Robert F. Horan Jr., Fairfax County’s top prosecutor for 40 years, dies at 90. Horan won convictions of sniper Lee Boyd Malvo and other high-profile defendants
Mr. Horan retired in 2007, at age 74, he was the longest serving prosecutor in Virginia history, though he was later surpassed by his friend and colleague in neighboring Prince William County, Paul B. Ebert. The annual award given to the top prosecutor in the state is named after him by the state association of commonwealth’s attorneys he helped form. When the National District Attorneys Association created a lifetime achievement award in 2003, Mr. Horan was the first recipient.
“He was the best trial lawyer I ever saw,” Ebert said Saturday, noting they had worked together on the, in which Ebert prosecuted John Allen Muhammad and Mr. Horan handled Malvo. “He wanted to do what was right. He was somewhat a typical Marine, he wanted everyone to get in line and march. And he kept a lot of stuff in his head.”, who killed at least three people in Virginia and five more in California. When Prieto’s first trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial, the then-retired Mr.
Mr. Horan was a powerful presence in the courtroom, typically sitting alone with only a notepad, no assistants or detectives next to him, delivering thundering closing arguments to juries with no notes. In the Malvo case, he told the jury, “This most reprehensible of killings should be called what it is. It is a capital killing under the terrorism statute. … Give him justice. Give him a conviction for the two capital murders that he committed.
“Bob was a person of integrity,” his wife said. “I also think he was honest with people, and he had a great sense of humor.”This article will be updated.