Friday, December 19, 2014
Associated Press
BOSTON
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev returned to court Thursday for the first time since he was arraigned in July 2013, and he received a shout of encouragement from the mother-in-law of a man who was shot and killed while being questioned by law enforcement after the bombings.
Security was tight at the federal courthouse in Boston for Tsarnaev’s final pretrial conference. Tensions ran high, and one bombing victim had a testy exchange with protesters outside.
During the brief court hearing, U.S. District Court George O’Toole Jr. made no rulings, saying he would rule in writing on pending motions, including the defense’s latest push to move the trial out of Boston.
David Bruck, one of Tsarnaev’s lawyers, told the judge that the defense plans to file a motion to delay the trial, which is now scheduled to begin Jan. 5 with jury selection. Bruck did not say how long of a delay the defense will seek.
At one point, the mother-in-law of Ibragim Todashev called out to Tsarnaev in Russian in the courtroom. Elena Teyer said she told him: “We pray for you. Be strong, my son. We know you are innocent.”
Later, in English, she yelled to the law-enforcement officers escorting her out of the room: “Stop killing innocent people. Stop killing innocent boys.”
Tsarnaev never flinched or acknowledged the shouts.
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 2013 marathon. Tsarnaev, who has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges, faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted.