Was “DC Sniper Sidekick” Manipulated into Crime Spree?
On October 2, 2002, five people were gunned down by a long range rifle in a fifteen hour span in Montgomery County, MD. Over the next three weeks, these sniper-style shootings were occurring all throughout the DMV area, terrifying everyone. These shootings were happening in broad daylight and the victims were randomly selected. Age, race, and gender did not seem to mater. Locals were hiding behind their vehicle’s while pumping gas, school recess was being held indoors, and sports practices were cancelled because no one wanted to be the next victim. Finally, the attacks came to an end with the shooters, John Allen Muhammad (41) and Lee Boyd Malvo (17) were arrested while sleeping in their car, without incident, at a rest stop in Maryland. The dark blue Chevrolet Caprice was found to have a hole in the trunk that was able to fit a sniper-rifle barrel through it. The prime suspect, John Allen Muhammad admitted that the motive of the shootings was to eventually kill his ex-wife by making it look like it was apart of these random shootings. Muhammad was a former US Army sniper and Gulf War Veteran. He was awarded the highest award for marksmanship in the Army (Washington, D.C. sniper John Muhammad convicted 2009). The upbringing of his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo was a little bit different.
According to The Atlantic, “he became wrapped up in John Allen Muhammad’s wickedness…the older man controlled his understudy, controlled him to the point of hypnosis. All the kid wanted was a decent father, and when his own dad failed to be there for him, he allowed another man, a truly evil man, to play the part. The result is a mournful story with a Shakespearean arc” (Cohen, 2012). Malvo was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a single mother and bounced from family member to family member while his mom worked. His mother moved them to Antigua in hopes of a better life for her and her soon. It was in Antigua that Malvo first meet Muhammad where he quickly became a father figure. “The groundwork was laid in Antigua because I leaned on him, I trusted him, Malvo said. I was unable to distinguish between Muhammad the father I had wanted and Muhammad the nervous wreck that was just falling to pieces. He understood exactly how to motivate me by giving approval or denying approval. It’s very subtle. It wasn’t violent at all. It’s like what a pimp does to a woman” (White, 2012). Throughout Malvo’s life he claims to have been sexually abused starting from the age of five by a babysitter, throughout his life by family members, and also by Muhammad. The three of them moved to Florida where Malvo’s mother practically gave him away to Muhammad. Three years after moving to Florida is when the murder spree began. After their arrest, Malvo was so manipulated by Muhammad that when he found out the death penalty was more prevalent in Virginia, he originally took the blame for all of the shootings (White, 2012).
In an interview conducted by Matt Lauer with the Today Show, Malvo was quoted saying, “The main reason I’m coming forward now is because I am more mature. As far as the guilt that I carried around for several years, I dealt with that to a large extent for years. And now, I can handle this. In here, there’s no therapy. Rehabilitation is just a word. In solitary confinement, in a cell by yourself, I am priest, doctor, therapist. So, it just worked out that I just took it off piece by piece. That I could handle it” (Sager & Stump, 2012). It seems now that Lee Boyd Malvo is no longer under the spell of John Allen Muhammad and understands the amount of damage that he has caused. After a six week trial, John Allen Muhammad was given the death penalty and Lee Boyd Malvo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Do you think this was a fair sentence for Malvo? If it were not for Muhammad how much different would Malvo’s life have been? 
References:
A&E Television Networks. (2009, November 13). Washington, D.C. sniper John Muhammad convicted. History.com.
Cohen, A. (2012, October 1). The making, and unmaking, of D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo. The Atlantic.
Sager, I., & Stump, S. (2012, October 25). D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo: I was sexually abused by my accomplice. TODAY.com.
White, J. (2012, September 29). Lee Boyd Malvo, 10 years after D.C. area sniper shootings: ‘I was a monster’. The Washington Post.