old Nathaniel Osbourne is in court right now. That first court appearance just beginning to wrap up as he faces a federal material witness warrant. The reason why the FBI issued this warrant is because they want to talk with Nathaniel Osbourne. They believe he is a personal friend of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. He is the co-owner of the now infamous 1990 blue Chevy Caprice and they want to know whether Nathaniel Osbourne knows how John Allen Muhammad lived during these sniper attacks, if anyone else was helping him, who helped him rigged the car and whatever other personal information he may know about the sniper suspect.
They issued the warrant because he -- they felt he was a flight risk. They had searched for him at his last known address in Trenton, New Jersey, and found out that he had left the area in the days before the sniper suspects were arrested. They found him in Flint, Michigan.
In the meantime, the funeral held for the tenth and latest and last victim of the sniper attacks, Conrad Johnson -- was buried yesterday. A funeral service being held in Silver Spring, Maryland, and thousands of people showed up for -- to honor this blue-collar hero. They showed up with a cortege of 30 buses and their drivers coming as far away from Indiana to honor this man. He was 35 years old, a loving husband and the father of two. Gunned down last Tuesday as he was standing on the first step of his bus waiting for his marching orders for the day. A sad and indeed touching ceremony yesterday in Silver Spring, Maryland, Heidi.
COLLINS: Carol, can you tell us any more about where the investigation will go from here? I mean there's so much more to do. And yesterday we talked for such a long time about the different jurisdictions and we have a Monday morning coming up with the week ahead. What can you tell us about that?
LIN: That's right. Well, a couple of things. Just to focus people on the investigation, yesterday we were telling you about the murder of a Tacoma, Washington, woman, a 21-year-old woman who happened to be the daughter of a woman who actually was a personal friend of John Allen Muhammad in the Tacoma area, was even his accountant at one time, but had sided with John Allen Muhammad's ex- wife during a bitter custody battle. Well, now they're wondering is there a connection between John Allen Muhammad and this shooting death of this 21-year-old woman, Kenya Cook.
Also in the Washington area, again, police want to know how John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo lived. How did they support themselves? They're looking into several different area bank robberies as well as other shooting crimes. And of course, you've got the investigation going on in Montgomery, Alabama, where they're now going to be charged with capital murder for the shooting death and robbery at an ABC Liquor Store.
But what they're really focusing on right now is they're trying to put a timeline together. They want to see where these two have been. How they traveled through the area?
We're also expecting tomorrow, Heidi, that the State of Virginia, the Commonwealth of Spotsylvania is actually going to be filing murder charges as well as a form of attempted murder charges. There were two shootings there, a 43-year-old woman survived. The state attorney of Virginia says they will be seeking the death penalty. There is still a question as to whether they're going to be seeking the death penalty against the younger, the 17-year-old John Lee Malvo, but they now suspect that he may be the trigger man in one -- in at least one of those Spotsylvania County shootings. So we're expecting to hear more about that tomorrow.
COLLINS: All right, Carol Lin in Montgomery County, we certainly do appreciate it.
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 27, 2002 - 11:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with developments in the Washington area sniper investigation. A third man arrested in connection with the shootings heads to a courtroom later this hour in Flint, Michigan. Authorities are calling Nathaniel Osbourne a material witness, not a suspect. Carol Lin is following developments for us in Montgomery County, Maryland -- good morning.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, Heidi. Yes, we have an update for you. In fact, 26-year-old Nathaniel Osbourne is in court right now. That first court appearance just beginning to wrap up as he faces a federal material witness warrant. The reason why the FBI issued this warrant is because they want to talk with Nathaniel Osbourne. They believe he is a personal friend of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. He is the co-owner of the now infamous 1990 blue Chevy Caprice and they want to know whether Nathaniel Osbourne knows how John Allen Muhammad lived during these sniper attacks, if anyone else was helping him, who helped him rigged the car and whatever other personal information he may know about the sniper suspect.
They issued the warrant because he -- they felt he was a flight risk. They had searched for him at his last known address in Trenton, New Jersey, and found out that he had left the area in the days before the sniper suspects were arrested. They found him in Flint, Michigan.
In the meantime, the funeral held for the tenth and latest and last victim of the sniper attacks, Conrad Johnson -- was buried yesterday. A funeral service being held in Silver Spring, Maryland, and thousands of people showed up for -- to honor this blue-collar hero. They showed up with a cortege of 30 buses and their drivers coming as far away from Indiana to honor this man. He was 35 years old, a loving husband and the father of two. Gunned down last Tuesday as he was standing on the first step of his bus waiting for his marching orders for the day. A sad and indeed touching ceremony yesterday in Silver Spring, Maryland, Heidi.
COLLINS: Carol, can you tell us any more about where the investigation will go from here? I mean there's so much more to do. And yesterday we talked for such a long time about the different jurisdictions and we have a Monday morning coming up with the week ahead. What can you tell us about that?
LIN: That's right. Well, a couple of things. Just to focus people on the investigation, yesterday we were telling you about the murder of a Tacoma, Washington, woman, a 21-year-old woman who happened to be the daughter of a woman who actually was a personal friend of John Allen Muhammad in the Tacoma area, was even his accountant at one time, but had sided with John Allen Muhammad's ex- wife during a bitter custody battle. Well, now they're wondering is there a connection between John Allen Muhammad and this shooting death of this 21-year-old woman, Kenya Cook.
Also in the Washington area, again, police want to know how John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo lived. How did they support themselves? They're looking into several different area bank robberies as well as other shooting crimes. And of course, you've got the investigation going on in Montgomery, Alabama, where they're now going to be charged with capital murder for the shooting death and robbery at an ABC Liquor Store.
But what they're really focusing on right now is they're trying to put a timeline together. They want to see where these two have been. How they traveled through the area?
We're also expecting tomorrow, Heidi, that the State of Virginia, the Commonwealth of Spotsylvania is actually going to be filing murder charges as well as a form of attempted murder charges. There were two shootings there, a 43-year-old woman survived. The state attorney of Virginia says they will be seeking the death penalty. There is still a question as to whether they're going to be seeking the death penalty against the younger, the 17-year-old John Lee Malvo, but they now suspect that he may be the trigger man in one -- in at least one of those Spotsylvania County shootings. So we're expecting to hear more about that tomorrow.
COLLINS: All right, Carol Lin in Montgomery County, we certainly do appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
