cover image The Making of Lee Boyd Malvo: The D.C. Sniper

The Making of Lee Boyd Malvo: The D.C. Sniper

Carmeta Albarus, with forensic analysis by Jonathan H. Mack. Columbia Univ, $26.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-231-14310-3

In October 2002, 10 people were killed and four injured in attacks attributed to the “D.C. Sniper,” soon identified as John Muhammad, and his 17-year-old protégé, Lee Boyd Malvo, now serving life imprisonment. In this incisive account of a young life eroded by neglect and manipulated by a powerful father figure, forensic social worker Albarus details her involvement as a mitigation specialist during Malvo’s trial. Growing up in Jamaica, Malvo was routinely abused by his mother and shuttled between relatives and boarding houses. Still, he excelled at school while seeking the approval of parental figures. While living on Antigua, at age 15, he bonded most strongly with John Muhammad, whom he soon referred to as his father. The two headed to the U.S. to carry out Muhammad’s mission of a form of race war and Muhammad’s desire to regain custody of his three children. Muhammad drilled Malvo in combat training, systematically brainwashing the teen and subordinating his identity into Muhammad’s own. Albarus’s challenge was not only to understand the pair’s motivation but to help Malvo reclaim his identity. The forensic psychological analysis by Mack, while dense, is fascinating and provides further insight into the troubling case. Illus. (Sept.)