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Key Moments From Day 15: Tsarnaev Defense Begins Presenting Its Case

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Prosecutors rested their case against Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Monday after jurors heard grisly testimony about the injuries sustained by the victims killed in the bombing. Attention now turns to the defense.

Below find four key moments from Monday's testimony, and listen to a full report above from WBUR’s Jack Lepiarz.


-Dr. Katherine Lindstrom, who performed the autopsy on Boston Marathon bombing victim Lingzi Lu, testified about the injuries Lu suffered, centered mostly on her legs.

Lu's femoral artery (which carries blood to the leg) was cut, meaning she likely bled out in a matter of seconds to several minutes, Lindstrom testified. Prosecutors also focused on a head injury — an injury that was not powerful enough for Lu to lose consciousness as she bled to death on the sidewalk, Lindstrom said.


-The government's final witness in the case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was Dr. Henry Nields, the state's chief medical examiner. Nields performed the autopsy on 8-year-old Martin Richard and described grisly details of Richard's injuries.

Nields' testimony was by far the longest of any medical expert called in the past two days due in large part to the extent of damage. Richard suffered lacerations, abrasions and third degree burns to nearly every part of his body.


-After 15 days of testimony and 92 witnesses, the government rested its case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev just after noon on Monday.

Attention now turns to the defense, which is expected to present what mitigating evidence it can at this stage of the trial. That evidence will be limited by the judge's earlier ruling barring most aggravating and mitigating evidence from being presented until after the jury delivers a verdict.

-The defense's first major witness, Gerald Grant, testified that cellphone data showed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sending a text in the area of UMass Dartmouth 25 minutes after two pressure cookers were purchased in a Macy's in Saugus in January 2013.

Previous testimony had shown a GPS device believed to belong to the Tsarnaev's that was recovered from the stolen Mercedes SUV had made a stop at the Square One Mall at the same time two pressure cooker's were purchased from a Macy's there.


By showing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in southeastern Massachusetts shortly after the purchase, the defense sought to establish that he was not the person who bought the pressure cookers and further their argument that he was not an lead participant in the planning leading up to the bombings.

You can see all of WBUR's live updates from Monday's testimony here.

This segment aired on March 30, 2015.

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Headshot of Jack Lepiarz

Jack Lepiarz Reporter and Anchor
Jack Lepiarz was a reporter and anchor at WBUR.

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