Federal prosecutors charged badly wounded Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in his hospital bed today with using a weapon of mass destruction, a charge that could result in the death penalty, officials said.
A court spokesman said a magistrate judge was present when Tsarnaev was charged at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, where Tsarnaev was listed in serious condition.
«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,» US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Tsarnaev, 19, was also charged with malicious destruction of property resulting in death.
Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen college student suspected of carrying out the attacks with his older brother, was unable to speak after he was captured with throat injuries sustained during shootouts with police.
The fact that he was charged indicated the previously sedated defendant was communicative because the magistrate judge would have to be satisfied he was aware of the proceedings.
Police previously declined to comment on media reports he was communicating with authorities in writing.
«There have been widely published reports that he is (communicating silently). I wouldn’t dispute that, but I don’t have any specific information on that myself,» Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CNN. «We’re very anxious to talk to him and the investigators will be doing that as soon as possible.»
Around the time the announcement of charges was made, White House spokesman Jay Carney ruled out treating Tsarnaev, a naturalized US citizen, as an enemy combatant in the legal process.
«We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice. Under US law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions,» Carnet told a news briefing.
Police captured Tsarnaev on Friday night to cap a violent week of blasts, shootouts, lockdowns and one of the largest manhunts in US history.
His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunfight with police early Friday morning.
The city of Boston crawled back to normal today, a week after twin bombs exploded at the crowded finish line of the city’s famous marathon road race, killing three people and wounding 176. Ten of the injured lost limbs.
The crime scene around the blasts was still closed but was expected to reopen within a day or two. Signs declaring «Boston Strong» hung about the city.
Memorial services were set today for two of those killed in the bombings: Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager, and Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.
An 8-year-old boy, Martin Richard, was also killed.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald