Sniper suspect may claim nerve gas exposure
Muhammad was Army engineer in 1991 Gulf War
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Muhammad, right, and Malvo
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MANASSAS, Virginia (CNN) -- Attorneys for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad Friday raised the possibility that Muhammad may have been exposed to nerve agents or chemical weapons while serving in the U.S. Army in the 1991 Gulf War.
Muhammad, charged in a 20-count complaint as the killer in seven of the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings last year, served as an engineer in the U.S. Army and participated in the 1991 Gulf War.
Friday, his attorneys asked a Virginia court for an investigator to help prepare Muhammad's defense, and for a "mitigation specialist" to look into possible mitigating factors if the capital case goes to a sentencing phase.
Attorney Jonathan Shapiro said he wants that specialist to look into a variety of aspects about Muhammad's background, including his "role in the Gulf War" and "possible exposure to nerve agents (and) chemical weapons."
Asked by a reporter after the hearing whether suspicions that Muhammad was exposed to nerve agents were based on evidence or conjecture, Shapiro said, "It's not wild conjecture. Let me answer it that way."
"It's based on a good faith belief," he said, but added that defense attorneys still do not have enough information about Muhammad's background.
Shapiro said the mitigation specialist would also look into Muhammad's family history, economic circumstances, psychiatric condition and other aspects of his background.
Prince William County, Virginia, Circuit Court Judge LeRoy Millette approved the request for both the investigation and the mitigation specialist.
Muhammad is scheduled to stand trial in October for the October 9, 2002 shooting of Dean Harold Meyers at a Sunoco gas station in Manassas, Virginia.
His alleged accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, is awaiting trial in neighboring Fairfax County for the October 14, 2002 murder of Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia
