Prometheus 6   

Judge Orders Malvo Sniper Trial Moved to Southeast Virginia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- A judge ordered a change of venue today for the trial of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, moving the case from Fairfax County to Chesapeake, 200 miles to the south.

Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush wrote that she worried Malvo might not be able to get a fair trial in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, where the attacks were carried out last fall.

"I believe that venue should be transferred to a jurisdiction outside the Washington-Richmond corridor, where many citizens lived in fear during the month of October 2002 as a result of the crimes with which the defendant is charged," Roush wrote in ordering the move.

Defense lawyers had requested a change of venue for two reasons. They argued that massive pretrial publicity had tainted the jury pool against their client. They also argued that every resident of Fairfax County could be considered a victim in the case, citing the locked down schools and wave of fear that gripped the region during the three weeks of attacks.