What's more, we've uncov- ered shocking links between the gunmen and Al Qaeda — and discovered the secret money pipeline that allowed Muhammad to fly to Canada, the Caribbean and around the country meeting with fellow Islamic fanatics.
Shockingly, 17-year-oldMalvo himself nearly became a vic- tim of Muhammad as their bizarre relationship turned abusive and the frightened teenager wrote to a young ac- quaintance, "I'm afraid that John is going to kill me."
The ENQUIRER'S also learned the two bloodthirsty maniacs may have signed their own death warrants by leaving behind a laptop com- puter and possibly other writings that spell out their activities in shocking detail
l "They told people they were father and son, but in- vestigators have found out the two men were really lovers," declared an insider familiar with the case. Muhammad became close to Malvo when he visited Antigua two years ago — and they quickly formed a close bond that outraged Malvo's mother Una.
"She said Muhammad was brainwashing the boy into being his slave and she thought there was a sexual relationship between her son and Muhammad," divulged a family friend. She turned out to be correct.
Muhammad fled with the boy to Bellingham, Wash., where they moved into the Lighthouse Mission for the homeless. The older man stunned others in the mission by acting wildly possessive of he teenager.
A pal, who exercised with the pair at a local YMCA, said it was "a gay relation- ship."
And he made this shocking disclosure: "Muhammad put his arms around Malvo and seen kissing him on several occasions.
"There were quite a few gay guys at the YMCA and if any of them looked at Malvo, Muhammad would get furi- ous. He often felt the young man's muscles after a work- out and said Malvo was his pride and joy.
"He told the young man, Allah is going to be proud of you. You must be strong to do his work.'
"The kid was totally in Muhammad's power." The pal, who requested anonymity because he is fearful of revenge by Islamic extremists, divulged, "Muhammad hated America. He had links to Al Qaeda and wanted to terrorize America."
A top federal law enforce- ment officer revealed that authorities are investigating the gay relationship between the two men and a shocking connection with foreign ter- rorists "in Canada, Seattle and two other cities. "Muhammad did quite a bit of traveling and always seemed to be able to get mon- ey. We are checking banking records of individuals and groups suspected of terrorist activity not only inEuropebut also in Canada and in the Caribbean.
"Muhammad had contact with a mosque in Northern Virginia that was also fre- quented by at least two of the terrorists who crashed into the World Trade Center. While not being part of an or- ganized group of terrorists, Muhammad would be the kind they use."
John Muhammad was not always a twisted, driven man, but his world began spinning out of control after his second wife Mildred hit him with a di- vorce action in December 1999. He fled with their three children to Antigua in March 2000. but he returned to the states about three months lat- er. The authorities were able to return the children to their mom in September 2001. Alone and lonely, Muham- mad — who sources say enjoyed the company of youngsters — turned to Mal- vo for comfort and began introducing him as his stepson.
"When Muhammad's wife regained custody of their three children, Muhammad's latent homosexuality was triggered," said Dr. Andrew Hodges, a leading forensic psychiatrist and expert on se- rial killers.
The twice-divorced failure in love and business suffered from a crushed ego and he buUt himself up by dominat- ing Malvo, teaching him his sharp-shooting skills and us- ing the teen to help lash out in anger at the world, say psy- chiatrists. "In his fury, Muhammad became the powerful man with the gun" explained Dr. Hodges.
In his warped mind, said the expert, "Muhammad was striking out at his wife." Dr. Carole Lieberman, a noted Beveriy Hills psy- chiatrist who has studied Muhammad's background, added, "His notes and calls to police show Muhammad has an obsession with control. The card on which he wrote'I i am God' and the attempt to \ make police say'like a duck in i a noose' are both attempts to ' control the behavior of others. "But as he sought more ; control over women, he re- peatedly drove them away.
Finally Muhammad solved this problem by getting a partner — Malvo — who was much younger and complete- ly dependent on him." His ultimate act of control, triggered by his newgay relationship, was to snuff out the lives of other people. This past August Muham- mad and Malvo traveled to Baton Rouge, where relatives had raised Muhammad after his mother died when he was 3 and his father disappeared from his life.
They stayed briefly at the '-lome of Muhammad's first cousin Chariene Anderson - where, The ENQUIRER learned, Muhammad and his so-called stepson shared a double bed. Relatives noticed that Muhammad, 41, had under- gone a strange change. The ex-Army sergeant baffled his relatives with a claim he was on a military undercov- er mission. In a green duffel bag, never far from his side, he kept a rifle.
Authorities are looking into the possibility the snipers had accomplices, and Chariene revealed that two mysterious men called for Muhammad while he was staying with her and left their phone numbers for him. During his stay, John asked Chariene if she knew : where he could get bullets for his rifle. She couldn't help • him, but The ENQUIRER las discovered where Muhammad finally did find his deadly ammunition.
"John bought four boxes of .223s (the caliber used in the sniper attacks) at a store on Hooper Road," disclosed a source close to the family. "He said he needed them for some undercover narcotics investigation."
Muhammad's treatment of Malvo concerned his rela- tives. He dominated the younger man and kept him Ei meager diet of crackers honey. "At one point, my band gave him some noked salmon and he ate it but not in the presence Muhammad," disclosed Sheila Tezano, sister of Muhammad's first wife Carol. After his visit with relatives Muhammad bought bus tickets for Washington state.
" At Bellingham's Lighthouse Mission for the homeless, about 100 miles north of Tacoma, John Alien Muhammad and John Lee Malvo were m frightening figures. The shelter's executive director, the Rev. Al Archer, eventually concluded that Muhammad was a dangerous man linked to Islamic ex- tremists and more than a year ago unsuccessfully tried to get the FBI to share his concern.
Fellow residents won- dered why Muhammad's wallet often bulged with $100 bills, and how he man- aged to make expensive trips all over America. Sometimes he flew to Antigua where he kept a savings account. It was weird to have airline reservation clerks contacting a homeless shelter to book one of the men.
Muhammad hawked a Black Muslim newspaper, The Final Call," on the streets and distributed radi- cal pro-Islamic pamphlets. He also made visits to Seattle to meet with fellow Muslim extremists who are being investigated by the FBI as possible terrorists, divulged sources.
But despite the fanatic's outwardly impoverished ap- pearance and no obvious means of support, his cousin Edward Holiday told The ENQUIRER that on an earli- er visit to Baton Rouge in the beginning of the year, Muhammad was boasting of Owning a Jaguar and three homes. What's more, during the three months he lived with his three children in An- tigua, he was able to keep them in private school, sources told The ENQUIRER. And the ushmaster rifle he used in his horrifying crime cost a hefty $1,000.
Muhammad hypocritically sought religious help from Lighthouse Mission clergy tbu later told his workout paI, "I'm pulling the wool over their eyes, making fools of them. They have no idea about me." It the Lighthouse Mis- sion, Rev. James Mitton told The ENQUIRER: "It was all extremely strange behavior for a homeless man. It's what finally made Rev. Archer (the executive di- rector) deeply suspicious about John Muhammad."
Disclosed Rev. Archer: "After I got to know Muhammad better, I sus- pected him of being part of a terrorist organization. "I called the FBI in Octo- ber 2001 but tragically they didn't listen to me."
His colleague Rev. Mitton elaborated further to The ENQUIRER: "Muhammad supposedly didn't have any money, yet he could fly to the Caribbean. "He would go to California. He would say he needed to go somewhere on the East Coast — and he had the money to do it. "Muhammad never had a job that we knew about — that was part of what threw up a red flag. He was apparently getting money from an outside source."
While Muhammad and Malvo lived in Bellingham, the young man's mother Una pur- sued them to try to get her son back, but Muhammad threatened and beat her into silence, say sources. She finally sought sanctuary in a shelter for battered women, the Agape Christian Women's & Chil- dren's Home.
Muhammad even turn- ed on Malvo before the infamous killing spree began. The ENQUIRER learned exclusively that the young man wrote to a young female relative of Muhammad who had befriended him in Baton Rouge. Disclosed a source in Louisiana: "The young woman got a letter that was a cry for help from John Lee Malvo.
"He wrote, 'I'm afraid of John and I'm afraid that John is going to kill me.' "By that time, no one knew where John was or how to get in touch with him." But now, The ENQUIRER has learned, the bizarre relationship, the pair's secret contacts, the money pipeline and much more will likely ex- plode into the open because of the laptop computer and other information discov- ered by cops.
The computer was found in the pair's Chevrolet Caprice, from which they launched their terror campaign, and contains a diary of their brutal attack on innocent Americans, say insiders. "That laptop is real key," a senior law enforcement offi- cial told The ENQUIRER. "It's how we are going to get into their heads. "We're also looking at a mosque in Falls Church, Va., for leads to map out a net- work that may lead us right to Al Qaeda's doorstep. There's an active cell in Northern Virginia that Muhammad may well have hooked up with. And Muhammad's ties to Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam are also important."
The ENQUIRER has also learned that the FBI is close- ly investigating the activities of a violent Muslim group operating in the U.S. called Jamaat ul-Fuqra.
"We want to find the links between Muhammad and this group," said the official. Felix Strozier, a former friend of Muhammad and his partner in a karate school, knew him better than almost anyone. He concluded: "He was an angry man who wanted to spread terror through the country.
"Somebody was pulling his strings. He was very mys- terious about his links to local Muslim groups.
"Muhammad always sur- rounded himself with kids, which also made me sus- picious. He seemed to be unusually attentive to young boys. And I was always suspicious of his relationship with young Malvo. They were always whispering to each other and giggling together.
"The relationship just didn't seem healthy."
Screwy Louie and Al Qaeda -- not surprising.
Perhaps by walking into a local WalMart, K-Mart, or a major sporting goods store, such as Academy?
I wish they would make up their minds! Are homosexuals BORN that way or not?! "Latent homosexuality"? How do psychiatrists who have NEVER even spoken to someone KNOW anything about the person?