Module 4 - Forensic Ballistics

A firearms identification expert with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms holds the Bushmaster rifle used in the Beltway Sniper shootings. - Image Source: Tracy Woodward / AP pool                                                                                                                                                      - Journal Source: Muhammad trial journal by Kerry Sipe

During September and October 2002, a series of random shootings terrorized the public along the east coast of the United States. The murders were coined the Beltway sniper killings because the majority of the shootings occurred near a freeway called the Capital Beltway in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The shooter used a high-powered rifle from a concealed location approximately 100 m or less away from each victim. Thirteen people were killed, and three people were critically injured while in various outdoor public places. Ballistic evidence played a critical role in the capture and conviction of the two males responsible for the shootings and it was later discovered that the pair was also responsible for sniper attacks in California, Arizona and Texas.

Identity of the Snipers

The older of the two men responsible for the Beltway sniper killings was John Allen Williams. After converting to Islam, he changed his name to John Allen Muhammad in 2002. A 41-year-old ex-member of the United States National Guard and the United States Army, he had earned medals for expert marksmanship while serving in the army.

The younger of the two Beltway snipers was 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo who also used the name John Lee Malvo. He had posed as John Allen Muhammad's son, but he was the son of a woman with whom Muhammad had a friendship. Malvo shoplifted the rifle used in the sniper shootings from a gun dealer in Tacoma, Washington.

The Shootings

On September 5, 2002, a pizzeria owner died after being shot six times at close range while closing his restaurant in Maryland. His laptop computer was found in the suspect’s car when they were arrested later.

On September 21, a liquor store clerk in Alabama was shot and killed during a robbery, and a co-worker was injured.

On October 2, a 55-year-old program analyst was shot and killed in a grocery store parking lot in Maryland.

October 3 was the deadliest day. Within a 15-hour period, four people in Maryland and one in Washington, D.C., were shot and killed. The first victim was a 34-year-old man shot while mowing a lawn. Then, a 54-year-old taxi driver was killed while pumping gas into his taxi. The third victim was a 34-year-old woman shot while reading a book on a bench. The fourth victim was a 25-year-old woman shot while vacuuming her van. The fifth victim was a 72-year-old retired man shot while walking down a street in Washington, D.C.

On October 4, a 43-year-old woman was shot in a shopping centre parking lot; fortunately, she survived.

On October 7, the public was shocked when the Beltway sniper shot a 13-year-old boy walking into his school in Maryland. The boy lost 25 to 30% of his blood. One of his lungs, his diaphragm, part of his liver, stomach, pancreas, and spleen were damaged. Incredibly, after emergency surgery, the boy survived after spending eight weeks in hospital.

The next two shootings, October 9 and 11, were strangely similar despite happening two days apart. In both instances, 53-year-old males were shot and killed while pumping gas at a gas station in Virginia.

On October 14, a 47-year-old FBI intelligence analyst from Virginia was shot dead outside a Home Depot store.

Five days later, a 37-year-old man was shot in a parking lot outside a restaurant in Virginia.

A bus driver was shot and killed while standing outside his bus on October 22—making thirteen dead and three injured.

The Investigation

After each shooting, roadblocks were set up near the crime scene. Cars and drivers were inspected as they passed through each roadblock, resulting in massive traffic jams. Despite these efforts, police discovered later that the suspects had gone through these roadblocks several times and had not been caught.

At several crime scenes, Tarot cards and handwritten notes were left by the suspects. One tarot card was the Death card upon which was written, "Dear Policeman, I am God. Do not tell the media about this." The handwritten notes were several pages long and carefully sealed inside plastic bags. One of the notes demanded $10 000 000. It stated, "Your children are not safe, anywhere, at any time."

On October 21, a fingerprint from the September 21 Alabama shooting was found and identified. The print belonged to 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo. Investigators learned that Malvo was in the company of John Allen Muhammad. Police issued a description of Muhammad’s dark blue Chevrolet Caprice sedan to the media.

Investigators then discovered that Malvo and Muhammad had recently been staying at a home in Tacoma, Washington. A tree stump from the yard of this home, believed to have been used for target practice by the suspects, was seized. Metal detectors were used to search for bullet and cartridge casings in the yard to try to link the suspects to the shootings.

On October 24, two separate citizens reported a blue Chevrolet Caprice sedan parked at a rest area in Maryland. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were sleeping inside the vehicle and were arrested without incident. A search of the vehicle revealed that the suspects had created a firing port in the trunk of the car. The firing port allowed them to remain hidden while they shot at their unsuspecting victims. After these arrests, the Beltway sniper shootings stopped.

Ballistic Evidence

A Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle and bipod were found in a bag in John Allen Muhammad's car. Bullets fired from this rifle had an average muzzle velocity of 960 m/s. A bullet fired at this high velocity disintegrates when it hits bone or tissue leaving behind hundreds of bullet fragments (see photo below). In an X-ray, these numerous bullet fragments form a pattern known as the snowstorm effect. The snowstorm effect was visible on X-rays of each of the Beltway sniper’s victims.

- Image Source: Ballistics Research Inc.

The recovered bullet fragments and cartridge casings were compared to 150 different guns. Ballistic experts were unable to link any of those weapons to the crime scene evidence. The bullet fragments and cartridge casings from the shootings were then compared to test bullets fired from the rifle recovered from Muhammad’s car. Ballistic experts concluded that 11 of the 14 bullet fragments recovered from the shootings matched the rifling impressions from the rifle seized from the suspect’s car.

A forensic chemist found both gunpowder residue and primer residue in the trunk of Muhammad’s car. The presence of these chemicals indicated that a gun was likely fired from inside the trunk.

Although not considered ballistic evidence, numerous amounts of DNA matching both Malvo and Muhammad were identified on several areas of the rifle found in the suspects’ car.

Conclusion

John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were tried separately in both Maryland and Virginia.

In 2003, after more than 130 witnesses and 400 pieces of evidence, Muhammad and Malvo were each found guilty for the shootings that occurred in Virginia. Muhammad was sentenced to death, and Malvo's jury gave him a life sentence without parole.

In 2006, Muhammad was extradited to Maryland and found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to six consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. Malvo pleaded guilty to these six murders and was also given six consecutive life terms without parole.