Disclaimer: This article mentions murder and gun violence. Reader discretion is advised.
In October 2002, two snipers terrorized America’s capital region as they murdered people across the Washington D.C. area over a span of three weeks. Several movies and documentaries over the years have depicted the Beltway sniper attacks. It has been more than two decades since the tragedy and one of the DC sniper killers continues to sit behind bars.
Per CNN, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were convicted for the D.C. sniper attacks. They killed ten people and left three injured. Muhammad was given a death sentence in 2004. Meanwhile, Malvo received multiple life sentences without parole in Maryland and Virginia after being convicted of the crimes. However, Virginia changed its law in 2020 concerning juveniles receiving life sentences without parole. Malvo was 17 when he carried out the attacks with his partner. As a result, his Virginia sentences were commuted to life with the possibility of parole after serving 20 years.
Where are DC Sniper killers Lee Boyd Malvo & John Allen Muhammad now?
According to Virginia Department of Corrections records, Malvo, now 39, is currently held at the Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Virginia. Meanwhile, Muhammad was executed in November 2009, noted CNN. According to CBS News, Malvo married from behind bars in 2020 while serving his sentence.
In 2022, Virginia denied parole to Malvo, reported NBC News. The state’s parole board ruled that he was still a risk to the community. Even if Malvo had been granted parole in Virginia, he was given separate life sentences for his crimes in Maryland. The state’s highest court had ruled that he must be resentenced there. Before Virginia’s law regarding juvenile life sentences, in 2012, mandatory life sentences for juveniles were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Following that, two federal courts found Malvo was entitled to new sentence hearings.
The movie D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear was released in 2003 depicting the attacks. Besides the film, the documentary I, Sniper: The Washington Killers looks into the killings timeline.