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      *Cheryll Witz was shopping for a birthday cake at Costco in Tuscon, Ariz. when she received a call on her cell phone from Lee Boyd Malvo, the man serving a life sentence for killing her father in a murder spree five years ago, reports the Associated Press.

       "I need to apologize for what I've done to you and your family," Malvo told her during the call, which took place on Sept. 20.

       In March 2002, the then 17-year-old Malvo shot and killed Witz's father, Jerry Taylor, as he practiced chip shots on a golf-course practice green.       

       Witz said Malvo broke down at times during the conversation.      

       "The first thing he said was, 'I tried to write a letter to you but I couldn't. I didn't know what to say,"' Witz told AP.      

       In the past, Witz has attempted to learn more details about her father's death, and even wrote to Malvo in prison urging him to divulge what he knew. For personal reasons, she was unwilling to discuss all the details of the call, particularly those surrounding the exact circumstances of her father's shooting.

       Taylor's murder preceded the killing spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area, in which the teenage Malvo and partner John Allen Muhammad killed 10 people and wounded three others over a three-week span that began Oct. 2, 2002.      

       "I was standing in the Costco bawling my eyes out," Witz said of the phone call, which was placed to her through a third party. Malvo had initially called a producer at ABC News, who then used three-way calling to connect Malvo to Witz after she agreed to take the call.        

       According to Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor, such three-way calling violates rules of the prison. He would not comment on Malvo's specific phone calls or whether he has called any other victims. A network spokesperson said the producer was unaware that three-way calls were prohibited, and would not have connected the two had she known of the rule.      

       Witz's feelings toward Malvo remain conflicted. She is still angry but said it was important to her to hear his apology directly. She hopes Malvo will follow through on a promise he made during the call to write to her.      

       "I told him that I was glad he didn't get the death penalty. I told him, 'You need to think about what you've done,"' Witz said. "He said, 'The Lee then and Lee now are two different people.'"