March 30, 2015 2:59 p.m. ET
BOSTON—Federal prosecutors rested their case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Monday, ending on a wrenching note as their final witness described the death of the youngest victim in the April 2013 Boston Marathon attack.
After 15 days of testimony and more than 90 witnesses, the government sought to leave the jury with the most emotionally devastating images from the bombings, which killed three people and wounded hundreds.
Several jurors wiped their eyes and looked away as Chief Medical Examiner Henry Nields guided them through autopsy photos showing wounds suffered by Martin Richard, who weighed 69.5 pounds. Virtually no part of his body was unhurt: he had third-degree burns; his small intestine was outside his body; his left forearm was nearly detached. Nails, round metal pellets, wood fragments, and pieces of black plastic were seared into his skin.
With gloved hands, Dr. Nields reached into a cardboard box and pulled out Martin’s clothing piece by piece: a bloodstained Patriots shirt, a shredded Celtics jersey, and fabric the medical examiner said could have been either shorts or pants. It was too melted to tell.
The medical examiner ended his time on the stand with a powerful punch: “He was 8 years old,” Dr. Nields said.
Mr. Tsarnaev, seated between two of his lawyers, appeared to mostly stare ahead and not look at the witness. The defense didn’t cross-examine the medical examiner. Earlier Monday, in questioning another government witness, a Federal Bureau of Investigation photographer, a defense lawyer appeared to try to show that Mr. Tsarnaev had not purposely targeted Martin.
Mr. Tsarnaev, now 21 years old, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, although a defense lawyer acknowledged at the outset of the trial that he participated in the bombings. The defense has portrayed Mr. Tsarnaev as being coerced by his domineering, now deceased older brother, Tamerlan. In accepting culpability, the defense hopes the jury will spare Mr. Tsarnaev the death penalty.
Tamerlan, 26, died four days after the bombings amid a violent confrontation with police during the manhunt for the suspects.
Prosecutors say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a former college student, was radicalized by online anti-U.S. al Qaeda propaganda and sought to inflict as much carnage as he could by placing a bomb in a crowded place.
Earlier on Monday, the government showed surveillance video of Mr. Tsarnaev, his white baseball cap turned backward, standing in a festive crowd of spectators along the final stretch of the race.
In the photo, Martin can be seen perched on the railing of a metal barrier, trying to get a look at the exhausted runners nearing the finish line. He is next to his father and his sister, Jane, who would lose a leg in the blast. His mother, Denise Richard, can be seen laughing in the photo.
Michelle Gamble, a field photographer for the FBI, said the footage also showed Mr. Tsarnaev putting down a black backpack that concealed the bomb and then hovering over it as he lingers.
In cross-examination, Miriam Conrad, one of Mr. Tsarnaev’s defense lawyers, said that there had been several spectators standing between Mr. Tsarnaev and Martin but those people weren’t included on a diagram presented by the FBI photographer in the court. Ms. Gamble agreed.
Ms. Conrad said several of those spectators walked away after the first bomb exploded nearby—prosecutors say it was set by Tamerlan—but Mr. Tsarnaev had also left the area and didn’t see them leave.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb responded that children “were arrayed along the railing at 2:37 p.m.” when footage showed Mr. Tsarnaev arriving, and that the children were still there about 10 minutes later when the bomb went off.
According to the prosecution, that bomb killed Martin and 23-year-old Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.
The blast caused debris to go straight through Ms. Lu’s body, painfully severing nerves, gashing muscle and leaving gaping cavities in her legs, another medical examiner told the jury Monday.
Photos displayed in court showed Martin and Ms. Lu each face up, on the ground. Ms. Lu appeared to have her hands clasped over her face.
“She would have been conscious until she bled to death?” asked prosecutor Steven Mellin.
“Possibly, yes,” said Dr. Katherine Lindstrom, who examined the body of Ms. Lu.
The other bomb killed 29-year-old restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, according to the government. The jury also saw autopsy photos of Ms. Lu and Ms. Campbell.
Bill Richard, Martin’s father, kept his arm around Denise Richard, Martin’s mother, during the testimony in Courtroom Nine at the federal courthouse.
As the prosecution rested its case, the defense filed a new motion seeking Mr. Tsarnaev’s acquittal. Barring that, they asked the judge to dismiss at least two of 30 charges against Mr. Tsarnaev. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined comment on the defense filing.
Write to Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com
BOSTON—Federal prosecutors rested their case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Monday, ending on a wrenching note as their final witness described the death of the youngest victim in the April 2013 Boston Marathon attack.
After 15 days of testimony and more than 90 witnesses, the government sought to leave the jury with the most emotionally devastating images from the bombings, which killed three people and wounded hundreds.
Several jurors wiped their eyes and looked away as Chief Medical Examiner Henry Nields guided them through autopsy photos showing wounds suffered by Martin Richard, who weighed 69.5 pounds. Virtually no part of his body was unhurt: he had third-degree burns; his small intestine was outside his body; his left forearm was nearly detached. Nails, round metal pellets, wood fragments, and pieces of black plastic were seared into his skin.
With gloved hands, Dr. Nields reached into a cardboard box and pulled out Martin’s clothing piece by piece: a bloodstained Patriots shirt, a shredded Celtics jersey, and fabric the medical examiner said could have been either shorts or pants. It was too melted to tell.
The medical examiner ended his time on the stand with a powerful punch: “He was 8 years old,” Dr. Nields said.
Mr. Tsarnaev, seated between two of his lawyers, appeared to mostly stare ahead and not look at the witness. The defense didn’t cross-examine the medical examiner. Earlier Monday, in questioning another government witness, a Federal Bureau of Investigation photographer, a defense lawyer appeared to try to show that Mr. Tsarnaev had not purposely targeted Martin.
Mr. Tsarnaev, now 21 years old, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, although a defense lawyer acknowledged at the outset of the trial that he participated in the bombings. The defense has portrayed Mr. Tsarnaev as being coerced by his domineering, now deceased older brother, Tamerlan. In accepting culpability, the defense hopes the jury will spare Mr. Tsarnaev the death penalty.
Tamerlan, 26, died four days after the bombings amid a violent confrontation with police during the manhunt for the suspects.
Prosecutors say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a former college student, was radicalized by online anti-U.S. al Qaeda propaganda and sought to inflict as much carnage as he could by placing a bomb in a crowded place.
Earlier on Monday, the government showed surveillance video of Mr. Tsarnaev, his white baseball cap turned backward, standing in a festive crowd of spectators along the final stretch of the race.
In the photo, Martin can be seen perched on the railing of a metal barrier, trying to get a look at the exhausted runners nearing the finish line. He is next to his father and his sister, Jane, who would lose a leg in the blast. His mother, Denise Richard, can be seen laughing in the photo.
Michelle Gamble, a field photographer for the FBI, said the footage also showed Mr. Tsarnaev putting down a black backpack that concealed the bomb and then hovering over it as he lingers.
In cross-examination, Miriam Conrad, one of Mr. Tsarnaev’s defense lawyers, said that there had been several spectators standing between Mr. Tsarnaev and Martin but those people weren’t included on a diagram presented by the FBI photographer in the court. Ms. Gamble agreed.
Ms. Conrad said several of those spectators walked away after the first bomb exploded nearby—prosecutors say it was set by Tamerlan—but Mr. Tsarnaev had also left the area and didn’t see them leave.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb responded that children “were arrayed along the railing at 2:37 p.m.” when footage showed Mr. Tsarnaev arriving, and that the children were still there about 10 minutes later when the bomb went off.
According to the prosecution, that bomb killed Martin and 23-year-old Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.
The blast caused debris to go straight through Ms. Lu’s body, painfully severing nerves, gashing muscle and leaving gaping cavities in her legs, another medical examiner told the jury Monday.
Photos displayed in court showed Martin and Ms. Lu each face up, on the ground. Ms. Lu appeared to have her hands clasped over her face.
“She would have been conscious until she bled to death?” asked prosecutor Steven Mellin.
“Possibly, yes,” said Dr. Katherine Lindstrom, who examined the body of Ms. Lu.
The other bomb killed 29-year-old restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, according to the government. The jury also saw autopsy photos of Ms. Lu and Ms. Campbell.
Bill Richard, Martin’s father, kept his arm around Denise Richard, Martin’s mother, during the testimony in Courtroom Nine at the federal courthouse.
As the prosecution rested its case, the defense filed a new motion seeking Mr. Tsarnaev’s acquittal. Barring that, they asked the judge to dismiss at least two of 30 charges against Mr. Tsarnaev. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined comment on the defense filing.
Write to Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com
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