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 Teen suspect admits to shootings, prosecutors claimAttorneys to battle over evidence, murder statute, cameras
FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- Prosecutors for the first time are saying that sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo has confessed to shooting several victims in last fall's shooting spree in the Washington metro area. In court papers filed in preparation for a hearing Monday, prosecutors say Malvo "has admitted on more than one occasion that he shot Mrs. Franklin in the head" and has also "admitted to killing a number of other victims." Malvo, 18, is charged with the October 14 murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. He "was calm and boastful of his doings" and his admission "contains a fantastic amount of detail," prosecutors wrote. Defense attorneys contend that any admission by Malvo was illegally obtained, and say they will fight to have confessions excluded from the trial. Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush has set aside Monday to hear motions in the case. Thirteen motions have been filed, among them: • Malvo's attorneys are challenging the constitutionality of Virginia's capital murder statutes. They claim standards of "vileness" and "depravity of mind" written in the law are too vague. Prosecutors call the motion "68 pages of diatribe against the Supreme Court of Virginia." • Defense attorneys are seeking all exculpatory evidence -- evidence that would tend to acquit -- that investigators may have accumulated. Prosecutors called many of the demands a "fishing expedition" and said the state "does not have evidence that casts doubt upon (Malvo's) guilt." • Defense attorneys want to limit the number of law enforcement officers sitting near the defendant during the trial. Having excessive police in the room "will send a message to the jury that (Malvo) is dangerous and that extra security is needed to protect the jury from him." The prosecution says security matters should be left up to the sheriff's department. • Numerous television networks -- including CNN -- are asking the judge to allow television cameras in the courtroom. Both the prosecutor and defense attorneys oppose TV coverage. Prosecutor Robert Horan Jr. said he has no objection to still photography in the courtroom.
• Fairfax County is asking for permission to conduct closed-circuit television coverage, allowing spectators to view the trial in an overflow room. Defense attorneys say that could taint witnesses. In the documents filed by prosecutors, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh repeated earlier statements that Malvo and accomplice John Lee Muhammad acted as a "sniper team." "One would be the spotter, while the other would do the shooting. They acted as a unit," he wrote, adding that the two acted as equals; either man "could call a particular shot on or off." Malvo is charged on three counts: Premeditated murder in the commission of an act of terrorism, premeditated murder of more than one person within a three-year period, and use of a firearm while committing a murder. Malvo and Muhammad, 42, are suspected in 20 shootings altogether, including 13 deaths, in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.
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