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Inside WORLD Tsarnaev lawyers want evidence on triple killing
BOSTON (AP) — Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev urged a judge Wednesday to order federal prosecutors to turn over any evidence they have about his brother's participation in a 2011 triple killing or to consider postponing Tsarnaev's trial.
Tsarnaev, who has pleaded not guilty in the 2013 bombing, faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured in the explosions. Authorities say Tsarnaev, then 19, and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, detonated pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon finish line. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed several days later in a shootout with police.
During a status conference Wednesday in federal court, Tsarnaev's lawyers said prosecutors have not turned over any evidence about Tamerlan Tsarnaev's supposed role in the triple slaying since last year, when they said in court papers that Tamerlan Tsarnaev's friend told investigators of the older brother's participation.
That friend, Ibragim Todashev, was shot and killed at his Florida home while being questioned by the FBI and Massachusetts State Police. Authorities have said an FBI agent shot Todashev after he charged at a state trooper with a pole, but Todahsev's family has challenged that account.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyer William Fick told Judge George O'Toole Jr. that any evidence of Tamerlan's involvement in the triple slaying would be "extremely relevant," because it could bolster a defense argument that the younger brother was influenced or coerced by his older brother to participate in the bombings.
The judge did not immediately rule on the defense request and did not indicate when he would issue his ruling. Tsarnaev, who has not appeared in court since his July 2013 arraignment, will be in court for the final pretrial hearing on Dec. 18.
hoto: AP This combination of file photos shows brothers Tamerlan, left, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013. Lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have asked a judge to order federal prosecutors to turn over any information they have about his brother's participation in a 2011 triple killing or to consider postponing Tsarnaev's trial. Dzhokar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty in the 2013 bombings that killed three people and injured about 260 others.
