CAMDEN — BOSTON (AP) — His life on the line, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went on trial today in the Boston Marathon bombing, with prosecutors saying he used a backpack to plant a bomb designed to “tear people apart and create a bloody spectacle.”
A shaggy-haired Tsarnaev, 21, stared straight ahead and did not look at either the jury or Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb as the prosecutor launched into his opening statement in the nation’s most closely watched terrorism trial since the Oklahoma City bombing more than 20 years ago.
About two dozen victims of the Boston attack took up the entire left-hand side the courtroom.
Weinreb said Tsarnaev carried a bomb in a backpack, and it was “the type of bombs favored by terrorists because it’s designed to tear people apart and create a bloody spectacle.”
Sketching out the horrific scene on the streets after the two pressure-cooker bombs exploded, Weinreb said: “The air was filled with the smell of burning sulfur and people’s screams.”
Three people were killed and more than 260 hurt when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line seconds apart on April 15, 2013.
Just before the jury was brought in, the judge rejected a fourth request from Tsarnaev’s lawyers to move the trial out of Boston.
Two dramatically different portraits of the former college student are expected to emerge during the trial.
Was he a submissive, adoring younger brother who only followed directions given by his older, radicalized brother? Or was he a willing, active participant in the attacks?
Among the victims in the courtroom was Heather Abbott, who lost a leg in the attack. None of the victims came in on crutches or in wheelchairs; all appeared to walk under their own power.