Aftermath with William Shatner (2010) s01e01 Episode Script
Confessions of The DC Sniper
AdrianoCSI
Earlier this year, I created a
television series called "aftermath"
One of these episodes focused on 3
courageous survivors of the dc snipers
John muhammad and lee malvo.
I spoke with lee malvo in an
exclusive interview from prison.
We uncovered startling new information
That will change the way you
think about this case forever.
Malvo has revealed that he and
muhammad did not work alone--
That they had co-conspirators.
Lee malvo: There were
supposed to be 3 to 4 snipers
With silenced weapons.
Malvo also claims
That in addition to the
13 known shootings
Around the dc area,
He and his partner john
mohammad committed
As many as 42 other shootings.
[gunshots]
We will hear lee malvo
in his own words
From revealing taped confessions
Which have never
before been broadcast.
Malvo: He didn't die immediately.
He got back up and started walking,
And I had to go out there and get him.
To his extraordinary trial testimony,
Given years after his capture.
Katherine winfree: Did he
tell you he loved you?
Yes.
Did you believe that?
Yes.
These findings are truly remarkable.
We're going to share them with you
On "confessions of
the dc sniper."
[telephone rings]
[ring]
Man on telephone: Red
onion state prison.
I have a prepaid call from
Malvo: Lee malvo.
Yes.
We'll accept it.
Your call is being connected.
Hello?
Lee malvo?
Yes, mr.
Shatner.
Lee?
How are you doing in there?
I'm doing ok.
I'm doing ok.
I have seen and have been on the end
Of either watching someone
die or killing someone
In so many different circumstances--
Mowing their lawn,
On a highway,
Out with their family.
And, at any time, you can die.
William shatner: It's a story
described as a perfect storm--
How lee malvo, a runaway jamaican boy,
Became a serial killer at 17.
It's the tale of the man
malvo called father,
41-year old john muhammad,
A gulf war veteran who came
to hate the United States,
A government he saw as
racist and oppressive.
Malvo: We got a 1990
blue chevy caprice.
We tinted the windows.
We got an hack saw,
Went in the back seat,
Cut the seat.
In the center of the trunk,
Just above the license plate,
There would be a hole for the rifle.
Basically, we'd be inside
the car, in the trunk,
Shooting out.
[gunshot]
Man: Shortly after 3:30 this morning,
The tactical response team
arrested 2 individuals.
Male newscaster: In
this morning's arrest,
3 tension-filled weeks of tracking
the deadly serial sniper
They were described as
african-american males,
One approxately 20,
one approximately 40.
He's currently in our custody.
Second man: The results of
forensic testing are that
The weapons seized from the vehicle
Occupied by muhammad
Has been forensically determined
to be the murder weapon.
We do intend to seek
the death penalty.
Malvo: Mr. Muhammad explained
to me what was going to happen.
He said we're going to guillotine
the washington dc area,
And we're going to
terrorize these people.
Malvo: For a month, every day,
there are going to be 6 shots.
[gunshot]
6 slayings a day.
Woman: Please, we have a
lady that's been shot.
Second woman: We need an ambulance
At the corner of knowles
and connecticut.
Malvo: He wanted people in terror.
He wanted people talking about this.
He wanted people worried.
He wanted to disturb the entire area.
911, state your emergency.
Woman: Come, ma'am.
I'm dying.
I'm going to help you, ok?
Do you know who shot you?
No!
Shatner: Forensic psychiatrist dr.
Neil blumberg
Interviewed lee malvo for about
50 hours after his capture,
And now, with malvo's permission,
Speaks on the record for
the very first time.
Once the killing begins,
The plan was to wreak enough havoc
To ultimately bring the
government to its knees,
Get the government to pay
a ransom of $10 million,
And start a utopian society
And live happily forever after.
Muhammad taught him
everything that he knew,
All with txe hopes of turning him into
An ultimate killing machine.
Shatner: Autumn 2002, about
one year after 9/11,
The snipers set upon the
suburbs of washington, dc.
In the crisp morning
air of October 3rd,
Taxi driver premkumar
walekar gassed his car,
Unaware he was in the
crosshairs of a sniper's rifle.
Malvo: Except for a few scattered
cars, it was basically vacant.
Once we parked,
We dropped the seat,
crawled in the trunk.
The weapon was completely assembled.
Winfree: Could you describe mr.
Muhammad's target?
He's an indian, a bit stout.
What was the man doing?
The man was pumping gas.
Had a taxicab, which was
parked right there.
Shatner: Physician caroline namrow,
Her 2-year old son in the back seat,
Pulled into the station
next to walekar.
Dr. Caroline namrow:
I saw the gentleman
Filling his car with gas.
I smiled and nodded at him.
And he sort of nodded back.
Malvo: I could see from--
using the side window.
And I told him he had a go.
And as I looked down to get my purse,
I heard a very loud bang.
He stepped towards my car
And he looked through the window
And he said, "call an
ambulance," and he fell down.
So I immediately went around
the front of my car to him,
And I saw that he was
lying on his back
Next to my minivan,
And there was blood all down
the side of the minivan.
After he fell, I saw
someone rush towards him.
I could tell it was a female.
I tried to calm myself down,
And I thought to myself,
Ok, you're a doctor.
This is a good time to do cpr,
Because I was so shaken.
I had never seen anybody be shot before.
I tried to feel for a pulse.
I thought that he's
not going to make it,
As soon as I realized his
pulse was extremely weak
And I saw the amount of blood,
And he--he stopped breathing.
Shatner: Walekar asked
if he'd be all right.
Dr.
Namrow assured him he would,
Although it appeared he had
little chance of survival.
As he was rushed to the
hospital, walekar died,
Leaving behind his
wife and two children.
That day was his 25th
wedding anniversary.
What a incredible waste this had been,
This senselessct, killing this man.
There was no goal.
It was so horrible,
So random.
[gunshot]
Shortly after 9:00, a
single shot rang out.
We just have no information
that makes any sense.
911, what's your emergency?
Man: He's bleeding like a
He's bleeding bad.
Woman: Somebody got shot.
Second man: It sounded
like a big bang.
911 emergency.
Second woman: Blood is coming
out of her noise and her mouth.
News reporter: Violence
strikes the area again.
Shatner: The authorities
were confused.
There was no common
thread among the victims.
Adults of all ages, all races,
And not a single witness
to the killings.
By October 7, 2002,
The toll reached 6 dead, 2 wounded.
Then, muhammad raised the stakes.
What he said was that
The worst thing you can do to people
Is a at their children.
No one was standing out front.
Parents, they took their child and ran
And went into the building.
I was apprehensive.
Lee had misgivings
about killing a child.
A young man came out,
Threw his bag down,
I took a shot.
[gunshot]
Lee aimed for the abdomen,
Which was going to be less
likely to kill the victim,
As opposed to a head shot.
Reporter: The shooting
happened between 8 and 8:30
This morning.
The young victim was
medivaced to a hospital
Where he was immediately
taken into surgery.
The children were
locked in the school,
And all morning long,
anxious parents came here
Rushing to pick up their children.
Shatner: 13-year old
iran brown survived,
As the panic intensified.
We only wish we could
have stopped this.
However, muhammad still felt
there was not enough death.
Mr. Muhammad was
becoming agitated
Because we were not
getting 6 shots a day.
I wouldn't talk.
He kept asking me what's wrong
and I just wouldn't talk.
I was shaking and crying.
He said, look, this is
Bull
People get caught when
they start doubting.
He says, what do you want?
Do you want to split the money?
He said, do you want weapons?
I was shaking my head.
He says, what do you want?
I said, uh, nothing.
He parked, told me to get out.
I was just broken down, broken down.
He came back, he says, get in.
He says, are you ready now to continue
At he called the mission?
I dried my tears.
I said, yes, sir.
[gunshots]
The latest attack of
the serial sniper.
The shooter has again evaded police.
We have not given in to the terror.
911: Your wife is shot?
Yes!
Where has she been shot?
She's shot in her head!
Shatner: With the
death count now at 9,
The snipers believed they
created enough chaos and panic
To demand $10 million
from the government.
Malvo pinned a ransom note to a tree
At the site of the next attack.
Malvo: He dropped me
off at the ponderosa.
I walked that area until
I memorized my way out.
I went to the wooded area,
Waited until it got completely dark,
Then I saw a male and a
female exit the restaurant,
And I shot him in the abdomen.
[gunshot]
Broke the weapon down,
put it in the bag,
Threw it over my shoulder, walked out,
Everything was perfect.
Shatner: Perfect, except for the
sudden appearance of a policeman.
There was one police officer.
He was walking slowly.
My bag fell off.
I picked it up quickly.
Malvo kept his composure
and got into the car.
Mr. Muhammad looked at me
and said, "you were calm."
He says, "I created a mother
Monster."
Muhammad calling lee a monster
Is actually a supreme compliment.
He's turned lee into the killing
machine that he wanted.
Lee became psychologically numb
And totally emotionless.
Shatner: They had now
killed 10 in the dc area
And demanded ransom from the
United States government,
Crimes for which they would
face the death penalty.
For 23 days in October, our
communities lived in fear.
The killers stalked the
national capital area.
We are moving forward aggressively.
We will follow facts
wherever they lead.
Lee, would you comment on
Some of the other shootings
That we don't know about?
We know that there were more than 40.
Can you can you explain
that a little to me?
At the time of their capture,
John muhammad and lee malvo
sparked a nationwide alert.
Seemingly similar unsolved
murders from around the country
Poured into the dc sniper task force.
We do not have any confirmation
As to whether this shooting
Was related to those other incidents.
We already know all these
shootings are linked.
Does that make a pattern?
We don't know.
By the time the snipers faced trial,
The task force had confirmed 22
shootings and suspected many others.
But malvo told me this was
just the tip of the iceberg.
Lee, would you comment on
Some of the other shootings
That we don't know about?
We know there were more than 40.
Malvo: Well, for example,
there was 2 in arizona,
Florida, texas,
Washington state, alabama,
Georgia, mississippi.
They told me that there were
approximately 42 shootings
That he and muhammad engaged in,
But it actually appears
To have been considerably
more than that.
Prior to arriving in the dc area,
Lee and muhammad traveled
all over the country,
Robbing people, shooting
people, killing people.
On average, they were shooting people
at least 3 to 6 times a month.
Shatner: Malvo said they had collected
about $150,000 from their crimes.
Crimes committed as muhammad,
an army-trained sharpshooter,
Taught malvo the art of assassination.
Lee was not a natural born killer.
He had to be trained.
He had to be programmed.
Malvo: He would give me books
that I was suppose to read,
And then I'd have to
explain a chapter to him.
He had books on explosives,
military tactics, sniper tactics.
He would explain the principals
of setting yourself up to shoot.
For example, um, how
to create balance.
He taught me how to
calculate for the wind,
Based on distances to ensure
that there was no movement.
I absorbed everything he taught me.
I trusted him and I believed him.
On the morning of March
19th, jerry taylor,
A 60-year old salesman known for his
humor and his easy-going style,
Went golfing on this golf
course in tucson, arizona.
Lee malvo was laying in wait.
This was an exercise
that muhammad devised
For him to hone his shooting skills.
What you're about to hear is a tucson
police recording of malvo's confession,
Broadcast for the first time.
This is the first time
he's having me do this.
And we go out there, and he says,"
you have to do this." I said no.
He said, "you're going
out there and do this."
And, I said, "all right, I'm
going out there and doing it."
I put golf balls on the slope.
His back is towards me
'cause I'm down on the
ground in the bushes.
He went after the
golf balls I set out.
The instruction was to shoot him
To kill.
That was the instruction.
I aimed for the heart.
[gunshot]
He's hit in the chest.
And basically what happens is the
bullet goes straight through.
He didn't die immediately.
He fell.
Then he got back up
and started walking.
And I had to go out there and get him.
Malvo dragged taylor into the bushes
And left him there to die.
A plan so perfectly executed,
By the time the law arrived,
they had little to go on.
We received a call that some golfer
had found the body of jerry taylor
Reporter: Jerry taylor is
pronounced dead at the scene.
We had no leads as to who
could possibly be involved.
I've been doing
homicide for many years
And never had a case like this.
Muhammad would just show up
with an envelope and money.
Like for example in arizona,
Muhammad got a picture and an address,
And the job was to
assassinate this person.
To kill him.
So that's like a-- that's
like a contract-killing then?
Some of them were.
We were not able to find any enemies that mr.
Taylor might've had.
I mean, he was just a simple man
That--that worked--worked
hard for his family.
Shatner: Muhammad was
known for invention,
On occasion presenting
himself as a cia agent
Or special ops to
further his own ends.
But if it was not a contract kill,
How did muhammad get
taylor's photograph?
The fact that malvo had photos of mr.
Taylor,
The fact they followed
him to a grocery store,
Lead me to believe that they had
done some type of footwork.
But those questions
are still out there
As to why they would want mr.
Taylor dead.
Malvo told police muhammad
received payment for the hit
When they returned
to washington state.
He comes back with the bag.
It's a paper bag.
Money is there.
It was $25,000.
Man:N: What was the
denomination of the bills?
Hundreds and fifties.
Had muhammad duped malvo by telling
him it was a contract killing?
And, in tucson, there
was yet another crime.
Malvo spoke of another shooting,
A shooting we report
for the first time.
5 days after the murder
of jerry taylor,
The dc snipers staked out
a bank deposit drop.
We believe that the shot that
was taken at this victim
Came from across the street.
Detective: So, you were
going to shoot the person
Who was going to make the drop?
Yeah, make the drop.
Before they could make the drop?
Before they could make the drop.
You'd shoot them then
grab the money and go.
Go.
Was a shot fired?
Yes.
Ok.
Shatner: The bullet missed its target,
Shattering a car window,
just missing the man's head.
This gentleman did not
find out about it
Until this past Saturday,
June 19, 2010.
Until we investigated,
The victim had no idea it was the
dc snipers who had taken the shot.
And there was another
shooting we uncovered.
Malvo told blumberg that
during the dc attacks
They shot into a restaurant
[gunshots] in richmond, virginia
Missing their target.
Richmond police
confirmedd this incident.
Malvo: We went through a
process of escalating crimes.
And the whole process
was to get me ready
To do what he needed me to do.
And he would send me to do a crime,
And then he would watch the crime,
And then he would evaluate
me after it was finished,
And we'd work on the next
crime what was wrong,
What I needed to change, emotionally,
in my approach, in my tactics.
He was approaching it like this
is how you make a better killing?
Yeah.
And all of this was something
that lee enjoyed doing,
Not so much for the acts itself,
But for this bonding experience
That he was having with muhammad.
Winfree: Did you come to love mr.
Muhammad?
Malvo: Yes.
Did you tell him you loved him.
Yes.
Did he tell you that he loved you?
Yes.
At the time, authorities believed
The sniper's acts of homegrown
terror was a jihad of two.
However, lee malvo told
me there were others.
He said the dc snipers
did not work alone.
There was supposed to be 3 to 4
snipers with silenced weapons.
In this way, you could
do a lot more damage
Along the entire eastern seaboard.
Shatner: 17-year-old lee malvo, in
america without family or friends,
And john muhammad, the
man he called father,
Robbed, shot, and killed their
way across the country.
But it appears they
did not work alone.
There were, in fact, at least
3 other co-conspirators.
I was in shock when he told me.
To learn that there were
Other individuals
involved was amazing.
Forens psychiatrist dr.
Neil blumberg reveals for the first time
The secrets held by
malvo, which, if true,
Create a radical new
perspective on their crimes.
The co-conspirator in new
york lived in the projects,
And he primarily provided
them with weapons.
One of them lived in florida.
And he was the man who
did the paperwork,
Who was to provide credit cards,
False ids that they'd need
In order to travel throughout
the United States.
The arizona person was involved
In both providing weapons
as well as explosives.
They would spend 2
or 3 weeks together
With each person training.
Lee was there anybody else involved?
Were there any co-conspirators?
Uh, no.
You told dr. Blumberg that there
were other people involved.
There were 2 others--
There were 2 other people who
were supposed to be involved.
But in the end, they
end up backing out.
I see. And you-- they were
supposed to be involved
And then they backed out?
See, what was supposed to happen
Was that there was supposed
to be 3 to 4 snipers
With silence weans, silenced rifles.
And in this way you could
do a lot more damage
Along the entire eastern seaboard,
But in the end, it was
only muhammad and myself.
But they had help.
According to malvo,
The pair purchased illegal
weapons in phoenix.
The phoenix group was basically one
of those white, racist groups.
As long as you've got money, they'll
give you whatever they want.
We met out in the desert and tested
weapons and stuff like that.
That's how we learned to
make suppressors, silencers.
Got explosives.
It remains unclear whether this
group knew the snipers' plans.
But malvo confirmed he trained
With the new york conspirator,
who was well-aware.
His job was to get us
out of the country
When it's all said and done.
What happened to the co-conspirators?
They wanted nothing to do with it.
They had no problems doing
crimes to make money,
But anything beyond that
they didn't want to do.
Lee stated that 2 of the individuals
got cold feet at that point.
Those 2 individuals backed out.
And what happened after that
Is that muhammad instructed lee that,
Of course, they had to be eliminated.
And lee executed both of them.
Can you explain to me the difference
between your statement now
And the statement to dr.
Blumberg,
About they were killed and
you're saying they went away?
Yeah.
Black was one--
Black was the only
one that was killed.
That was one guy.
Black was the only
one that was killed.
And that's because he backed out
And muhammad-- muhammad killed him.
So he was killed?
Yes.
He was killed?
Yes, sir.
I see.
Muhammad killed him?
Yes, sir.
We were not able to ascertain the
identity of any co-conspirator
And acknowledge the inconsistencies
in malvo's accounts.
The fbi declined an interview,
Saying the dc sniper case remains
an ongoing investigation.
But killing an
accomplice made it clear
There was no way out but death.
In July 2002, the pair arrived in baton
rouge to visit muhammad's family.
The first time I met lee,
He was introduced as my brother.
If your father tells you, ok,
you have another brother,
You haven't seen your
father in 11 years,
You just take it for what it is.
He'd get this kid up
at 4:00 in the morning
And run him for 2 and 3 miles.
He ran this kid and starved this kid,
Ran him and starved him,
ran him and starved him.
Lee was eating crackers and honey,
That kid was starving.
We were eating, and you
knew he was hungry.
But he wouldn't eat,
Not when john was around.
That's how serious it was.
That was a part of his
breaking him down.
That was a part of him
getting into his mind.
I feel sorry for the lee that I met
Because I didn't know the killer.
I know the sweet innocent young man.
Lee was that kid that if he was
homeless, you would adopt him.
And he ran into john
at the wrong time.
John, he loves kids,
But after the, what, desert storm,
He came back, he was changed.
He was not that same john.
Shatner: After 10 years in the army,
john muhammad returned a troubled man--
Twice court martialed,
twice failure in marriage,
Twice losing custody of his children.
Muhammad could no longer
keep a grip on his life.
I could understand his pain.
He lost his business,
his house, his cars.
But the only thing that mattered
to him was his children.
Until now, malvo said
he believed their goal
Was to raise money to
kidnap muhammad's children
And start a new life
together, away from the u.S.
We were in baton rouge, in a gulley.
We were sitting on a log.
And he explained to me what was
going to happen after he left.
He said we're going to go
to washington dc area,
And we're going to
terrorize these people.
For a month, every day there
are going to be 6 shots.
[gunshots]
6 slayings a day.
Winfree: 6 a day for how long?
30 days.
Muhammad revealed a plan
he called phase 2--
Explode a school bus
packed with children,
Kill one police officer,
Then use explosives to blow
up the police force funeral.
What did you think of this plan, mr.
Malvo?
I asked him why we were doing this.
Why not just get the
children and leave?
He said no, this is what were are
going to do, and it's final.
What did you do after he told you
About this plan to terrorize?
He was gone during the day.
I played russian roulette
for several hours, crying.
And I just broke down.
I couldn't do it.
We made a bond.
Once you give your word,
there is no way out.
Malvo wrote a letter
to muhammad's niece.
In it he said, "I have a
father who would kill me
For a righteous
society to prevail."
We didn't know what was
going on in this letter,
But now looking back on it,
It's pretty much a cry for help.
Muhammad bolsters him up,
Lee puts this out of his md,
Sort of gets back into
being the dutiful son.
When we were looking for him,
They were nowhere to be found.
The same way he appeared,
he disappeared.
We don't know where he is,
We don't know where their
next destination is.
45 miles from baton rouge
in hammond, louisiana,
John gaeta stopped at
sears to buy shoes.
Muhammad had told him that,
You're going to kill somebody today.
That's when he made the decision
they would slash a tire.
[hissing]
When gaeta returned, malvo
approached his target.
He said, looks like
you have a flat tire.
And he went, ha ha ha.
Sort of like laughing under his breath.
But--and then they walked off.
And then
And then
I was shot in the neck.
I didn't feel severe pain,
But I said, well, just stay there,
Just, you know, play
dead for 2 or 3 minutes.
While malvo stole his wallet,
Gaeta's mind was far away
and strangely at peace.
You think of your wife and
your family and your friends,
And, you know, and like
this is how my life ends.
At the time of his capture,
Malvo gave this
never-before-broadcast confession
To virginia police.
Woma do you ever feel bad
about any certain one?
No.
No?
If you had to do it over, you
would do the same thing?
Huh?
Yep.
Concerned that muhammad would
get the death penalty,
Malvo claimed that he had
committed most of the kills.
Although he too faced execution,
Malvo refused to cooperate
in his own defense.
His lawyers brought in
carmeta albarus-lindo,
A social worker, expert
in death penalty cases.
Lee was so far removed from reality
That getting him to
cooperate was something
That they would not be able to do.
Here we had what we call a volunteer.
He's actually volunteering to die.
Concerned that muhammad would
get the death penalty,
Malvo claimed that he had
committed most of the kills.
He was ready to die for muhammad.
He distinctly said,
"they are trying to use
me to kill my dad,
But it is not going to happen.
"
Facing trial, dc sniper lee malvo's
wish to sacrifice his life
To save john muhammad presented a
daunting task for carmeta albarus-lindo.
Her job was to unlock the
secrets of his life.
The goal is to see what
it is about his history
That would have caused him
To have attached to john muhammad.
What is it about this dad
That you didn't see in
your biological parents?
What I really wanted to get
from him was his life story.
And that entailed going
back to jamaica.
Speaking with malvo's
father leslie malvo,
Albarus-lindo learnediled the youth
only had a brief period of happiness
Before his parents
separated when he was 5.
After this, malvo's
father deserted him,
And his mother repeatedly abandoned
him for months at a time.
His mother would tell him she
wished she never had him.
You know, she wished he
had never been born.
He's going to be nobody.
From that time, he felt that his life
Was not worth anything.
There was an emptiness there,
And he was always trying
to fill that emptiness.
I hated myself.
You hated yourself.
What--can you give me
an insight into that?
The process really started
around the age of 12 with mom.
She told me, "go ahead
and kill yourself."
At 15, malvo and his mother
moved here to antigua.
Shortly thereafter,
she took off again.
He was surviving on his own.
He needed to make money
so that he could survive.
What he did was to steal cds,
Burn the cds, and sell them
So he could buy lentil beans,
And that's what he ate.
Lee was someone who was
just looking to be loved,
And that was the situation
which he lived in
Leading up to his
meeting john muhammad.
Malvo noticed an american
living in the neighborhood
And was struck by how tenderly
he treated his children.
That man was john muhammad.
Malvo: He basically took me under his wing.
I opened up to him.
I told him about my relationship
with my mother, my father.
He was a very good listener.
It was empathy, and he understood me.
He took the time to be there,
which is very important to me.
He began introducing me as his son.
I went down to jamaica.
I met his biological
father, leslie malvo.
He was filled with so much
rage and so much anger.
Because he said, it was that man,
John muhammad, that
did this to his son.
And he said, "my boy was a good boy!
My boy was a good boy!
"
And I brought back the tape
With his father's voice on it.
I really wanted him to hear
the emotion from his father.
And I played it for him.
And then, I stopped
the tape and I said,
"that is your dad.
Not muhammad.
That is your dad.
"
And so, that really was
a big breakthrough
Because he did not say no.
Malvo now knew his father cared.
And when his social worker
arranged a series of calls
Between the real father and son,
As well as a visit from a beloved
teacher, malvo began to change.
He started to cooperate
with his attorneys.
He started to talk.
After lee became aware of
the tremendous manipulation
And the brainwashing
that had taken place
And he began to separate
himself from muhammad,
He displayed an interest in living.
In 2003, john muhammad and lee malvo
were tried separately for their crimes.
A jury sentenced muhammad to death.
Malvo received life in prison
without the possibility of parole.
His life was saved.
I was overwhelmed.
I really was overwhelmed.
What he had shared appeared to
be the key to sparing his life.
Tell me, lee, with all the
brainwashing that went on,
Describe the process
to me of beginning
To shrug off muhammad's influence
And beginning to think for yourself.
Can you help me with that?
It's kind of hard to explain.
What pushed me there is pain.
So much tragedy in a
short period of time
That I realized this is
not what I wanted to be.
How did I end up here?
I needed answers, and I
had to start looking.
The only place I could
look was within myself.
Shatner: Malvo made a
surprising decision.
He sent me a letter.
He proceeded to say I will
testify against muhammad.
Montgomery county maryland
prosecutor katherine winfree
Brought a new case
against john muhammad
To avenge the 6 murders in her county.
She now had her key witness.
Lee told me he wanted
to confront muhammad.
He wanted to try to bring
some understanding
To the families of the victims.
And I told him, "if you
want this opportunity,
"then you have to talk
about all these crimes,
Including some that we
didn't know about."
Lee malvo agreed to let
prosecutor winfree
Reveal the confessions he offered her.
One of those was a
shooting of jerry taylor.
I believed that was something
That the task force
had suspected him of.
He confirmed killing taylor,
And later confessed
to the tucson police.
He also admitted shooting albert
michalczyk, who survived,
John gaeta in hammond, louisiana,
And a case in texas.
Winfree: Denton, texas was a fatality.
Woman: It was just like
another day to me.
And I was used to just
driving out there,
Letting him out, and
he would joke with me.
Billy gene dillon, the
oldest of 4 boys.
Quick with a smile
and a friendly word.
The glue that held
the family together.
He worked with his hands--
Cutting grass, trimming trees
For a day's honest wages.
I pulled up.
I said, "man"-- I said,
"where's my son?"
I see something covered.
It was billy gene under it.
I didn't know what happened to him.
I kept asking them.
This is where he was
shot and murdered.
[gunshot]
The sniper came from this way.
After the beltway snipers
were apprehended,
We sent the bullet
fragments to the fbi
To see if they could determine
Whether those were
fired by the suspects.
There wasn't really enough
there to determine anything.
It plays in my mind,
When I seen them lift
him up, you know.
Put him in a bag.
That was my boy.
You always heard
that word "closure."
Nah, there won't never be a closure.
Billy gene was slain in may, 2002.
4 years later malvo told winfree
and the dc sniper task force
That he and muhammad shot him.
As lee described it to us,
Muhammad was the one who
shot the man with a rifle
While lee guarded with a pistol.
Malvo is just as guilty as muhammad.
And I want justice.
If he done it, I want to
bring him back to denton,
In a court room and a judge
hear it and sentence him.
I don't care.
I wished they'd put him down.
Winfree: How do you feel today
About the things that you did?
Malvo: I'm not proud of myself.
I'm just trying to make amends.
I loved you, billy gene.
Lee malvo's information provided
answers to 4 shootings.
It also allowed him the
opportunity to testify.
What malvo had not known
when he made his offer
Is he would have to confront
muhammad face-to-face.
Shatner: In may 2006, lee
malvo, now 21 years old,
Was brought from his cell
at red onion state prison
To a courtroom in montgomery
county, maryland,
Where he would confront john muhammad,
The man he once called father.
Winfree: Mr.
Malvo, why did you write me a letter?
Malvo: I'd been thinking
for several months,
Contemplating if I can testify,
If I'm strong enough to do it.
Lee was still angry about
what muhammad had done,
How he had essentially used and
manipulated and betrayed him
As the other adults
had done in his life.
It was one thing to talk
about how angry he was.
It was something quite different
to essentially face his father.
Muhammad was going to
be his own lawyer.
And, therefore, he
would be crossing lee.
As muhammad cross-examined malvo,
He made a show of dominance,
Demonstrating by his questions how
their relationship once worked.
The last time that we
played basketball who won?
You won.
I won.
And the last time we ran a quarter
of a mile, who ran faster?
You.
And last time we ran 5 miles,
who ran faster? You.
Malvo's former father played on
the times they had been close.
Isn't your testimony
that one of the reasons
Why that you was attracted
to john allen muhammad
Because the way that I
treated the children
Was the way that you
wanted to be treated?
Yes, sir.
Ok, and did I not treat you that way?
For a period of time, ye
That's not what I'm asking.
Did I not treat you that way?
For a period of time, yes.
Malvo held firm, even sparing back.
How did you plea in virginia, mr.
Malvo?
The actual plea was by insanity,
meaning indoctrination.
Was there experts that
said that you was insane?
There were expertsts indoctrinated.
Do you understand what
indoctrination is?
Yes, sir.
Ok, what is it?
Indoctrination is a process
Under which the person who, myself,
Who came under your influence
Is brought to do things
He wouldn't have done on his own.
Through winfree's questions,
Malvo could speak the
words he had come to say.
Winfree: What was the
difference that you perceived
In the way john allen muhammad
treated his biological sons
And the way he treated you, mr.
Malvo?
Mr. Muhammad did not use
any of his children
To murder other people.
Malvo turned and faced muhammad.
You took me in your house and
you made me a monster, man.
In my opinion, that took a
tremendous amount of guts.
What he did couldn't have been easy.
He did a great job.
I've prosecuted and used a lot
of cooperating defendants.
He's quite simply the
best I have ever seen.
Also in the courtroom that day--
Sonia hollingsworth-wills, the mother
of beloved bus driver conrad johnson,
The last man to fall
in the sniper rampage.
I talk to his pictures.
I just tell him I still love you.
She forgave malvo after
witnessing his testimony.
Sonia wonders what might have
changed had malvo met her son,
A jamaican and a father,
instead of john muhammad.
If lee had met conrad,
Things would have gone
completely different.
If lee had an attachment
with a normal adult,
I feel pretty certain that none
Of what transpired
would have occurred.
Have you forgiven
muhammad for taking you,
A boy, and making him
into what he did?
Have you forgiven him for that?
Yes.
This is going to be surprising,
But I have-- I have forgiven him.
In the same way in whichi had t,
Gradually, forgive myself.
Little by little.
Everyday I get up,
Somebody's wife, child, husband
Is not going to come home tonight.
Right.
And there is nothing that
I can say or ever do
That'll ever change that fact.
That is my constant reminder.
Someone else cannot breathe for you.
You can't allow someone
else to think for you,
And when you do, these
are the consequences.
Yeah. One of the things
that lee has grappled with
Is the need to express
to the survivors
How deeply remorseful he is.
The first one that he expressed
it to was cheryl witz.
Cheryl witz, the daughter
of jerry taylor,
Said the loss of her father
was incomprehensible.
Witz added, however
strange as it seems,
She keeps a warm spot
in her heart for malvo.
His apology helped her move on.
Just this February 2010, malvo asked
hammond detective kohn milton
To deliver a letter to john gaeta,
The man malvo shot through
the neck and left for dead.
I mean, he apologized.
And I do accept it.
The lord says, you
know, forgive others
As he forgave those
who persecuted him.
And so, I can do the same and move on.
But as the storm created
by the dc snipers ended,
Lee malvo shared with neil blumberg
A chilling detail about
the third co-conspirator.
The third co-conspirator
Who was stationed in phoenix, arizona,
Was on board with the idea
until October of '02.
At that point, this individual said
That he no longer
wanted to participate.
The plan was to also execute him.
But they were already in dc.
He was in phoenix.
And there's no way to
enforce that plan.
So, there is somebody out there
Who was participating,
aiding and abetting
Both lee and muhammad
in this venture.
And for lee malvo,
His journey ends paradoxically
where he began--
Alone.
And isolated.
All that remains for him is to
continue telling his story.
Does it give you a sense of hope
That there is life after death?
Hope and dread.
Operator: You have 10
seconds remaining.
[laughs]
It's a little bit of both.
It's hope and dread,
Because everything has to be repaid.
Earlier this year, I created a
television series called "aftermath"
One of these episodes focused on 3
courageous survivors of the dc snipers
John muhammad and lee malvo.
I spoke with lee malvo in an
exclusive interview from prison.
We uncovered startling new information
That will change the way you
think about this case forever.
Malvo has revealed that he and
muhammad did not work alone--
That they had co-conspirators.
Lee malvo: There were
supposed to be 3 to 4 snipers
With silenced weapons.
Malvo also claims
That in addition to the
13 known shootings
Around the dc area,
He and his partner john
mohammad committed
As many as 42 other shootings.
[gunshots]
We will hear lee malvo
in his own words
From revealing taped confessions
Which have never
before been broadcast.
Malvo: He didn't die immediately.
He got back up and started walking,
And I had to go out there and get him.
To his extraordinary trial testimony,
Given years after his capture.
Katherine winfree: Did he
tell you he loved you?
Yes.
Did you believe that?
Yes.
These findings are truly remarkable.
We're going to share them with you
On "confessions of
the dc sniper."
[telephone rings]
[ring]
Man on telephone: Red
onion state prison.
I have a prepaid call from
Malvo: Lee malvo.
Yes.
We'll accept it.
Your call is being connected.
Hello?
Lee malvo?
Yes, mr.
Shatner.
Lee?
How are you doing in there?
I'm doing ok.
I'm doing ok.
I have seen and have been on the end
Of either watching someone
die or killing someone
In so many different circumstances--
Mowing their lawn,
On a highway,
Out with their family.
And, at any time, you can die.
William shatner: It's a story
described as a perfect storm--
How lee malvo, a runaway jamaican boy,
Became a serial killer at 17.
It's the tale of the man
malvo called father,
41-year old john muhammad,
A gulf war veteran who came
to hate the United States,
A government he saw as
racist and oppressive.
Malvo: We got a 1990
blue chevy caprice.
We tinted the windows.
We got an hack saw,
Went in the back seat,
Cut the seat.
In the center of the trunk,
Just above the license plate,
There would be a hole for the rifle.
Basically, we'd be inside
the car, in the trunk,
Shooting out.
[gunshot]
Man: Shortly after 3:30 this morning,
The tactical response team
arrested 2 individuals.
Male newscaster: In
this morning's arrest,
3 tension-filled weeks of tracking
the deadly serial sniper
They were described as
african-american males,
One approxately 20,
one approximately 40.
He's currently in our custody.
Second man: The results of
forensic testing are that
The weapons seized from the vehicle
Occupied by muhammad
Has been forensically determined
to be the murder weapon.
We do intend to seek
the death penalty.
Malvo: Mr. Muhammad explained
to me what was going to happen.
He said we're going to guillotine
the washington dc area,
And we're going to
terrorize these people.
Malvo: For a month, every day,
there are going to be 6 shots.
[gunshot]
6 slayings a day.
Woman: Please, we have a
lady that's been shot.
Second woman: We need an ambulance
At the corner of knowles
and connecticut.
Malvo: He wanted people in terror.
He wanted people talking about this.
He wanted people worried.
He wanted to disturb the entire area.
911, state your emergency.
Woman: Come, ma'am.
I'm dying.
I'm going to help you, ok?
Do you know who shot you?
No!
Shatner: Forensic psychiatrist dr.
Neil blumberg
Interviewed lee malvo for about
50 hours after his capture,
And now, with malvo's permission,
Speaks on the record for
the very first time.
Once the killing begins,
The plan was to wreak enough havoc
To ultimately bring the
government to its knees,
Get the government to pay
a ransom of $10 million,
And start a utopian society
And live happily forever after.
Muhammad taught him
everything that he knew,
All with txe hopes of turning him into
An ultimate killing machine.
Shatner: Autumn 2002, about
one year after 9/11,
The snipers set upon the
suburbs of washington, dc.
In the crisp morning
air of October 3rd,
Taxi driver premkumar
walekar gassed his car,
Unaware he was in the
crosshairs of a sniper's rifle.
Malvo: Except for a few scattered
cars, it was basically vacant.
Once we parked,
We dropped the seat,
crawled in the trunk.
The weapon was completely assembled.
Winfree: Could you describe mr.
Muhammad's target?
He's an indian, a bit stout.
What was the man doing?
The man was pumping gas.
Had a taxicab, which was
parked right there.
Shatner: Physician caroline namrow,
Her 2-year old son in the back seat,
Pulled into the station
next to walekar.
Dr. Caroline namrow:
I saw the gentleman
Filling his car with gas.
I smiled and nodded at him.
And he sort of nodded back.
Malvo: I could see from--
using the side window.
And I told him he had a go.
And as I looked down to get my purse,
I heard a very loud bang.
He stepped towards my car
And he looked through the window
And he said, "call an
ambulance," and he fell down.
So I immediately went around
the front of my car to him,
And I saw that he was
lying on his back
Next to my minivan,
And there was blood all down
the side of the minivan.
After he fell, I saw
someone rush towards him.
I could tell it was a female.
I tried to calm myself down,
And I thought to myself,
Ok, you're a doctor.
This is a good time to do cpr,
Because I was so shaken.
I had never seen anybody be shot before.
I tried to feel for a pulse.
I thought that he's
not going to make it,
As soon as I realized his
pulse was extremely weak
And I saw the amount of blood,
And he--he stopped breathing.
Shatner: Walekar asked
if he'd be all right.
Dr.
Namrow assured him he would,
Although it appeared he had
little chance of survival.
As he was rushed to the
hospital, walekar died,
Leaving behind his
wife and two children.
That day was his 25th
wedding anniversary.
What a incredible waste this had been,
This senselessct, killing this man.
There was no goal.
It was so horrible,
So random.
[gunshot]
Shortly after 9:00, a
single shot rang out.
We just have no information
that makes any sense.
911, what's your emergency?
Man: He's bleeding like a
He's bleeding bad.
Woman: Somebody got shot.
Second man: It sounded
like a big bang.
911 emergency.
Second woman: Blood is coming
out of her noise and her mouth.
News reporter: Violence
strikes the area again.
Shatner: The authorities
were confused.
There was no common
thread among the victims.
Adults of all ages, all races,
And not a single witness
to the killings.
By October 7, 2002,
The toll reached 6 dead, 2 wounded.
Then, muhammad raised the stakes.
What he said was that
The worst thing you can do to people
Is a at their children.
No one was standing out front.
Parents, they took their child and ran
And went into the building.
I was apprehensive.
Lee had misgivings
about killing a child.
A young man came out,
Threw his bag down,
I took a shot.
[gunshot]
Lee aimed for the abdomen,
Which was going to be less
likely to kill the victim,
As opposed to a head shot.
Reporter: The shooting
happened between 8 and 8:30
This morning.
The young victim was
medivaced to a hospital
Where he was immediately
taken into surgery.
The children were
locked in the school,
And all morning long,
anxious parents came here
Rushing to pick up their children.
Shatner: 13-year old
iran brown survived,
As the panic intensified.
We only wish we could
have stopped this.
However, muhammad still felt
there was not enough death.
Mr. Muhammad was
becoming agitated
Because we were not
getting 6 shots a day.
I wouldn't talk.
He kept asking me what's wrong
and I just wouldn't talk.
I was shaking and crying.
He said, look, this is
Bull
People get caught when
they start doubting.
He says, what do you want?
Do you want to split the money?
He said, do you want weapons?
I was shaking my head.
He says, what do you want?
I said, uh, nothing.
He parked, told me to get out.
I was just broken down, broken down.
He came back, he says, get in.
He says, are you ready now to continue
At he called the mission?
I dried my tears.
I said, yes, sir.
[gunshots]
The latest attack of
the serial sniper.
The shooter has again evaded police.
We have not given in to the terror.
911: Your wife is shot?
Yes!
Where has she been shot?
She's shot in her head!
Shatner: With the
death count now at 9,
The snipers believed they
created enough chaos and panic
To demand $10 million
from the government.
Malvo pinned a ransom note to a tree
At the site of the next attack.
Malvo: He dropped me
off at the ponderosa.
I walked that area until
I memorized my way out.
I went to the wooded area,
Waited until it got completely dark,
Then I saw a male and a
female exit the restaurant,
And I shot him in the abdomen.
[gunshot]
Broke the weapon down,
put it in the bag,
Threw it over my shoulder, walked out,
Everything was perfect.
Shatner: Perfect, except for the
sudden appearance of a policeman.
There was one police officer.
He was walking slowly.
My bag fell off.
I picked it up quickly.
Malvo kept his composure
and got into the car.
Mr. Muhammad looked at me
and said, "you were calm."
He says, "I created a mother
Monster."
Muhammad calling lee a monster
Is actually a supreme compliment.
He's turned lee into the killing
machine that he wanted.
Lee became psychologically numb
And totally emotionless.
Shatner: They had now
killed 10 in the dc area
And demanded ransom from the
United States government,
Crimes for which they would
face the death penalty.
For 23 days in October, our
communities lived in fear.
The killers stalked the
national capital area.
We are moving forward aggressively.
We will follow facts
wherever they lead.
Lee, would you comment on
Some of the other shootings
That we don't know about?
We know that there were more than 40.
Can you can you explain
that a little to me?
At the time of their capture,
John muhammad and lee malvo
sparked a nationwide alert.
Seemingly similar unsolved
murders from around the country
Poured into the dc sniper task force.
We do not have any confirmation
As to whether this shooting
Was related to those other incidents.
We already know all these
shootings are linked.
Does that make a pattern?
We don't know.
By the time the snipers faced trial,
The task force had confirmed 22
shootings and suspected many others.
But malvo told me this was
just the tip of the iceberg.
Lee, would you comment on
Some of the other shootings
That we don't know about?
We know there were more than 40.
Malvo: Well, for example,
there was 2 in arizona,
Florida, texas,
Washington state, alabama,
Georgia, mississippi.
They told me that there were
approximately 42 shootings
That he and muhammad engaged in,
But it actually appears
To have been considerably
more than that.
Prior to arriving in the dc area,
Lee and muhammad traveled
all over the country,
Robbing people, shooting
people, killing people.
On average, they were shooting people
at least 3 to 6 times a month.
Shatner: Malvo said they had collected
about $150,000 from their crimes.
Crimes committed as muhammad,
an army-trained sharpshooter,
Taught malvo the art of assassination.
Lee was not a natural born killer.
He had to be trained.
He had to be programmed.
Malvo: He would give me books
that I was suppose to read,
And then I'd have to
explain a chapter to him.
He had books on explosives,
military tactics, sniper tactics.
He would explain the principals
of setting yourself up to shoot.
For example, um, how
to create balance.
He taught me how to
calculate for the wind,
Based on distances to ensure
that there was no movement.
I absorbed everything he taught me.
I trusted him and I believed him.
On the morning of March
19th, jerry taylor,
A 60-year old salesman known for his
humor and his easy-going style,
Went golfing on this golf
course in tucson, arizona.
Lee malvo was laying in wait.
This was an exercise
that muhammad devised
For him to hone his shooting skills.
What you're about to hear is a tucson
police recording of malvo's confession,
Broadcast for the first time.
This is the first time
he's having me do this.
And we go out there, and he says,"
you have to do this." I said no.
He said, "you're going
out there and do this."
And, I said, "all right, I'm
going out there and doing it."
I put golf balls on the slope.
His back is towards me
'cause I'm down on the
ground in the bushes.
He went after the
golf balls I set out.
The instruction was to shoot him
To kill.
That was the instruction.
I aimed for the heart.
[gunshot]
He's hit in the chest.
And basically what happens is the
bullet goes straight through.
He didn't die immediately.
He fell.
Then he got back up
and started walking.
And I had to go out there and get him.
Malvo dragged taylor into the bushes
And left him there to die.
A plan so perfectly executed,
By the time the law arrived,
they had little to go on.
We received a call that some golfer
had found the body of jerry taylor
Reporter: Jerry taylor is
pronounced dead at the scene.
We had no leads as to who
could possibly be involved.
I've been doing
homicide for many years
And never had a case like this.
Muhammad would just show up
with an envelope and money.
Like for example in arizona,
Muhammad got a picture and an address,
And the job was to
assassinate this person.
To kill him.
So that's like a-- that's
like a contract-killing then?
Some of them were.
We were not able to find any enemies that mr.
Taylor might've had.
I mean, he was just a simple man
That--that worked--worked
hard for his family.
Shatner: Muhammad was
known for invention,
On occasion presenting
himself as a cia agent
Or special ops to
further his own ends.
But if it was not a contract kill,
How did muhammad get
taylor's photograph?
The fact that malvo had photos of mr.
Taylor,
The fact they followed
him to a grocery store,
Lead me to believe that they had
done some type of footwork.
But those questions
are still out there
As to why they would want mr.
Taylor dead.
Malvo told police muhammad
received payment for the hit
When they returned
to washington state.
He comes back with the bag.
It's a paper bag.
Money is there.
It was $25,000.
Man:N: What was the
denomination of the bills?
Hundreds and fifties.
Had muhammad duped malvo by telling
him it was a contract killing?
And, in tucson, there
was yet another crime.
Malvo spoke of another shooting,
A shooting we report
for the first time.
5 days after the murder
of jerry taylor,
The dc snipers staked out
a bank deposit drop.
We believe that the shot that
was taken at this victim
Came from across the street.
Detective: So, you were
going to shoot the person
Who was going to make the drop?
Yeah, make the drop.
Before they could make the drop?
Before they could make the drop.
You'd shoot them then
grab the money and go.
Go.
Was a shot fired?
Yes.
Ok.
Shatner: The bullet missed its target,
Shattering a car window,
just missing the man's head.
This gentleman did not
find out about it
Until this past Saturday,
June 19, 2010.
Until we investigated,
The victim had no idea it was the
dc snipers who had taken the shot.
And there was another
shooting we uncovered.
Malvo told blumberg that
during the dc attacks
They shot into a restaurant
[gunshots] in richmond, virginia
Missing their target.
Richmond police
confirmedd this incident.
Malvo: We went through a
process of escalating crimes.
And the whole process
was to get me ready
To do what he needed me to do.
And he would send me to do a crime,
And then he would watch the crime,
And then he would evaluate
me after it was finished,
And we'd work on the next
crime what was wrong,
What I needed to change, emotionally,
in my approach, in my tactics.
He was approaching it like this
is how you make a better killing?
Yeah.
And all of this was something
that lee enjoyed doing,
Not so much for the acts itself,
But for this bonding experience
That he was having with muhammad.
Winfree: Did you come to love mr.
Muhammad?
Malvo: Yes.
Did you tell him you loved him.
Yes.
Did he tell you that he loved you?
Yes.
At the time, authorities believed
The sniper's acts of homegrown
terror was a jihad of two.
However, lee malvo told
me there were others.
He said the dc snipers
did not work alone.
There was supposed to be 3 to 4
snipers with silenced weapons.
In this way, you could
do a lot more damage
Along the entire eastern seaboard.
Shatner: 17-year-old lee malvo, in
america without family or friends,
And john muhammad, the
man he called father,
Robbed, shot, and killed their
way across the country.
But it appears they
did not work alone.
There were, in fact, at least
3 other co-conspirators.
I was in shock when he told me.
To learn that there were
Other individuals
involved was amazing.
Forens psychiatrist dr.
Neil blumberg reveals for the first time
The secrets held by
malvo, which, if true,
Create a radical new
perspective on their crimes.
The co-conspirator in new
york lived in the projects,
And he primarily provided
them with weapons.
One of them lived in florida.
And he was the man who
did the paperwork,
Who was to provide credit cards,
False ids that they'd need
In order to travel throughout
the United States.
The arizona person was involved
In both providing weapons
as well as explosives.
They would spend 2
or 3 weeks together
With each person training.
Lee was there anybody else involved?
Were there any co-conspirators?
Uh, no.
You told dr. Blumberg that there
were other people involved.
There were 2 others--
There were 2 other people who
were supposed to be involved.
But in the end, they
end up backing out.
I see. And you-- they were
supposed to be involved
And then they backed out?
See, what was supposed to happen
Was that there was supposed
to be 3 to 4 snipers
With silence weans, silenced rifles.
And in this way you could
do a lot more damage
Along the entire eastern seaboard,
But in the end, it was
only muhammad and myself.
But they had help.
According to malvo,
The pair purchased illegal
weapons in phoenix.
The phoenix group was basically one
of those white, racist groups.
As long as you've got money, they'll
give you whatever they want.
We met out in the desert and tested
weapons and stuff like that.
That's how we learned to
make suppressors, silencers.
Got explosives.
It remains unclear whether this
group knew the snipers' plans.
But malvo confirmed he trained
With the new york conspirator,
who was well-aware.
His job was to get us
out of the country
When it's all said and done.
What happened to the co-conspirators?
They wanted nothing to do with it.
They had no problems doing
crimes to make money,
But anything beyond that
they didn't want to do.
Lee stated that 2 of the individuals
got cold feet at that point.
Those 2 individuals backed out.
And what happened after that
Is that muhammad instructed lee that,
Of course, they had to be eliminated.
And lee executed both of them.
Can you explain to me the difference
between your statement now
And the statement to dr.
Blumberg,
About they were killed and
you're saying they went away?
Yeah.
Black was one--
Black was the only
one that was killed.
That was one guy.
Black was the only
one that was killed.
And that's because he backed out
And muhammad-- muhammad killed him.
So he was killed?
Yes.
He was killed?
Yes, sir.
I see.
Muhammad killed him?
Yes, sir.
We were not able to ascertain the
identity of any co-conspirator
And acknowledge the inconsistencies
in malvo's accounts.
The fbi declined an interview,
Saying the dc sniper case remains
an ongoing investigation.
But killing an
accomplice made it clear
There was no way out but death.
In July 2002, the pair arrived in baton
rouge to visit muhammad's family.
The first time I met lee,
He was introduced as my brother.
If your father tells you, ok,
you have another brother,
You haven't seen your
father in 11 years,
You just take it for what it is.
He'd get this kid up
at 4:00 in the morning
And run him for 2 and 3 miles.
He ran this kid and starved this kid,
Ran him and starved him,
ran him and starved him.
Lee was eating crackers and honey,
That kid was starving.
We were eating, and you
knew he was hungry.
But he wouldn't eat,
Not when john was around.
That's how serious it was.
That was a part of his
breaking him down.
That was a part of him
getting into his mind.
I feel sorry for the lee that I met
Because I didn't know the killer.
I know the sweet innocent young man.
Lee was that kid that if he was
homeless, you would adopt him.
And he ran into john
at the wrong time.
John, he loves kids,
But after the, what, desert storm,
He came back, he was changed.
He was not that same john.
Shatner: After 10 years in the army,
john muhammad returned a troubled man--
Twice court martialed,
twice failure in marriage,
Twice losing custody of his children.
Muhammad could no longer
keep a grip on his life.
I could understand his pain.
He lost his business,
his house, his cars.
But the only thing that mattered
to him was his children.
Until now, malvo said
he believed their goal
Was to raise money to
kidnap muhammad's children
And start a new life
together, away from the u.S.
We were in baton rouge, in a gulley.
We were sitting on a log.
And he explained to me what was
going to happen after he left.
He said we're going to go
to washington dc area,
And we're going to
terrorize these people.
For a month, every day there
are going to be 6 shots.
[gunshots]
6 slayings a day.
Winfree: 6 a day for how long?
30 days.
Muhammad revealed a plan
he called phase 2--
Explode a school bus
packed with children,
Kill one police officer,
Then use explosives to blow
up the police force funeral.
What did you think of this plan, mr.
Malvo?
I asked him why we were doing this.
Why not just get the
children and leave?
He said no, this is what were are
going to do, and it's final.
What did you do after he told you
About this plan to terrorize?
He was gone during the day.
I played russian roulette
for several hours, crying.
And I just broke down.
I couldn't do it.
We made a bond.
Once you give your word,
there is no way out.
Malvo wrote a letter
to muhammad's niece.
In it he said, "I have a
father who would kill me
For a righteous
society to prevail."
We didn't know what was
going on in this letter,
But now looking back on it,
It's pretty much a cry for help.
Muhammad bolsters him up,
Lee puts this out of his md,
Sort of gets back into
being the dutiful son.
When we were looking for him,
They were nowhere to be found.
The same way he appeared,
he disappeared.
We don't know where he is,
We don't know where their
next destination is.
45 miles from baton rouge
in hammond, louisiana,
John gaeta stopped at
sears to buy shoes.
Muhammad had told him that,
You're going to kill somebody today.
That's when he made the decision
they would slash a tire.
[hissing]
When gaeta returned, malvo
approached his target.
He said, looks like
you have a flat tire.
And he went, ha ha ha.
Sort of like laughing under his breath.
But--and then they walked off.
And then
And then
I was shot in the neck.
I didn't feel severe pain,
But I said, well, just stay there,
Just, you know, play
dead for 2 or 3 minutes.
While malvo stole his wallet,
Gaeta's mind was far away
and strangely at peace.
You think of your wife and
your family and your friends,
And, you know, and like
this is how my life ends.
At the time of his capture,
Malvo gave this
never-before-broadcast confession
To virginia police.
Woma do you ever feel bad
about any certain one?
No.
No?
If you had to do it over, you
would do the same thing?
Huh?
Yep.
Concerned that muhammad would
get the death penalty,
Malvo claimed that he had
committed most of the kills.
Although he too faced execution,
Malvo refused to cooperate
in his own defense.
His lawyers brought in
carmeta albarus-lindo,
A social worker, expert
in death penalty cases.
Lee was so far removed from reality
That getting him to
cooperate was something
That they would not be able to do.
Here we had what we call a volunteer.
He's actually volunteering to die.
Concerned that muhammad would
get the death penalty,
Malvo claimed that he had
committed most of the kills.
He was ready to die for muhammad.
He distinctly said,
"they are trying to use
me to kill my dad,
But it is not going to happen.
"
Facing trial, dc sniper lee malvo's
wish to sacrifice his life
To save john muhammad presented a
daunting task for carmeta albarus-lindo.
Her job was to unlock the
secrets of his life.
The goal is to see what
it is about his history
That would have caused him
To have attached to john muhammad.
What is it about this dad
That you didn't see in
your biological parents?
What I really wanted to get
from him was his life story.
And that entailed going
back to jamaica.
Speaking with malvo's
father leslie malvo,
Albarus-lindo learnediled the youth
only had a brief period of happiness
Before his parents
separated when he was 5.
After this, malvo's
father deserted him,
And his mother repeatedly abandoned
him for months at a time.
His mother would tell him she
wished she never had him.
You know, she wished he
had never been born.
He's going to be nobody.
From that time, he felt that his life
Was not worth anything.
There was an emptiness there,
And he was always trying
to fill that emptiness.
I hated myself.
You hated yourself.
What--can you give me
an insight into that?
The process really started
around the age of 12 with mom.
She told me, "go ahead
and kill yourself."
At 15, malvo and his mother
moved here to antigua.
Shortly thereafter,
she took off again.
He was surviving on his own.
He needed to make money
so that he could survive.
What he did was to steal cds,
Burn the cds, and sell them
So he could buy lentil beans,
And that's what he ate.
Lee was someone who was
just looking to be loved,
And that was the situation
which he lived in
Leading up to his
meeting john muhammad.
Malvo noticed an american
living in the neighborhood
And was struck by how tenderly
he treated his children.
That man was john muhammad.
Malvo: He basically took me under his wing.
I opened up to him.
I told him about my relationship
with my mother, my father.
He was a very good listener.
It was empathy, and he understood me.
He took the time to be there,
which is very important to me.
He began introducing me as his son.
I went down to jamaica.
I met his biological
father, leslie malvo.
He was filled with so much
rage and so much anger.
Because he said, it was that man,
John muhammad, that
did this to his son.
And he said, "my boy was a good boy!
My boy was a good boy!
"
And I brought back the tape
With his father's voice on it.
I really wanted him to hear
the emotion from his father.
And I played it for him.
And then, I stopped
the tape and I said,
"that is your dad.
Not muhammad.
That is your dad.
"
And so, that really was
a big breakthrough
Because he did not say no.
Malvo now knew his father cared.
And when his social worker
arranged a series of calls
Between the real father and son,
As well as a visit from a beloved
teacher, malvo began to change.
He started to cooperate
with his attorneys.
He started to talk.
After lee became aware of
the tremendous manipulation
And the brainwashing
that had taken place
And he began to separate
himself from muhammad,
He displayed an interest in living.
In 2003, john muhammad and lee malvo
were tried separately for their crimes.
A jury sentenced muhammad to death.
Malvo received life in prison
without the possibility of parole.
His life was saved.
I was overwhelmed.
I really was overwhelmed.
What he had shared appeared to
be the key to sparing his life.
Tell me, lee, with all the
brainwashing that went on,
Describe the process
to me of beginning
To shrug off muhammad's influence
And beginning to think for yourself.
Can you help me with that?
It's kind of hard to explain.
What pushed me there is pain.
So much tragedy in a
short period of time
That I realized this is
not what I wanted to be.
How did I end up here?
I needed answers, and I
had to start looking.
The only place I could
look was within myself.
Shatner: Malvo made a
surprising decision.
He sent me a letter.
He proceeded to say I will
testify against muhammad.
Montgomery county maryland
prosecutor katherine winfree
Brought a new case
against john muhammad
To avenge the 6 murders in her county.
She now had her key witness.
Lee told me he wanted
to confront muhammad.
He wanted to try to bring
some understanding
To the families of the victims.
And I told him, "if you
want this opportunity,
"then you have to talk
about all these crimes,
Including some that we
didn't know about."
Lee malvo agreed to let
prosecutor winfree
Reveal the confessions he offered her.
One of those was a
shooting of jerry taylor.
I believed that was something
That the task force
had suspected him of.
He confirmed killing taylor,
And later confessed
to the tucson police.
He also admitted shooting albert
michalczyk, who survived,
John gaeta in hammond, louisiana,
And a case in texas.
Winfree: Denton, texas was a fatality.
Woman: It was just like
another day to me.
And I was used to just
driving out there,
Letting him out, and
he would joke with me.
Billy gene dillon, the
oldest of 4 boys.
Quick with a smile
and a friendly word.
The glue that held
the family together.
He worked with his hands--
Cutting grass, trimming trees
For a day's honest wages.
I pulled up.
I said, "man"-- I said,
"where's my son?"
I see something covered.
It was billy gene under it.
I didn't know what happened to him.
I kept asking them.
This is where he was
shot and murdered.
[gunshot]
The sniper came from this way.
After the beltway snipers
were apprehended,
We sent the bullet
fragments to the fbi
To see if they could determine
Whether those were
fired by the suspects.
There wasn't really enough
there to determine anything.
It plays in my mind,
When I seen them lift
him up, you know.
Put him in a bag.
That was my boy.
You always heard
that word "closure."
Nah, there won't never be a closure.
Billy gene was slain in may, 2002.
4 years later malvo told winfree
and the dc sniper task force
That he and muhammad shot him.
As lee described it to us,
Muhammad was the one who
shot the man with a rifle
While lee guarded with a pistol.
Malvo is just as guilty as muhammad.
And I want justice.
If he done it, I want to
bring him back to denton,
In a court room and a judge
hear it and sentence him.
I don't care.
I wished they'd put him down.
Winfree: How do you feel today
About the things that you did?
Malvo: I'm not proud of myself.
I'm just trying to make amends.
I loved you, billy gene.
Lee malvo's information provided
answers to 4 shootings.
It also allowed him the
opportunity to testify.
What malvo had not known
when he made his offer
Is he would have to confront
muhammad face-to-face.
Shatner: In may 2006, lee
malvo, now 21 years old,
Was brought from his cell
at red onion state prison
To a courtroom in montgomery
county, maryland,
Where he would confront john muhammad,
The man he once called father.
Winfree: Mr.
Malvo, why did you write me a letter?
Malvo: I'd been thinking
for several months,
Contemplating if I can testify,
If I'm strong enough to do it.
Lee was still angry about
what muhammad had done,
How he had essentially used and
manipulated and betrayed him
As the other adults
had done in his life.
It was one thing to talk
about how angry he was.
It was something quite different
to essentially face his father.
Muhammad was going to
be his own lawyer.
And, therefore, he
would be crossing lee.
As muhammad cross-examined malvo,
He made a show of dominance,
Demonstrating by his questions how
their relationship once worked.
The last time that we
played basketball who won?
You won.
I won.
And the last time we ran a quarter
of a mile, who ran faster?
You.
And last time we ran 5 miles,
who ran faster? You.
Malvo's former father played on
the times they had been close.
Isn't your testimony
that one of the reasons
Why that you was attracted
to john allen muhammad
Because the way that I
treated the children
Was the way that you
wanted to be treated?
Yes, sir.
Ok, and did I not treat you that way?
For a period of time, ye
That's not what I'm asking.
Did I not treat you that way?
For a period of time, yes.
Malvo held firm, even sparing back.
How did you plea in virginia, mr.
Malvo?
The actual plea was by insanity,
meaning indoctrination.
Was there experts that
said that you was insane?
There were expertsts indoctrinated.
Do you understand what
indoctrination is?
Yes, sir.
Ok, what is it?
Indoctrination is a process
Under which the person who, myself,
Who came under your influence
Is brought to do things
He wouldn't have done on his own.
Through winfree's questions,
Malvo could speak the
words he had come to say.
Winfree: What was the
difference that you perceived
In the way john allen muhammad
treated his biological sons
And the way he treated you, mr.
Malvo?
Mr. Muhammad did not use
any of his children
To murder other people.
Malvo turned and faced muhammad.
You took me in your house and
you made me a monster, man.
In my opinion, that took a
tremendous amount of guts.
What he did couldn't have been easy.
He did a great job.
I've prosecuted and used a lot
of cooperating defendants.
He's quite simply the
best I have ever seen.
Also in the courtroom that day--
Sonia hollingsworth-wills, the mother
of beloved bus driver conrad johnson,
The last man to fall
in the sniper rampage.
I talk to his pictures.
I just tell him I still love you.
She forgave malvo after
witnessing his testimony.
Sonia wonders what might have
changed had malvo met her son,
A jamaican and a father,
instead of john muhammad.
If lee had met conrad,
Things would have gone
completely different.
If lee had an attachment
with a normal adult,
I feel pretty certain that none
Of what transpired
would have occurred.
Have you forgiven
muhammad for taking you,
A boy, and making him
into what he did?
Have you forgiven him for that?
Yes.
This is going to be surprising,
But I have-- I have forgiven him.
In the same way in whichi had t,
Gradually, forgive myself.
Little by little.
Everyday I get up,
Somebody's wife, child, husband
Is not going to come home tonight.
Right.
And there is nothing that
I can say or ever do
That'll ever change that fact.
That is my constant reminder.
Someone else cannot breathe for you.
You can't allow someone
else to think for you,
And when you do, these
are the consequences.
Yeah. One of the things
that lee has grappled with
Is the need to express
to the survivors
How deeply remorseful he is.
The first one that he expressed
it to was cheryl witz.
Cheryl witz, the daughter
of jerry taylor,
Said the loss of her father
was incomprehensible.
Witz added, however
strange as it seems,
She keeps a warm spot
in her heart for malvo.
His apology helped her move on.
Just this February 2010, malvo asked
hammond detective kohn milton
To deliver a letter to john gaeta,
The man malvo shot through
the neck and left for dead.
I mean, he apologized.
And I do accept it.
The lord says, you
know, forgive others
As he forgave those
who persecuted him.
And so, I can do the same and move on.
But as the storm created
by the dc snipers ended,
Lee malvo shared with neil blumberg
A chilling detail about
the third co-conspirator.
The third co-conspirator
Who was stationed in phoenix, arizona,
Was on board with the idea
until October of '02.
At that point, this individual said
That he no longer
wanted to participate.
The plan was to also execute him.
But they were already in dc.
He was in phoenix.
And there's no way to
enforce that plan.
So, there is somebody out there
Who was participating,
aiding and abetting
Both lee and muhammad
in this venture.
And for lee malvo,
His journey ends paradoxically
where he began--
Alone.
And isolated.
All that remains for him is to
continue telling his story.
Does it give you a sense of hope
That there is life after death?
Hope and dread.
Operator: You have 10
seconds remaining.
[laughs]
It's a little bit of both.
It's hope and dread,
Because everything has to be repaid.