John Allen Muhammad

DC Sniper Malvo Tries to Change Name

The Washington Post is reporting that D.C.-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo wanted to legally change his name, but Wise County Judge Tammy McElyea rejected the request on Friday. Malvo was 17 when he went on a cross-country killing spree with John Allen Muhammad, culminating in 10 murders in the Washington, D.C., area over a three-week period in October 2002. Muhammad was executed; Malvo was sentenced to life in prison.

In court filings, Malvo claimed that he wanted to change his name to prevent assault from other inmates based on his notoriety. McElyea noted that Malvo had not had problems in his seven years at Red Onion State Prison in Pound.

So why the name change? Malvo has one of the most recognizable faces in crime history, so changing his name probably wouldn't help anyway. If indeed he is being assaulted in prison, he might want to chalk that up to karma. Although he was 17 when he participated in the murders and under the influence of John Allen Muhammad, Malvo was old enough to know that what he was doing was wrong.

D.C. Snipers: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo ...

, 2002, John Allen Muhammad, born John Allen Williams, began a murdering spree, which was marked as one of America’s worst crime sprees in history. Along with the help of his underage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, Allen John killed over 10 innocent people however 11 other murder cases have also been linked to him . This event is one of extreme complication, as his attacks took authorities a longer period of time to connect. The investigation began with only few police officers, but over 1000 F.B.I. agents had been assigned toward the end of the investigation. Thoughtlessly, this came to the media attention instantly after the first attack on September 5 , 2002, this tragedy began coming to an end when Lee Boyd’s fingerprints were found on a gun magazine in the store. Following this, police were able to trace the murder weapon to Lee Boyd’s immigration records. Police instantly broadcasted descriptions of the suspects and traced Lee Boyd to John Allen’s home. John Allen and Lee Boyd were arrested while sleeping in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, where they found alterations made to the car to make it a “snipers nest,” as New York Times author Fox Butterfield wrote in his article “The Hunt for a Sniper.” The car had a modified glove compartment for a riffle and the back seats were removed to allow one man to lie flat with a riffle and shoot their victims through two holes.  Authorities also seized a tripod, which the gun was mounted into to remain stable. On October 25 , 2002 John Allen Mohammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested after a truck driver had spotted the car after watching the broadcasted descriptions. The man stopped with his truck in front of the killers car and called while the killers were in the rest rooms. Throughout the investigation, it was believed that Lee Boyd was the one to physically pull the trigger and murder the victims, however John Allen was responsible for training him and guiding him. During the trials, it was verified that Lee Boyd provided misleading information to investigators in hopes of preventing John Allen from receiving a death penalty. John Allen Muhammad was executed by lethal injection on November 10 , 2009.  His accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo was not sentenced to death due to his youth, however he is serving six consecutive life sentences with no parole.

This case caused a variety of controversies in the media. During the first weeks of the investigation authorities were extremely strict in providing information. The police were astonished as reporters began acting “irresponsibly,” as per Chief of police Charles Moose.

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