Cop: Malvo Laughed About Victims

In chilling detail, a detective said teenage sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo "was laughing" as he admitted to some of last fall's deadly shootings.

Malvo was back in court Monday after his attorney asked a Virginia judge to throw out his murder confession because he was questioned without a lawyer present.

But CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr reports prosecutors insist Malvo knew exactly what he was doing.

Malvo was described by prosecutors as a calculating killer who repeatedly laughed while detailing the string of killings committed by the D.C.-area snipers.

Malvo, 17 at the time of last fall's murder spree, sat impassively in a Fairfax, Va., courtroom as Fairfax County homicide detective June Boyle testified Malvo admitted to pulling the trigger and killing FBI analyst Linda Franklin – the crime for which he now faces the death penalty.

In responding to questions about Franklin's killing, "He (Malvo) was laughing," Boyle said. "I asked him where he shot her. He laughed and pointed to his head."

Malvo's attorney Mark Petrovich argued his client had requested counsel, so his statements must be barred from trial since no attorney was present during 6½ hours of questioning.

But Boyle testified she read Malvo his rights before he implicated himself in the sniper shootings and asked him at least four times if he wanted a lawyer.

Boyle said Malvo replied, "If I don't want to answer I won't." And at times, he didn't answer, saying, "I'm not going to tell you. You figure it out."

Malvo also signed a waiver of his Miranda rights, which guarantee the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. Authorities say he signed with an "X" because he may have feared his signature could be used against him as a handwriting sample.

Boyd said Malvo also "was laughing about" the fatal shooting of a man mowing grass in Maryland. "After he shot the man the lawn mower just kept going down the street," she said.

James L. "Sonny" Buchanan, 39, of Abingdon, Va., was slain Oct. 3 as he mowed grass outside an auto dealership in White Flint, Md.

According to Boyle, Malvo also chortled about a shot at a boy that missed its mark. She said Malvo claimed the shot was so close "it might have even parted his hair."

Prosecutor Robert Horan says such cold bravado proves Malvo "is not the intimidated, scared child the defense has portrayed."

And CBS Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen says unless Malvo's attorneys get the statements thrown out the defense is in trouble.

"If he's laughing about a crime, if he's describing it, if he is essentially confessing, no juror is going to have any sympathy for him," Cohen says. "That's going to factor in against the defense at trial, it's going to factor against the defense during sentencing."

While the hearing will conclude Tuesday, it could take some time before the judge decides whether Malvo's virtual confession will stand.

Malvo and John Muhammad, 42, are accused in at least 20 shootings, including 13 deaths, in Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Both could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors have said the shootings were part of a scheme to extort $10 million from the government. The two were captured at a Maryland rest stop Oct. 24, and Malvo arrived in Fairfax County about on Nov. 7.