Guilty: Boston Marathon bomber facing execution
THE man on trial for the Boston Marathon terror attack has been found guilty of all counts and faces a possible death sentence.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faced 30 charges over the bombings that killed three people and injured 264 others on April 15, 2013, including using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.
The 21- year- old was also found guilty of the fatal shooting of police offi cer Sean Collier four days later.
Jurors took 11- and- a- half hours to reach a verdict following 16 days of emotional evidence a week before the second anniversary of the attack when two bombs exploded 12 seconds apart near the fi nish line of the Boston Marathon.
The homemade devices, hidden inside backpacks, contained metal pellets and nails.
Within two days the suspects had been identifi ed and the manhunt for Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan began.
Defence lawyers had admitted that Tsarnaev committed the crimes but claimed he was following his older brother Tamerlan who was shot dead by police after a gunfi ght.
They said the 26- year- old brother was the real mastermind behind the plot.
On Monday the jury were shown harrowing video of the moment one bomb exploded, killing an eight- year- old boy and tearing a leg from his sister.
Prosecutors produced a written note that suggested the bombing was an act of retribution for the US military campaigns in Muslim countries.
Survivors and victims’ families wept and comforted one another in court.
The jury will now hear evidence about whether Tsarnaev should get the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison.