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Gazette reporter Agnes Blum is covering the trial of Lee Boyd Malvo in
Chesapeake, Va. She will be posting to this site several times each day
to update readers on the events of the trial. Malvo is charged with killing Linda G. Franklin, the ninth victim in a spate of October 2002 shootings that killed 10 and wounded three. John Allen Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death for the crimes in a separate trial; click here for our coverage of his trial. For background on the shootings, see www.gazette.net/sniper. For our print coverage and archives of the online journal, please look at the righthand column of this page. |
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Thursday, Dec. 18
4:37 p.m. The jury has found Lee Boyd Malvo guilty on all counts: the murder of Linda G. Franklin, capital murder in an act of terrorism and the illegal use of a firearm. Malvo, wearing a yellow button-down shirt, registered no emotion as the verdict was read. The four men and eight women began deliberating at 9 a.m. Wednesday, and their decision took 13 hours total. The jury will be involved in the sentencing phase, which will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. Please check back for updates.
4:21 p.m.
12:55 p.m.
10:50 a.m.
10:22 a.m.
The judge began court by discussing the jury’s questions with the lawyers. She said she was going to tell jurors to use their common sense when interpreting malice and the phrase “under control of reason.” That phrase is confusing “because we have the insanity defense in this case,” Morrogh said. Judge Roush said she was leaving the instructions the way they were and would not change them unless the jury had further difficulty. She reiterated that jurors would have to rely on their recollection of the Chevy Caprice and would not be able to see it again. Defense lawyers again urged the judge to allow them to offer testimony about prison life during the penalty phase, should there be one. The judge denied the motion. If Malvo is found guilty of first-degree murder and not capital murder, it is the judge and not the jury who will decide his fate. Judge Roush will have the discretion to sentence him to serve between 20 years and life in prison. If Malvo is found not guilty by reason of insanity, the jury will also have completed its duties and Malvo will be sent to Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Va., until a judge decides he has been cured and declares him sane. --- Click here for yesterday's coverage.
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