Two victims, two views of sniper's death
By: Bill Myers
Examiner Staff Writer
November 8, 2009
John Allen Muhammad may not die this week. Last minute appeals can be filed, stays can be granted, the death chamber can wait.
So can Bob Meyers.
"One thing that's obvious is that if there ever was a capital case this would be one," said Meyers, whose brother, Dean was killed by Muhamad while gassing up in Manassas. "We certainly don't object to the sentence."
The snipers' victims, Oct. 3-24, 2002» James Martin, 55, was an analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office. He was a resident of Colesville, Maryland. He was married with an 11-year-old son.
» James Buchanan, 39, was an active volunteer at the local Boys and Girls Club and loved kids. He previously ran a landscaping company.
» Premkumar Walekar, 54, was killed on his 25th wedding anniversary. He was a part-time cab driver from Olney, Maryland. He left behind two children.
» Sarah Ramos, 34, was a native of El Salvador. She worked as a housekeeper and baby sitter and was a member of several church groups. Ramos was married and had a seven-year-old son
» Lori Lewis-Rivera, 25, was from a small town in Idaho and had recently moved to the area. She was married with a 3-year-old daughter.
» Pascal Charlot, 72, was a retired carpenter who emigrated to the U.S. from Haiti. His wife, who was diagnosed with dementia shortly before his death, survives him.
» Iran Brown, 13, was the youngest victim of the Beltway Sniper. He was shot in the abdomen front of Benjamin Tasker Middle School and survived. Doctors had to remove his spleen and parts of his stomach, and pancreas.
» Caroline Seawell, 43, survived the shooting and has since moved to South Carolina and lives with her husband and two children.
» Dean Meyers, 53, was a Vietnam Veteran and civil engineer from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He was the second of four children.
» Kenneth Bridges, 53, was from Philadelphia and in town on a business trip. He was the cofounder of a marketing distribution firm. He was married and had six children.
» Linda Franklin, 47, originally from Gainesville, Florida, was working as an FBI analyst and living Arlington. She was a cancer survivor.
» Jeffrey Hopper, 37, He survived the shot to his abdomen that tore through most of his organs. He had been traveling through the state from Melbourne, Florida.
» Conrad Johnson, 35, was a bus driver and a 10-year Montgomery county employee. He had a wife and two sons.
He and his wife have already accepted an invitation to Muhammad's execution -- whenever it is.
Paul LaRuffa will not be at Muhammad's execution.
"I was asked years ago if I would go, but I said when the day comes I was just not gonna be there," he said.
LaRuffa was officially the first victim of Muhammad and his teenage friend, Lee Boyd Malvo, when Malvo shot LaRuffa five times and snatched thousands in cash that would underwrite their gruesome spree.
LaRuffa says Muhammad no longer troubles his sleep.
"Once you know who did it -- and you know they're caught -- that goes a long way to helping your nightmares go away," LaRuffa said.
But LaRuffa said he would like a chance to sit down with Malvo.
"Frankly, I'm thinking about asking permission to go to talk to him," LaRuffa said. "If he agrees to it I'm gonna go just to clear up some questions I have and how he got involved ... I've been thinking about it literally for a couple of years."
