Profile: John Allen Muhammad

John Allen Muhammad, who has been convicted of seven murders in a string of sniper killings in 2002 around Washington DC, was known as John Allen Williams before he converted to Islam some years ago.

[Muhammad and Malvo] were kind of a weird pair, always keeping very much to themselves Cafe owner in Bellingham

At 6ft 1in tall and about 180 pounds, 42-year-old Mr Muhammad is an ex-US soldier who served in the Gulf War.

The US Defence Department said he was an "expert" marksman who had won awards for his rifle skills.

He was stationed at Fort Lewis, just south of Tacoma, Washington State, which offers an intensive sniper training programme.

Mr Muhammad was arrested in October 2002 with Lee Boyd Malvo, a 17-year-old Jamaican citizen.

Gunshots at night

Mr Muhammad is thought to have lived in Tacoma with Mr Malvo.

John Allen Muhammad served in the Gulf War

Reports say the pair were very close, with Mr Muhammad referring to the teenager as his son and the teenager calling Mr Muhammad his father.

Neighbours reportedly said they often heard guns being fired in the garden at night.

Police tore up the front garden of the Tacoma house, possibly looking for bullets and metal fragments, and took away a tree stump used for target practice.

The pair are also believed to have lived in Bellingham, Washington State.

Mark Wendover, assistant manager of the Stuart coffee house in Bellingham, said the two men would often spend hours playing chess.

"They were kind of a weird pair, always keeping very much to themselves and never talking to others," he said.

'Outgoing'

Mr Muhammad is the father of four children who has been married at least twice. He has been through bitter legal battles for custody of his children.

Mr Muhammad divorced Carol Williams, his first wife and mother of his first son, 18 years ago.

Interviewed by the Seattle Times, she said she last saw him in August 2002 - the first time for eight years.

She described him as outgoing with "a good sense of humour".

She said: "He wasn't a quiet type. He liked to talk, he liked to mingle with people."

She said he was not a violent man. A court, however, had awarded one of his ex-wives a permanent restraining order after he allegedly threatened to kill her.