Tsarnaev Trial Opening Statements On Wednesday

Opening statements in the trial of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are set for Wednesday morning, according to an official at Boston federal court.

That means a sufficient number of qualified jurors in the high-profile death penalty case have been identified.

Over 21 days of so-called "voir dire," the court of Judge George O'Toole has heard from 256 potential jurors.

There are no public proceedings Thursday and Friday.

After dealing with other pretrial motions, the prosecution and defense will then "exercise peremptory challenges as to the pool of qualified jurors" on Tuesday, according to the court official. That will whittle the number down to the final jury.

The formal seating of the jury and opening statements are then set to begin Wednesday.

Tsarnaev, 21, faces the death penalty for the alleged bombing of the 2013 Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 260.