Lawyer for Boston Marathon bomb suspect: 'It was him'

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[h=4]Lawyer for Boston Marathon bomb suspect: 'It was him'[/h]BOSTON – Spectators began lining up at 5 a.m. outside Boston's federal court Wednesday as the entire city awaited opening statements in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Marissa

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Here are the facts in the case against Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.


Police secure the entrance to the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse during the first day of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial on March 4, 2015, in Boston.(Photo: Scott Eisen, Getty Images)


BOSTON — Almost two years after twin bombings rocked the Boston Marathon, this city and the nation, the trial of suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev opened Wednesday with his lawyer admitting "It was him."
Defense lawyer Judy Clarke pleaded with a federal jury to approach the case with an open mind -- and suggested Tsarnaev's brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind of the April 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260.
The trial began with opening statements from both sides in a courtroom packed with victims, family members, media and members of the public. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb went first, quickly describing a gory scene of carnage, perpetrated by a cowardly bomber who targeted a group of children when twin blasts rocked a crowded street near the finish line.
"The defendant's goal that day was to maim and kill as many victims as possible," Weinreb said. "He believed that he was a soldier in a holy war against Americans. He believed he had taken a step toward reaching paradise. That was his motive for committing these crimes."
Weinreb added that Tsarnaev, 21, "believed the United States government is the enemy of Muslim people."
Tsarnaev faces 30 charges in connection with blasts. He is also charged in the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer days after the bombings.
Seventeen of the counts carry the death penalty.
Tsarnaev is accused of conspiring with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed four days after the blasts as the brothers fled police. Hours after his brother's death, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found wounded and hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown, about 10 miles west of Boston.
Clarke acknowledged her client was involved in the "senseless, horribly misguided acts carried out by two brothers — 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev."
Tamerlan Tsarnaev became obsessed with Islamic extremism, Clarke said. He traveled to Russia and explored violent jihad there for six months. Clarke said Tamerlan had a special kind of influence on his brother "dictated by his age, their culture and Tamerlan's sheer force of personality."
"It was Tamerlan Tsarnaev who self-radicalized," Clarke said. "It was Dzhokhar who followed."
Before opening statements began, however, Judge George O'Toole ruled that Tsarnaev's legal team generally won't be permitted to focus on Tamerlan's influence. Twice he cut off Clarke when she pressed the issue with the jury.
Clarke acknowledged that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, then 19, wrote the words found scrawled in pencil in the boat where he was captured. But she rejected claims by prosecutors that it was her client's "manifesto."
"He wrote words that he had read and heard: that the U.S. was responsible for the suffering of Muslims," Clarke said.
Weinreb made clear that video evidence will be key in the trial. He said surveillance video from The Forum restaurant, near where the second bomb went off, will show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev approach with a backpack, drop his shoulder and leave the scene — full of children — without his backpack.
Tsarnaev walked to a safe distance after the first bomb went off, Weinreb said, and remotely detonated the pressure cooker bomb hidden in the backpack.
Clarke acknowledged that her client dropped the backpack outside The Forum and later hid in a boat in Watertown: "It was him," Clarke said, referring to her client.
The reason why he dropped the backpack, she said, is "where we disagree" with prosecutors.
Weinreb said other video from MIT allegedly shows Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev approaching the cruiser of Sean Collier, the MIT security officer who was killed during the marathon bombing manhunt. The MIT video didn't capture the actual shooting, but forensic evidence will prove Tsarnaev guilty, Weinreb said.
The first witness to take the stand was Thomas Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, which has organized the Boston Marathon since inception in 1897.
Jurors viewed a silent video from the finish line. It showed runners crossing the line, then a fireball in the crowd. As smoke rose, police in fluorescent jackets ran onto the course.
Grilk said injured spectators were brought into a medical tent, which was quickly filled with victims.
"Everyone who entered that tent alive is alive today," Grilk said. Tsarnaev did not make eye contact with Grilk during his testimony. He mostly looked down at papers in front of him.
The second witness on the stand was Shane O'Hara, manager of Marathon Sports, a running shoe retailer located on Boyston Street, just steps from the Boston Marathon finish line.
When a bomb went off, the store window's exterior pane shattered.
Store surveillance video viewed by the jury shows men grabbing apparel off hangers and rushing outside to make tourniquets and stop bleeding. An injured person is lying in the doorway.
"One of the things that haunt me is who needed help first, who was injured more than another," O'Hara said. "It was like a scene from Saving Private Ryan or Platoon – something I never thought I'd see in real life."
Weinreb asked about the sounds O'Hara heard.
"I heard a voice saying, 'Stay with me! Stay with me!,'" O'Hara said.
The trial was much anticipated here, and spectators began lining up outside the courthouse at 5 a.m. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev entered the courtroom shortly after 9 a.m., his once-shaggy beard trimmed and partially shaven. He wore an open-necked collared shirt and dark sport jacket. He smiled very slightly when greeting his attorneys. He did not look at the crowd.
Among dozens of bombing victims in the courtroom were Heather Abbott and Marc Fucarile. Neither used crutches or a wheelchair, though both lost a leg in the blast.
Security at the courthouse was exceptionally tight. Boston police closed off streets that are normally open, even during high-profile trials. A helicopter patrolled the skies, and police boats kept watch in Boston Harbor.
If the jury convicts Tsarnaev, the trial will move to a second phase to determine his punishment. The only two options available for the jury are life in prison or the death penalty.
Tsarnaev's defense lawyers tried four times to have the trial moved out of Boston, arguing that the scale of the attack was so vast that every potential juror could already know the case on a personal level. It was the largest act of terrorism in Boston's history, and its effects rippled across the region.

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALJury selection begins in Boston marathon bombing trial | 01:01Jury selection begins in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused in the 2013 bombings that killed three people and wounded 264 at the end of the Boston Marathon. Duration: 01:01
Video provided by AFP Newslook

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALPotential Boston bombing jurors face key questions | 01:02It will likely take weeks to seat an impartial jury in the Boston bombing trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBoston bombing survivors ready for Tsarnaev trial | 01:26As the trial for the accused Boston Marathon bomber is set to begin, survivor Heather Abbott says she wants to see the person who changed her life forever. Vanessa Johnston reports.
Video provided by Reuters Newslook

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALRaw: Tsarnaev's friend convicted of lying to FBI | 00:47A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Tuesday of lying during the investigation into the 2013 attack. (Oct. 28) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALMarathon Suspect's Friend Pleads Guilty | 00:52A college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded guilty Thursday to impeding the investigation by removing incriminating evidence from Tsarnaev's dorm room. Dias Kadyrbayev could face seven years in prison. (Aug. 22) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBoston Marathon bombing gun linked to Maine gang | 02:29The gun used by Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has allegedly been linked to a gang in Maine. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALFeds seek execution of marathon suspect | 00:59Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced they will seek the death penalty against 20-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombing, accusing him of carrying out a terrorist attack calculated to cause maximum carnage. (Jan. 30) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALRaw: Wife of Boston Marathon suspect in court | 00:35Katherine Russell, the widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, appeared in court Thursday to deal with motor vehicle charges filed following a traffic stop last year. (Jan. 9) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALDocuments ties marathon suspect to 2011 killings | 00:48Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was named as a participant in an earlier triple homicide by a man who was subsequently shot to death while being questioned by authorities, according to a filing by federal prosecutors. (Oct. 2 AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALFormer DA: Tsarnaev defense must shift blame | 01:40As the young man charged in the Boston Marathon attack appears in court for the first time since his arrest, a former Massachusetts prosecutor says the defense is going to have to shift blame to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's older brother. (July 10) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALRaw: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev arrives at court | 01:18Spectators gathered outside federal court to watch Dzhokhar Tsarnaev arrive for his arraignment. Survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings and family members of the victims are expected to pack the courtroom. (July 10) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALSuspect in Boston Marathon bombing Indicted | 01:23A federal grand jury on Thursday returned a 30-count indictment against 19-year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, in the Boston Marathon bombings, and many of the charges carry the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty. (June 27) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALOfficials: Tsarnaev friend linked to slaying | 01:06A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said. (May 2 AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBoston bombing suspect's friend killed by FBI | 01:22Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's friend instigated a violent confrontation with FBI during questioning that resulted in him getting shot, authorities said. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALTamerlan Tsarnaev buried in Virginia cemetery | 01:13Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in a cemetery in central Virginia, infuriating some members of the area's Islamic community who say they weren't consulted. (May 10) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALMcCaul: Tsarnaev warranted a 'second look' | 01:25The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says there was enough information about Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev for the FBI to reopen an investigation into his activities. (May 8) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALFather of new Boston bombing suspect: 'We were shocked' | 00:41The father of Kazakh student Dias Kadyrbayev, arrested for obstruction in the Boston bombing investigation, defends his son in an interview recorded last week. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIAL3 Charged in Boston Investigation | 01:05Three college friends of surviving Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev now face charges, including conspiring to destroy evidence and lying to investigators. (May 2) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALFBI: Tsarnaevs were targeting New York's Times Square | 01:42Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev planned to attack New York City after Boston, according to the FBI. Mayor Mike Bloomberg said the brothers had already built explosives for an attack on Times Square. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALTsarnaevs' mom: America took my kids away | 01:19The mother of Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev blames America for killing her older son and says she regrets moving her family to the United States. She insists her sons had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon explosions. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALOfficials: Tsarnaev read rights, stopped talking | 01:14Officials tell the AP that surviving Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev admitted his role in the bombing to the FBI, and stopped talking when he was read his Miranda rights. (April 25) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBomb suspect influenced by mysterious radical | 01:51In the years before the Boston Marathon bombings, Tamerlan Tsarnaev fell under the influence of a new friend, a Muslim convert who steered the religiously apathetic young man toward a strict strain of Islam, family members said. (April 23) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALLawyers: Bombing suspect's wife assisting probe | 01:56Lawyers for the wife of the deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect say she is doing everything she can to assist authorities. But they wouldn't say Tuesday if Katherine Tsarnaeva, widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has spoken to investigators yet. (April AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALNapolitano: US knew of Boston bomber Russia trip | 02:04Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday that her agency knew of alleged Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev's trip to Russia last year even though his name was misspelled on a travel document. (April 23) AP

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALDid terrorist websites help the Tsarnaev brothers? | 01:51The Department of Homeland Security says in 1998, there were only 12 active terrorist websites. Today, there are more than 7,000. WUSA takes a look at how easy it would have been for the Tsarnaevs to get bomb information online. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBoston bombing suspect charged from hospital bed | 00:51A court official says the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is facing federal charges and has made an initial court appearance in his hospital room. VPC

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIALBoston Marathon bombing suspect is charged | 01:26Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged by federal prosecutors in his hospital room Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill _ a crime that carries a possible death sentence. (April 22) AP





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