Russell Retains NY Criminal Defense Lawyer

Katherine Russell, widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the two men accused of setting off two bombings at the Boston Marathon, has added New York defense lawyer Joshua Dratel to her legal team, according Amato DeLuca, her lawyer in Rhode Island.

“Mr. Dratel’s unique, specialized experience will help ensure that Katie can assist in the ongoing investigation in the most constructive way possible,” said Deluca, of the Providence firm DeLuca & Weizenbaum. 

Russell, who grew up in North Kingstown and living here again with her young daughter, has not been accused of any crime. She is cooperating with FBI officials, according to DeLuca, as they continue to investigate the bombings April 15 that killed three people and left 260 wounded.

"Katie plans to continue to meet with investigators, part of a series of meetings over many hours where she has answered questions," DeLuca said Wednesday.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a gun battle with police the night of April 18, just hours after photos of him and his brother, Dzhokhar, from the day of the bombings were released. Dzhokhar was later captured in a backyard in Watertown, Mass., hiding in a dry-docked boat.

Russell, 24, and her daughter, 2 1/2, had been living in Cambridge with Tsarnaev, but moved back in with her mother at the family home on Coriander Lane in the Quidnessett neighborhood. She also dropped the use of the Tsarnaev name and turned over her husband's body to his relatives. (That body has since been buried, according to police in Worchester, where the funeral home handling the body is located.)

Joshua Dratel has represented several terrorism suspects in federal courts and military commissions, including David Hicks, a Guantanamo Bay detainee who attended an al-Qaida-linked training camp in Afghanistan, the Providence Journal reported.

DeLuca has said Russell was shocked to learn of her husband’s alleged involvement in the bombings, and that she knew or suspected nothing about it. He said she has been working 70 to 80 hours a week as a home health aide in the Boston area.

Here are links to other stories on Patch about Katherine Russell:

NYT: Katherine Russell Went From 'Social Butterfly' To Alleged Bomber's Wife

Glare Of National Spotlight Captures North Kingstown

NK Woman Says Husband's Part In Bombings An 'Absolute Shock'

FBI Visits NK Home Of Bomber's Widow