'DC sniper' Lee Boyd Malvo marries while serving life in prison
Lee Boyd Malvo, who as a teen was part of a two-person sniping crew that killed 10 people and wounded three around Washington, D.C., in 2002, was married this month while serving life in prison, his legal team said.
Carmeta Albarus, a mentor to Malvo who testified at his trial in 2003, said the wedding took place at Red Onion State Prison in southwest Virginia.
"Over the past 17 years, he has grown despite his conditions of confinement," she told the Associated Press. "He has grown into an adult, and has found love with a wonderful young lady. … It was a beautiful ceremony."
Malvo was 17 when he and John Allen Muhammad went on a killing spree in Maryland, Virginia and Washington in October 2002. The duo killed several others across the United States as they made their way to the area.
Dubbed the D.C. sniper or Beltway sniper attacks, the killings sparked widespread fear in the region as people were shot, seemingly at random, in public places such as parking lots and gas stations. Malvo and Muhammad modified the back seat and trunk of a sedan, creating a sniper's nest to carry out the attacks.
Malvo, now 35, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A new Virginia law allows for people who committed crimes before 18 and sentenced to life terms to be eligible for parole after 20 years in prison. Malvo, however, faces life sentences over three jurisdictions.
Virginia law makes 'DC sniper' Lee Boyd Malvo eligible for parole, ends Supreme Court case
Muhammad was executed in 2009.
Speaking with The Washington Post, Albarus said Malvo and his bride, who was not identified, held hands during the ceremony. "I believe the institution was very accommodating," Albarus, a social worker who worked with Malvo and wrote a book on the case, told the newspaper.
Attorney Craig S. Cooley, who represented Malvo in his original trial and appeals, told the Post that Malvo's wife is "a very impressive young lady. Educated. Her eyes are wide open."
She began writing to Malvo about two years ago and soon started visiting him in prison, the attorney said.
"She sees the good and sees Lee as I’ve always seen him, and I think the world would have seen him had Muhammad not taken over his life," Cooley told the Post.
Malvo's defense team has argued that the much-older Muhammad coerced the juvenile into the killings, teaching him marksmanship and acting as a father figure.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC sniper Lee Boyd Malvo marries while serving life in prison
