<bt>Defense attorneys for sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, 18, said that John Allen Muhammad’s control over the teenager was so pervasive that it was a form of mental illness.
"This case is so bizarre in the facts, the indoctrination is so severe, we would be remiss if we don't put Mr. Malvo's sanity before a jury," said attorney Craig S. Cooley, following a hearing before Judge Jane M. Roush at Fairfax Circuit Court on Thursday, Oct. 9.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. dismissed the defense strategy to be used in Malvo's trial, which is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Chesapeake.
"That's not a mental illness in the book — that's a mental illness that is invented," Horan said, in a press conference following the hearing.
"Mr. Horan is not a psychologist nor a psychiatrist," Cooley said.
Malvo is accused of killing Arlington resident Linda Franklin, 47, during sniper shootings in October 2002 that left 10 dead and three injured in the Washington area.
Franklin was killed outside a Home Depot in Falls Church on Oct. 14, 2002, while her husband William "Ted" Franklin loaded their merchandise into their car.
Jury selection for Muhammad's trial began in Virginia Beach on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Muhammad, 42, is being tried for the October 2002 murder of Harold Dean Myers in Manassas.
Malvo's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 10 in Chesapeake.
<1b>— Ken Moore