Malvo Offers an Apology By Phone

An ABC News spokeswoman who declined to be identified said that Harris arranged the three-way call because Witz and Malvo had told her independently that they wanted to speak.

Red Onion is one of Virginia's most secure prisons. Inmates at the facility are allowed only two 20-minute collect calls a month, said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the prison system. Traylor said three-way calls are a violation of departmental policies, and inmates who break that rule can lose the right to make phone calls.

The ABC spokeswoman said that Harris would not have made the three-way call if she had known it violated departmental rules.

Attorney William C. Brennan, who has represented Malvo, said he was surprised that the phone call had taken place. He said that Malvo, at his urging, has declined requests from news organizations pursuing articles about the five-year anniversary of the shootings. The ABC spokeswoman said the producer told another of Malvo's attorneys that the network was seeking to contact Malvo.

In addition to the Virginia sentences, Malvo and Muhammad were each convicted last year on six counts of first-degree murder in Montgomery County.

Law enforcement sources told The Washington Post last year that Malvo told Maryland authorities in the spring of 2006 that he and Muhammad were responsible for more slayings and shootings than had been attributed to them. The list includes Taylor's slaying as well as killings in North Texas and Los Angeles.

Witz said Malvo's phone call left her with more questions than answers and has triggered nightmares in which she and her sister hide in corner of a dark room while Malvo tries to shoot them.

"I'm like really scared," she said. "I really want to forgive the child. I'm a mother. He's my kid's age."