“The lack of a family structure, a role model or some element of consistency.caused my calamity…This is a hard lesson for me,” sniper convict Lee Boyd Malvo wrote in a tear-jerking letter to Esmie McLeod, vice principal at York Castle High School, where the Jamaican teenager spent over two years before migrating to Antigua.

McLeod, still convinced that the youngster, whom she knew as a model student, had fallen prey to a monster in the form of John Allen Muhammed – earlier convicted and sentenced to death in the sniper episode – testified twice at Malvo’s trial, drawing on all her reserves to influence the jury not to recommend the death penalty.

The 12-member jury of eight women and four men deliberated for eight-and-a-half hours over two days before returning a verdict of guilty against Malvo on December 18, in charges brought against him in the October 14, 2002 killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklyn.

In the end, the eight whites and four blacks making up the jury in the Chesapeake, Virginia court room, recommended life in prison without parole for the teenager, ending the first part of an episode that may continue with Malvo facing additional murder charges.

Malvo will be formally sentenced on March 10 for his part in the three-week shooting spree that left 10 people dead in the United States in October 2002.

The sniper case was one of the biggest international news stories of 2002/2003, and the trial at different times eclipsed the intense media coverage of the United States-led war against Iraq.

McLeod was one of several Jamaicans who spoke feelingly about Malvo, most giving character references that painted a picture of a bright, pleasant boy whose main shortcoming was the love and protection of parents who were not there for him. Their testimonies prior to the verdict failed to convince the jurors that Malvo was merely a victim of Muhammad but their glowing comments, no doubt, impacted on the decision to spare the teen’s life, watchers of the case said.

McLeod left the island for the second time on December 18, the day the jury returned the guilty verdict and returned three days later.

In her account of the trial, she described for the Sunday Observer some of the reactions after Malvo was found guilty and the life sentence recommended.

The reaction of some persons on the defence side was predictable after the verdict was announced, McLeod said, and the social worker who had been counselling Malvo broke down in tears.

“She dissolved in tears…she was very tearful but still quite relieved he had not gotten the death penalty,” McLeod said, adding that those were her own sentiments. She said that the prayers of several persons were answered.

“We really, really, really asked God to hear the cry of those who were pleading for mercy even though we were saying that nevertheless Thy will be done. From a human perspective, we really wanted life and God answered that,” she stated.

McLeod said Malvo was almost expressionless during the sentencing phase as much as he had been in the initial stages of the trial and there was hardly any clue to his true feelings except the look in his eyes.

“Irrespective of what the reports said, I sensed the sadness, a searching kind of melancholy…I detected that. The eyes really did the talking, there was very little else in the expression of the facial features.

“It is not an emotional face, it is a face of a blanket stare, showing signs of sadness. It is not just a normal face deliberately saying ‘I don’t care’…” McLeod explained.

Members of the jury showed more emotion than Malvo did, she noted. While testifying it is difficult to assess how the jurors are reacting but according to McLeod, based on information, some members of the panel showed visible signs of emotion.

“What I do know is that when he was found guilty, some jurors showed visible grief. Some were saddened and they showed it openly,”

In the end, five jurors who wanted the death penalty were outnumbered by the seven who wanted life without parole.

The seven, no doubt, shared sentiments similar to that of several Americans following the case, that of an understanding of the situation.

“What I do know is that many Americans understand that if there would have been no Lee Malvo saga had there been no Muhammad and understand that the guy was totally dominated and he couldn’t even breathe by himself,” McLeod added.

She said she expects the Malvo saga to have minimal negative impact for Jamaica and this could be seen in the continuing upward trend in the tourism industry.

Malvo’s downfall might be blamed on a variety of causes including a troubled childhood, lack of proper parenting which in turn lends itself to a desperate need for love and affection and a sense of well-being but the most profound reason came from the 18 year-old himself.

In his letter to McLeod, after being charged, Malvo wrote in part: “The lack of a family structure, a role model or some element of consistency…caused my calamity…This is a hard lesson for me.”

“His desperate search for a father figure meant that he trusted Muhammad and this later led to his downfall. He started manipulating him and domineering his life so much so that he went into a depression when he realised what it was all about,” McLeod suggested.

Asked by the Sunday Observer how best she would sum up the entire Malvo saga, McLeod replied simply: “It’s a tragedy.”