Sniper murder suspects charged

John Allen Mohammad and his teenage accomplice, John Lee Malvo, have each been charged with six murders.

Officials say they intend to seek the death penalty.

FBI agents in Michigan on Saturday arrested a third man in connection with the attacks.

Nathaniel Osbourne, who is the co-owner of the car in which the two suspects were arrested, is said to be a material witness in the case.

Ten people were killed by sniper fire in the Washington area over a three-week period, and federal and state authorities in Maryland and Virginia, as well as in Washington DC itself, had been wrangling over which had the strongest evidence to lay charges.

The southern state of Alabama has also filed murder charges against the sniper suspects over the killing of a woman during a robbery last month in the city of Montgomery.

'Best chance'

After discussion between officials from seven different legal jurisdictions, it was agreed that Montgomery County in Maryland - where the majority of the killings occurred - should be the first to bring charges.

"Because these murders or shootings took place in a short span of time - four within a two-and-a-half hour time frame - and because they happened in such close proximity, we are able to present the best and most extensive evidence here in Montgomery County," said prosecutor Douglas Gansler.

"These two men terrorised and instilled fear into the very marrow of our communities," he said.

John Allen Muhammad, 41, a convert to Islam and a Gulf War veteran, was charged under the name of John Allen Williams.

He had earlier appeared in federal court on an unrelated firearms charge, on which he was first detained.

Mr Malvo, who travelled with him, is a Jamaican citizen and has been described as his stepson.

According to law enforcement officials, Mr Muhammad had a relationship with Mr Malvo's mother.

Death penalty issue

Officials in Maryland, Virginia and Alabama have all indicated that they would seek the death penalty if the two men are found guilty.

"Clearly this is a case where I believe that the death penalty is appropriate," said Virginia Governor Mark Warner.

In Maryland, there is currently a moratorium on executions, but Virginia comes second only to Texas in the US death sentence statistics.

Although a juvenile, Mr Malvo could face the death penalty if tried in Virginia, as the minimum age for execution there is 16. However, he could not be executed in Maryland.

Mr Gansler said Mr Malvo's age had yet to be finally determined, as he had been in the country illegally.

The BBC's Rob Watson in Washington says that other trials could follow in other states if the two men are found guilty in Maryland, but escape the death penalty there.

Washington relief

The two men were captured at a Maryland rest stop early on Thursday morning. Police found them asleep in their car.

Washington area police had received a call from one of the suspects taking responsibility for both a shooting in Alabama in September and the sniper attacks that brought terror to the Washington DC area for three weeks.

Evidence from the Alabama robbery enabled the police to identify the men and their car.

Ballistics tests have matched a rifle found in the vehicle with the weapon used in the attacks, the FBI has said.

Life is getting back to normal for local residents, for whom everyday tasks like going shopping or taking children to school had become filled with fear.

"We are deeply grateful that this ordeal is over," said Daniel Domenech, the school superintendent in Fairfax County, Virginia.

"All of us are breathing a collective sigh of relief," said Jerry Weast, his counterpart in Montgomery County.