In the late hours of a September night in Atlanta, Georgia, the life of Million A. Woldemariam was tragically cut short. On September 21, 2002, the 41-year-old Ethiopian man was assisting the owner of Sammy's Package Store with closing for the evening. At approximately 12:15 a.m., he was fatally shot in the head and back with a. 22-caliber pistol. Woldemariam was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into his death would uncover a chilling connection to a larger, terrifying
series of events. Ballistics evidence linked the handgun used in Woldemariam's murder to the infamous D.C. sniper attacks that had been terrorizing the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. This breakthrough identified Woldemariam as the eighth victim of the spree of violence carried out by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo.
The two men were eventually apprehended, bringing an end to the string of sniper-style shootings. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo faced multiple charges for their crimes. Muhammad was ultimately sentenced to death and was executed on November 10, 2009. Malvo, who was a juvenile at the time of the attacks, received multiple life sentences.
