Sniper's kin make plans for burial in Louisiana

RICHMOND, Va. — Family members of sniper John Allen Muhammad said Wednesday that they will take his remains to the family's hometown of Baton Rouge for a funeral. On Wednesday morning they were in Richmond, where Muhammad's body had been taken to Virginia's medical examiner Tuesday night.

Muhammad, 48, was executed Tuesday for masterminding the 2002 wave of sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area that left 10 dead.

Charlene Patterson, a lawyer representing Muhammad's family, said during a brief news conference that the sniper had given the family a letter. But Patterson declined to disclose what Muhammad wrote or any other details.

In earlier letters to the court, Muhammad wrote that he was innocent and had been framed because he was black. Muhammad maintained his innocence until the end.

Muhammad's death marks the close of the criminal case in one of the nation's most notorious crimes. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.