ArrowPictures "superb" and "nuanced and expertly researched" documentary serial I, Sniper, examining the infamous Washington DC sniper case, has its American premiere on Monday, 10 May at 10PM ET/PT on VICE TV.
The immersive, eight-episode docuseries is a gripping recount of the infamous Washington, DC sniper case, with unprecedented access to the people at the heart of the story; the surviving shooter himself opens up in a series of powerful phone calls from his supermax cell at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia and allows for an examination of the circumstances that led a teenager on the path to become a mass murderer. I, Sniper also features never-before-heard interviews with survivors, victims’ families and investigators, including the lesser-known stories of those brutally impacted by the killers prior to their arrival in Washington, DC. This is the definitive account of one of America’s most infamous crimes.
In the Fall of 2002, 17-year-old Lee Malvo and Gulf War veteran John Muhammad terrorized the Washington D.C. region with a series of random shootings from inside the trunk of a blue Chevy Caprice, killing ten people and injuring three. A little over a year after 9/11, the shocking three- week shooting spree terrified the nation.
“This ambitious project has been four years in the making” says creative director John Smithson. “In addition to securing unprecedented access to Lee Malvo, we also undertook extensive interviews with the investigators of the Washington D.C. Sniper case, the survivors and the victims’ families, so that we could view the story from all perspectives, and examine both Malvo’s childhood of deprivation in Jamaica and the murders in forensic detail. I, Sniper seeks to understand, not vindicate, and show how and why someone can become a mass murderer, even at the age of just seventeen.”
“The D.C. sniper case was one of the most terrifying crimes in recent history. I, Sniper goes beyond the story we thought we all knew and investigates what led Lee Malvo down his horrific path” says Morgan Hertzan, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE Television. “Viewers will be seized by the incredible storytelling in this series and its ability to take you through this series of events like never before. VICE TV is committed to investigating different angles and digging deeper, and this is another example of that.”
I, Sniper is an Arrow Pictures production, led by Oscar-nominated creative director John Smithson (Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours; Touching the Void). The series is produced by Mary-Jane Mitchell and the series director is Ursula Macfarlane. It is executive produced by Sam Starbuck with Janice Sutherland as director. The series is distributed by PBS International. Morgan Hertzan is Executive Vice President and General Manager, VICE Television.