Sniper had me in his sights

The ex-wife of serial sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad today claimed he carried out his killing spree with the intention of making her his final victim.

"They all died because of me," sobbed Mildred Muhammad of the 14 who died in the 21 separate attacks linked to Muhammad, 41, and his cosuspect, 17-year-old John Lee Malvo.

The Muhammads had a bitter divorce two years ago in which Ms Muhammad, 42, won custody of the couple's three children, now aged 12, 10 and nine. She claimed her ex-husband had threatened to kill her, and said she believes the sniper deaths were part of a bizarre plot in which she would be the ultimate target - so he could get custody of the children.

She spoke on the day Muhammad made his first court appearance in Manassas, Virginia, charged with killing Dean Meyers, 53, who was shot there on 9 October while filling his car at a petrol station.

Malvo was due to appear before a juvenile court today, though prosecutors say they will seek to have him dealt with as an adult. He is due to face the charge of killing FBI analyst Linda Franklin on 14 October outside a shopping centre.

A new anti-terrorism law passed after 11 September means both Muhammad and Malvo could get the death penalty, without prosecutors having to prove which pulled the trigger.

Ms Muhammad said the intention to target her was why her ex-husband and Malvo came to the Washington area, where most of the 21 attacks occurred. "I'm sure he had me in his scope," she said from the safe house where she is living. "This was an elaborate plan to make this look like I was a victim so he could come in as the grieving father and take the children."

She said she feels sorry for Malvo, whom she has never met but is convinced would have been controlled by Muhammad. "His life was over from the time he said, 'Hi John'," she said. "He just didn't know it."

During the attacks, she said she had feared they could be the work of her ex-husband but dismissed the idea. "I felt he was only coming after me, so why would he kill anybody else?"

Now when she looks back at the sniper's trail, she sees messages she thinks may have been meant for her. Many victims were hit near branches of her favourite craft store. And she views the sniper's warning contained in a letter left near a shooting scene - "Your children are not safe anywhere at any time" - as meant for her.

She said she has spent the years since she parted from Muhammad scanning her surroundings, expecting to see him with a gun trained upon her. FBI agents took her and her family into protective custody two weeks ago, as they prepared to release Muhammad's name to the world.