Lee Boyd Malvo Fast Facts

Here’s a look at the life of convicted DC-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo.

Personal

Birth date: February 18, 1985

Birth place: Kingston, Jamaica

Birth name: Lee Boyd Malvo

Father: Leslie Malvo

Mother: Una James

Marriage: Wife’s name unavailable publicly (2020-present)

Other Facts

Currently in prison awaiting resentencing for multiple charges stemming from a multi-state shooting spree in 2002 that left ten people dead.

In the Fairfax County, Virginia, trial, Malvo used an insanity defense, alleging that John Allen Muhammad had brainwashed him into committing murder.

Originally claimed to be the triggerman in all of the shootings, but later said that Muhammad was the shooter in all but the last one. Muhammad was executed by lethal injection on November 10, 2009.

Timeline

2000 or 2001 – Malvo joins his mother, Una James, in Antigua, where she had met Muhammad. Soon though, she leaves for Florida to look for work, and Malvo and Muhammad go to Bellingham, Washington.

2001 – Malvo attends high school in both Bellingham, Washington, and Fort Myers, Florida, alternating between his mother and Muhammad, who tells people Malvo is his son.

Early 2000s – Malvo travels with Muhammad, stopping in Alabama, Louisiana and Washington.

October 2002 – Ten people are killed, three injured in sniper-style shootings in the Mid-Atlantic/Washington area.

October 24, 2002 – Malvo and Muhammad are arrested. They are found sleeping in a 1990 Chevy Caprice at a rest stop in Frederick County, Maryland.

October 25, 2002 – Is charged with six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County, Maryland.

October 25, 2002 – Is charged in Alabama with capital murder for the September 21, 2002 killing of liquor store owner Claudine Parker.

October 28, 2002 – Malvo is indicted – for the same charges as Muhammad – in juvenile court in Spotsylvania and Hanover Counties in Virginia.

October 31, 2002 – Is charged with armed robbery and first degree murder in the death of Hong Im Ballenger in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

November 6, 2002 – Is charged with capital murder in Fairfax County, Virginia.

January 15, 2003 – Fairfax County, Virginia Juvenile Court Judge Charles Maxfield rules that Malvo will be tried as an adult in the October 14 shooting death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin. This decision will make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted.

May 6, 2003 – Fairfax County, Virginia Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush rules that the most damaging parts of an alleged confession by Malvo can be introduced during his trial.

July 2, 2003 – The trial is moved to Chesapeake, Virginia.

September 17, 2003 – Judge Roush rules that Malvo can face the death penalty if convicted.

October 22, 2003 – Malvo is brought into court during Muhammad’s Prince William County, Virginia, trial so he can be identified by witnesses from shootings in Alabama and Maryland to which the pair is thought to be connected.

November 10, 2003 – Jury selection begins in Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court.

December 15, 2003 – The defense rests.

December 16, 2003 – Jury deliberations begin.

December 18, 2003 – Malvo is found guilty of terrorism, capital murder and the use of a firearm during the commission of murder in the October 14, 2002, murder of Linda Franklin.

March 10, 2004 – Is sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty of terrorism, capital murder, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a murder.

October 26, 2004 – As part of a plea bargain in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, court, he pleads guilty and is sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Kenneth Bridges (October 11, 2002) and the shooting of Caroline Seawell (October 4, 2002).

March 1, 2005 – As the US Supreme Court bans the death penalty for anyone under 18, Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert announces that he will not prosecute Malvo for another Virginia murder.

May 7, 2005 – Charges in Hanover County, Virginia, are dropped because the victim, Jeffrey Hopper, refuses to testify.

May 23, 2006 – Malvo takes the stand in Muhammad’s murder trial after agreeing to plead guilty to the Montgomery County, Maryland, murder charges and testify for the prosecution. He had refused to testify in Muhammad’s Virginia trial, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

October 10, 2006 – Formally pleads guilty and confesses to six shootings in Montgomery County, Maryland.

October 27, 2006 – Tucson, Arizona, police announce that Malvo has confessed to the 2002 murder of Jerry Taylor on a local golf course.

November 8, 2006 – Is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the six Montgomery County, Maryland, shootings.

July 29, 2010 – In a phone interview for the A&E program, “Confessions of the DC Sniper with William Shatner: An Aftermath Special,” Malvo claims to have killed more than 40 others across the country and that there were other accomplices involved.

August 2010 – Police cannot confirm or refute Malvo’s claim of additional victims as Malvo refuses to cooperate with authorities after the interview with William Shatner.

September 30, 2012 – The Washington Post releases three hours of interviews with Malvo where he recounts his actions and feelings over the 21-day killing spree and the decade since. Malvo calls himself a monster.

June 2013 – Malvo’s attorneys petition the federal courts in Maryland and Virginia to have his life sentences vacated.

June 2014 – A federal judge in Virginia rejects the claim that Malvo’s sentence of life imprisonment without parole violates the constitution.

July 2014 – Malvo’s attorneys file a notice of appeal.

May 26, 2017 – A federal judge overturns Malvo’s two life sentences and sends his case back to state courts in Chesapeake and Spotsylvania County in Virginia for resentencing. For now, Malvo will remain in prison as his convictions in Virginia still stand, as well as his previous sentences from Maryland.

June 21, 2018 – A federal appeals court agrees Malvo’s four life sentences from Virginia must be vacated based on a 2012 Supreme Court decision that it is unconstitutional for juveniles to receive mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole.

March 18, 2019 – The Supreme Court agrees to consider whether Malvo can challenge his life sentence.

October 16, 2019 – The Supreme Court debates Malvo’s sentence of life without parole.

February 26, 2020 – The Supreme Court dismisses the pending case concerning Malvo in a one-sentence order. The order comes two days after Virginia’s governor signed a bill making juvenile offenders who were sentenced to life imprisonment eligible for parole after serving 20 years.

March 2020 – Malvo is married in a ceremony at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia.