Death Penalty Phase of Tsarnaev Trial to Begin on April 21

Photo: WHDH

After 11 hours of deliberation, the jury found Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty of helping to orchestrate and carry out the blasts that killed three people and wounded another 260 people on April 15, 2013.

Tsarnaev is guilty on counts 1-30, which is all counts. Tsarnaev reportedly did not react when the 30 guilty verdicts were read.

The verdict means that the case now goes to the death penalty phase. The penalty phase will start on Tuesday, April 21.

Boston Marathon bombing survivors, including those who were in the courtroom when the verdict was read, spoke of being relieved that the verdict was guilty on all counts.

“Nothing can ever replace the lives that were lost or changed forever, but at least there is some relief in knowing that justice is served and responsibility will be taken,” said Heather Abbott, who lost a leg in the bombings.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced that he is “thankful that this phase of the trial has come to an end” Wednesday afternoon.

“I hope today’s verdict provides a small amount of closure for the survivors, families and all impacted by the violent and tragic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon,” he said. “The incidents of those days have forever left a mark on our city. As we remember those who lost so much, we reflect on how tragedy revealed our deepest values, and the best of who we are as a community.”

“At the scene of the Marathon bombings, I saw firsthand the aftermath of terrible suffering and the beginning of an incredibly meticulous investigation,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “Today’s verdicts reflect both: almost 100 separate findings by a jury that convicted on all counts. For the families of Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and Sean Collier, I can only hope this brings some sense of satisfaction that justice has finally been done.”

Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, placed the explosives that killed three people and injured more than 260 people on Patriots’ Day 2013.

The trial, which started on March 4 after a lengthy jury selection process, included defense attorney Judy Clarke admitting to the jury that her client was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings. The decision was integral in the Tsarnaev team’s aim to save him from the death penalty.

>>>Click here to read a Patch recap of the trial

Here is a look back at the trial.

Beginning of March

• Survivors of the attack, such as Heather Abbott and Marc Fucarile, sat quietly in court during the proceedings on opening day. Abbott and Fucarile both lost a leg in the bombing. The parents of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old who was killed in one of the blasts, were also present in the courtroom. Jurors saw videos of the traumatic scene of the bombs going off at the Boston Marathon finish line and the chaotic aftermath of the blasts.
• Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb said Tsarnaev “believed the United States government is the enemy of Muslim people.”
• Rebekah Gregory, who lost a leg in the bombings, testified against Tsarnaev and released a letter she wrote to him, calling him a coward.

An excerpt from Gregory’s letter:

You did take a part of me. Congratulations you now have a leg up-literally. But in so many ways, you saved my life. Because now, I am so much more appreciative of every new day I am given.

• Graphic photos of the three bombing victims who were killed at the finish line were shown to jurors, as was the murder of MIT’s Officer Sean Collier in Watertown, who was shot by the Tsarnaev brothers in the days after the bombings.

Middle of March

• Jurors saw a compilation of video surveillance images that showed the Tsarnaev brothers maneuvering through Boylston Street before, during and after the blasts.
• The note written by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev while he was hiding from police on a Watertown boat days after the attack was shown in court.
• Jurors watched surveillance video of what prosecutors say is the Tsarnaev brothers approaching Collier’s cruiser before he was shot to death. Two bloodied white gloves found inside Tamerlan’s car matched Collier’s DNA profile.
• Surveillance footage of Dun Meng escaping the bombers was shown to jurors. Meng, victim of a carjacking by the Tsarnaev pair, testified that Tamerlan had jumped into his car, pointed a gun at his head and told him to drive. Meng said Dzhokhar took his bank card and demanded his PIN number before withdrawing $800 from a Watertown ATM.

>>>Watch the Dun Meng surveillance footage here

Late-March

• Prosecutors rested their case on March 30 after jurors, many weeping, saw the ripped clothing of Martin Richard the day of the bombing.
• The defense rested its case on Tuesday, March 31.

More Boston Marathon trial coverage on Patch:

• Recapping the Boston Marathon Bombing Trial
• Boston Marathon Trial: Death of Little Boy Recounted in Chilling Detail
• Watch: Gripping Video of Carjacked Victim’s Escape from Boston Marathon Bombers
• Shades of Infamous Child Killer Case Hang Over Tsarnaev Trial
• Boston Marathon Bomber Trial Begins, Defense Attorney: ‘It Was Him’
• Alleged Boston Marathon Bomber’s Widow Could Face Criminal Charges
• Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect’s Lawyers Seek Indictment Dismissal
• Tsarnaev Lawyers: Delay Trial Over Paris Attacks
• Death Penalty Complicates Boston Bomber Trial