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Gazette reporter David Abrams is covering the trial of John Allen
Muhammad in Virginia Beach, Va. He will be posting to this site a few
times each day to update readers continuously on the events of the
trial. Muhammad and fellow suspect Lee Boyd Malvo are charged with the October 2002 shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three. Malvo is being tried separately; click here for coverage of Malvo's trial. For background on the shootings, see www.gazette.net/sniper. For our print coverage and archives of the online journals, please look at the righthand column of this page. |
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Wednesday, Nov. 19
6:40 p.m. So much for the trial ending tomorrow morning. The judge said before adjourning tonight that he hopes closing arguments can be finished by the end of the day tomorrow. That means that it could be Friday morning before the jury goes back into deliberations again. Court adjourns at 1 p.m. on Friday, so that means Monday could be the only full day of deliberations before a six-day break for Thanksgiving, starting Tuesday. --- The last two witnesses for the defense testified that Muhammad was a good worker when he worked as a day laborer in Bellingham, Wash. Gregory C. Grant, a Realtor in the area who needed roofing work done on a low-cost rental he owns about 22 miles away, said Muhammad was a "multi-faceted" hard worker and very polite, always calling him "Mr. Grant." Under cross-examination, Grant said that Muhammad once said he could not work because he had to travel over a weekend to Jamaica. Ebert asked if Muhammad mentioned Charles Douglas. Grant said he did not. He was asked if Muhammad said he had a travel agent, and Grant again said he did not. Donald Haaland, a carpenter who works for Grant, said Muhammad was a polite, skilled "craftsman" with a "steady hand." Muhammad helped him fix the alternator on his truck, and did brake service for his son. "I’ve made my living with the use of my hands, and I appreciate someone else who will work with his hands," Haaland testified. He said he brought Lee Boyd Malvo and Muhammad to a Christmas musical at his church, and had Muhammad over for coffee at his house a few times. "I guess we enjoyed his company," he said, referring to himself and his wife. --- On a lighter note, the salty veteran prosecutor Ebert, 65, shared a senior moment with Haaland, 81. Ebert approached the podium to cross-examine Haaland. Haaland called him over closer, cupping his ear. He said Ebert would have to "hit me upside my head in order to get my attention." Ebert, who often cups his ear at bench conferences to hear the judge, made the same gesture to Haaland. "We’ll talk to each other like this," he joked. --- The jury next heard from an ex-girlfriend of Muhammad's, although they didn't know who she was at first. Mary Maraz of Tacoma, Wash., a divorced nurse with three children, testified about the man who worked on her car and became her friend. "John is and always has been extremely courteous and kind, always giving of himself," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better friend." She said she met Muhammad in 1995, when was doing mechanic work for her sister and she dropped by her sister's house. She told John Muhammad her 1989 Honda Civic needed a tune-up. He worked on her car, and the two became friends. She said she noticed a change in Muhammad after his children were taken away from him. "John became withdrawn," she said. She started to cry, and was given a tissue. "Sorry," she said. "John was withdrawn and very quiet. He would sit and just stare out the window. He just wasn’t himself." She said he wasn't bitter toward his ex-wife, just "frustrated." She said she and John became fast friends, and would talk about religion and politics and listen to music. Then Conway went on the attack. He asked how the two had become such good friends. "Because he was a very nice person," she replied. "I assume you are also," Conway said sarcastically. Conway asked if they became intimate. "He was my friend and we had mutual interests and we exercised together at the gym," she testified. Conway asked when they became intimate. She said she couldn't remember. "Would it be fair to say that it was not when you needed your next tune-up?" Conway asked. She said she could not recall when they became intimate, but their "friendship" developed over time. She said she did not know that Muhammad was married. He stayed overnight at her house, she said, but never with the children. Did she ever arrange for him to make travel plans out of the country? Conway asked. She said no. Flight arrangments? he pressed. She said no. Did she charge tickets using her credit card with Olympia travel agency? She said no. "Are you sure about that?" Conway asked. "I have no recollection of that," she said. She asked if a Charles Douglas ever stayed at her house overnight. She said once, and it was only a man named "Charles." She was asked if she knew Douglas was from Antigua. She said she just noticed a "heavy accent." That was after Muhammad had disappeared for 18 months, when he took the children to Antigua. "I didn’t know specifically where he was traveling to when he traveled," she said. "I just knew he would be back." Conway asked if she ever knew Muhammad to use the assumed name Thomas Lee. She said she heard him mention the name, but she didn't know it was an alias. Conway asked if Thomas Lee sent a $400 money order from Antigua to her address in November 2000, made out to a "Mary Kay." She said no. "Someone could have sent it for him," she said. Muhammad often left Maraz's phone number for people to reach him at any time, as he was often moving around. Conway asked if Maraz felt close to Muhammad "even now." "I feel that he has a good heart, yes," she said. Even after he has been found guilty of murdering 10 people and injuring others? Conway asked. "I don’t know those things to be a fact," she said.
4:13 p.m.
Ruby B. Francis of Lacey, Wash., was up first. She said that after she met Muhammad through the Nation of Islam, he would work on her "clunker" a lot. Sometimes when she couldn't pay, he did the work for free. "He was fun," she said. "He was always happy, never down and out or upset about anything." She said he was a good father and had aspirations for his business and educating his children. Ebert asked her if she talked to Muhammad over the last two years. She said yes. Ebert asked if she added money to Muhammad's phone card. She said that she had, at the end of September 2002. Records from the card showed Muhammad called her several times during the sniper shootings on the East Coast. "Did you talk about that?" Ebert asked. "No, sir," she replied. Jerome Braswell recounted a similar story about the success of the "beautiful" Muhammad family and its business. John repaired his cars as well. Once, Malvo and Muhammad stayed for dinner and overnight. "It started as a one-man, two-person band and grew to where he was busy day and night," Braswell said. He testified that Muhammad never talked about guns to him. In fact, Muhammad would help his wife care for their children in the summertime when Braswell was traveling on business, and volunteered at Boys and Girls clubs. Braswell admitted that he didn't see Muhammad on a "day to day basis," but he seemed to provide well for his family. "Did you know that he stopped providing for his family in 1999 when he separated?" Willett asked. Braswell said he did not. Braswell said he "never" saw Muhammad get upset. "Always stayed in control, didn't he?" Willett asked. Willett asked Braswell if he knew where his son, Jerome Jr. was. He said he did not. "Do you know if the police are looking for him?" Willett asked. The defense objected to the question, and the judge sustained the objection. A former business associate then testified about Muhammad's desire to help children. Felix Strozier Jr., founder of a foundation for teaching disabled children in Tacoma, had been teaching karate out of garages and racquetball courts until 1995. He and Muhammad decided to start a school together. "I had a martial arts team, and John and his wife, Mildred, brought their son, little John, and I started teaching him. We started a relationship, and eventually we started a school together," Strozier testified. "You were trying to help people?" Ebert asked. "No, we helped people," Strozier replied. Strozier said he had not seen John Muhammad in about two years. The business closed in 1997. Ebert asked if the two men discussed the closure of the business. "Actually, we didn’t," Strozier answered. "I made a decision that the school couldn’t stay open, and I went to him and let him know I was closing the school. It really wasn’t a discussion, to tell you the truth. It was just something I had to do." "He blamed the system for the business failure, did he not?" Ebert pressed. "The system?" Strozier asked. Ebert asked if Muhammad blamed the "white-people system," which Strozier had apparently discussed in a prior interview. "You are turning what I said around," Strozier said. "You are adding stuff to it." Strozier said that he and John Muhammad were talking about learning disabilities, and how the system made it difficult for people with learning disabilities to succeed.
3:19 p.m.
Bob Meyers told the court that he has had to explain to four of his five sons three different deaths: His wife died suddenly in 2000, then his brother died, then his mother died last Easter. He said the death of Dean Meyers was very tough on his father, whom the family was preparing to move into an "old folks home," to ease the burden of caring for his wife. "He did eventually get into the home," Meyers said. "He continues to kind of go down that dementia path -- forgetting things, not understanding things, needing more care." Jane Przygocki of Germantown was Dean's friend for 23 years. They were both Civil War buffs and liked to ride their bicycles along the C&O Canal. "It felt immediately like we were best friends and we always would be," she testified about the time the two met. Willett asked her if they were best friends when he died. She broke down in tears. "He was the best friend I have ever had, and he has always been there for me," Przygocki said. She said she is still numb and in shock over his death. "I just felt terrible that he was there alone," she said, "that there was nobody there to hold him."
1:54 p.m.
He talked about their times as children running around the "family homestead" in Obelisk, Pa., where they would hike through the woods and go sledding in the wintertime. As adults, they shared a love of photography and climbed the Pinnacle, a mountain in Pennsylvania. "He was my brother, and I think he was my best friend," Larry Meyers said in his emotional testimony, stopping himself when the tears came. He would take a breath and keep going. "There's a lot of words to describe Dean: kind, gentle, generous, considerate," he said. "He was a model son, brother, uncle, and great uncle." The civil engineer, 53, was killed instantly by a single sniper bullet that struck him behind his left ear. It was Oct. 9, 2002, and he had stopped for gas on his way home to Gaithersburg from Manassas, Va. Larry Meyers said his brother was involved in a lot of charity work that he never told his family about. They learned from his old receipts and checkbooks that he gave generously to Habitat for Humanity and Save the Bay. He sponsored kids in the World Vision program for 20 years, and kept photos of every child he sponsored. "Dean was so special. He was generous both with his time and his money," the oldest Meyers brother told the jury. "He was a frugal person. He had a 19-inch television and an old tape cassette recorder." "His newest furniture, the antique dealers would love it," Larry Meyers added later. Ironically, Dean Meyers had survived a sniper's bullet as a young man serving in Vietnam. "He was out on patrol and a Vietcong sniper," Larry Meyers told the jury, motioning to his left arm, "right her in the upper arm, a couple of inches next to death, and of course his arm was shattered." Their mother, who was 88 years old when her son died and suffered from dementia, used to send Dean letters every day when he was in Southeast Asia. She died last Easter. His father, who was 84 when his son was killed, still lives in Obelisk. Larry Meyers said a to-do list was left on Dean's drafting table. He read a few items on the list. "Become an ambassador of good words to every person you meet every day," was one of the items. "Look for the good no matter what happens," read another. Just as he did on the anniversary of the sniper attacks in Rockville this October, Larry Meyers read an essay he wrote to Dean. "We missed you last Thanksgiving," said Larry Meyers, his voice cracking briefly as he held back tears, "and for a Christmas gathering, too. New Year’s came and went." Larry Meyers said his brother will live on in other people's lives. A scholarship for engineering students has been established at Penn State University, his alma mater. A townhouse he owned now belongs to the single mother who rented it. The children he sponsored will continue to receive aid through 2004. "We’re left with many fond memories of Dean," Larry testified. "And that’s what we focus on."
12:51 p.m.
"They had wanted to write a letter to their dad for some time," Mildred Muhammad testified. She read the letters, which were projected onto a screen in the courtroom. Two of the letters were written in neat handwriting; the youngest daughter had typed hers on a computer. John Jr. wrote to his father that he was doing well in eighth grade, played contact football and talked to girls. "Dad I love you so much and nothing will ever change that," John Jr. wrote. Salena wrote that she played the violin like Louis Farrakhan, and was getting good grades in sixth grade. Taalibah enclosed her letter in an envelope with a big heart drawn on it and the message, "Your baby girl, Taalibah." --- These are the full transcripts of the letters shown in court. All misspellings or other errors are intentional. John Muhammad Jr.: "Hey, dad, this is your son. doing good. wish you were here with me. so I have been doing good. I play full contact football. I am in a play at school called the wiz. And I weight lift. I've made new friends and you were right. I would have more female friends than male friends. Dad, I love you so much and nothing will ever change that ever. I'm in eighth grade. That's pretty much it. I love you, Dad. Peace. Love, John Jr." --- Salena Muhammad: "Dear Daddy. How are you doing? I play the vilion like Minister Louis Farakhan. I am in the sixth grade And have good grades. I am happy that I get to write a letter to you. I am in the chorus and am in the Aronrs Chorus. I am in the patrol at my school and I made friends also. I pray that I can write you a letter again." --- Taalibah Muhammad: "Dear Daddy, How are you doing? This is your baby girl, Taaibah Muhammad. I miss you sooooooooooo much. And can I ask you some questions:
1. Why did you do all those shooting? And I thought that it will be a long time until I visit you. So I will be 16 years old. And I love you Daddy and I always will. NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!! And John and Selena are sending you one too!!!!"
12:03 p.m.
She said John Jr., 13, was stoic. "John said that he knew it was going to happen, and he is just going to handle the rest of it," referring to his father being found guilty, Mildred Muhammad testified. Salena, 11, asked what would happen next. Her mother said she explained that there would be a sentencing phase, and the jury would have to chose life in prison or death. Mildred said that Taalibah, 10, was afraid for her mother's safety. "I know if dad gets out he's going to kill you, so I don't want to live the rest of my life without a mommy," Mildred quoted. --- Mildred Muhammad also testified that John Muhammad Jr. made another statement to her after his father was found guilty of being the serial sniper: "Mom, if dad takes you out, I’m going to have to take him out."
11:56 a.m.
She also agreed with Greenspun that mental health assistance was not readily available. Defense attorneys tried to present testimony by mental health experts that John Allen Muhammad suffered from Gulf War Syndrome –- a collection of physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and memory loss experienced by military veterans of the 1990-1991 war in the Persian Gulf -- but the judge excluded the testimony because Muhammad refused to be interviewed by state doctors. The jury also saw photos of the Muhammads and John Muhammad's other children. The jury was shown one photo that appeared to be a wedding picture, in which a younger John Allen Williams stood smiling behind his former wife, La Shaquita Warren, wearing a white tuxedo with black trim and a ruffled shirt. Another photo showed his son, Lindbergh Williams, posing for a portrait. The boy appeared to be about eight years old at the time of the photo. Another photograph showed John Muhammad with his and Mildred’s two oldest children, Salena and John Jr. John Muhammad is smiling in the portrait and holding Salena, then one year old, in his arms. "She been smiling like that ever since?" Greenspun asked Mildred Muhammad. "Yes, sir," she replied.
11:04 a.m.
It was the first time the jury saw the woman who has been referenced so many times. She wore a blue suit and a blue scarf covering the back of her head. John and Mildred were married at Ft. Lewis, Wash. He was a combat engineer in the Army. "He learned about hand-to-hand combat," she explained to the jury about John's time in the military. "He learned how to assemble and disassemble an M-16 rifle. He learned the different techniques and information about explosives." Her husband would often come home with his rifle and paper targets with "John M" and his social security number written on them. The jury was shown a photo of him dressed in combat fatigues, holding the M-16. Mildred Muhammad recounted John’s strange behavior while he was in the Army. "There was a gentleman that John had began socializing with, and they would –- two 10-speeds came to the house and they painted them black," she said. The two men would take "night rides" dressed in all black clothing and hats. Then John started talking about C-4 explosives. "He said one of the rides was -- one of his units was detailed to protect C-4 explosives, and they went out one night, and he knew when they were going to change guards, so the other guy was very close to the C-4 where he could touch it," Mildred Muhammad testified, under questioning by lead prosecutor Ebert. "He was afraid, so they were not able to obtain the explosives." In April of 1994, John Muhammad left the Army. The family lived in Ft. Meyers and Tacoma, and started a mobile car-repair business. The business went sour, and the couple separated in September 1999. John would take the children on weekends with his wife's consent, but he said he was not happy that Mildred and her friends were raising his children. One day, he pulled Mildred into the garage and said, "Just know this: You have become my enemy, and as my enemy I will kill you." Mildred said she retorted, "Well, I guess I've been sleeping with the enemy." On March 27, 2000, Mildred's mother's birthday, John took the children out and did not return. Mildred would not see them again for 18 months. She received no spousal support and was evicted from her apartment. She lost "two units of blood stressing" over the disappearance of the children, she said, and ended up in the emergency room. John called the hospital, prompting hospital officials to place Mildred Muhammad under guard. She later moved into the Phoebe House shelter, where she started a campaign to find the children. She placed their photos on a Web site and even set up a nationwide 800 number. Tacoma police located the children, and there was a court hearing on Sept. 4, 2001. Muhammad was ordered to stay away from his wife and children. He was angry, Mildred Muhammad said. In the hallway, Mildred's attorney was calling child protective services to make arrangements to pick up the children on her cell phone. "While she was on the phone, I looked to my right and saw John coming down the hall, and I ran down the hall," she testified. "For me, it was hostile," she explained. "I knew he was coming for me." Mildred Muhammad left Washington that night to stay with her sister in Clinton, Md. She never saw John again. "My attorney said, based on John’s behavior in court, that I need to leave tonight for fear that he might find me and kill me," she said.
10:22 a.m.
Vadnais had left a party at Zachary R. Barber’s apartment in the early morning hours of Aug. 17, 2002. After Vadnais called him from a nearby convenience store, Barber told everyone to leave the party because there was a dangerous person outside with a gun. The next morning, Barber heard a knock at his door. He peered through the peephole, and saw John Allen Muhammad standing there. Lee Boyd Malvo was several feet behind him, pacing in the parking lot. Barber didn't answer the door because of all of the excitement that had happened the night before. "Who knows what he would have done if he had another weapon with him," Barber said. -- On cross-examination, Peter Greenspun’s short stature came up again when Greenspun asked Barber about looking through the peephole. "So I would have to look up through the peephole," Greenspun asked Barber. "You would have to look down?" "To see you," quipped Judge Millette. --- Testimony could conclude as early as this afternoon; this morning, the defense is expected to call several witnesses. Please stay tuned. --- Click here for yesterday's coverage.
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