A government source says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told investigators that his late brother was the mastermind of the Boston Marathon terror attack, and they acted alone without any prompting or help from an outside terrorist group. According to the teen, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev felt jihadists needed to fight for Islam. Investigators are checking in to his statements.
Dzhokhar, 19, remains hospitalized under heavy guard at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital for treatment of a throat wound and a gunshot wound to the leg. He was captured in Watertown Friday night following a day-long manhunt that shutdown Boston and surrounding areas. Tamerlan was killed early Friday morning during a confrontation with police.
Dzhokhar was charged Monday with one count of using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property resulting in death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. "Although our investigation is ongoing, today's charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
The teen will be tried in a civilian court, not by a military tribunal as an enemy combatant. White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that U.S. law prohibits citizens from being tried by military tribunals. Tsarnaev, a Chechen native, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. "We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice. Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions," Carney said Monday.
Three people died and more than 170 others were wounded in the Boston Marathon bombings last week. One of the victims, 8-year-old Martin Richard, was laid to rest today.
"The outpouring of love and support over the last week has been tremendous. This has been the most difficult week of our lives and we appreciate that our friends and family have given us space to grieve and heal,” Martin’s parents Denise and Bill Richard said in a statement. "A private Funeral Mass was celebrated this morning with immediate family. We laid our son Martin to rest, and he is now at peace. We plan to have a public memorial service in the coming weeks to allow friends and loved ones from our community to join us for a celebration of Martin's life.”
Denise and Martin's 7-year-old sister Jane were both seriously wounded in the attack.
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