Recapping the Boston Marathon Bombing Trial

Photo: WHDH

The Boston Marathon bombing trial has resulted in daily reminders of the horrific tragedy’s magnitude, and the upcoming two-year anniversary of the April 15 blasts are a contributing factor as well, but solace can be found in knowing that what was anticipated to be a lengthy trial is progressing at a rather steady pace.

Prosecution in the trial rested its case on March 30 and defense followed suit a day later.

The April 15, 2013 nightmare, casting a macabre shadow over all of Greater Boston, resulted in the death of three people and the injury of more than 260 others. 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces 30 charges, including 17 that could bring him the death penalty.

Below is a recap of what took place in the courtroom dating back to the trial’s March 4 start date:

**Jury selection, a two-month long process, was the sluggish part of the trial. A panel of 18 people, eight men and 10 women, was seated on March 3.**

Early March

• Judy Clarke, the defense attorney of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, admitted 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.
• People injured in the attack, such as dancer Heather Abbott and Marc Fucarile, sat quietly in court during the proceedings on opening day. Abbott and Fucarile both lost a leg in the blast. The parents of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old who bled to death due to the bomb’s impact, 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 21-year-old 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, citing him as 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. The death of MIT’s Officer Sean Collier in Watertown, who was shot by the Tsarnaev brothers in the days after the bombings, was also recounted.

Mid-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 on a Watertown boat was shown in court.
• Jurors watched surveillance video of what prosecutors say is the Tsarnaev brothers approaching the cruiser of late MIT Police Officer Sean Collier 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 says 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 garb worn by Martin Richard the day of the bombing.
• The defense rested its case on Tuesday, March 31.

Closing statements in the case have been postponed until Monday, April 6.

More Boston Marathon trial coverage on Patch:

• 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