Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 charges against him relating to the Boston Marathon bombing of April 2013.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Found Guilty On All 30 Charges

Tsarnaev, 21, was found guilty of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and guilty in the deaths of Krystle Campbell, Officer Sean Collier, Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard, three of whom died due to the explosion that injured 260 people. The jury took almost 12 hours to deliberate before finding Tsarnaev guilty of all 30 charges – 17 of which could result in the death penalty.

“While today’s verdict can never bring Sean back, we are thankful that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families,” said the Collier family in a statement after the verdict.

Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerian Tsarnaev, set off two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, killing three and injuring over 250 others. The brothers then went on the run, causing a lockdown of Boston, and engaged in a shootout with officers, resulting in the death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. In a subsequent shootout with police in Watertown, Massachusetts, Tamerian was killed, and Tsarnaev was captured soon after.

The Federal Terrorism case was tried in Massachussetts, and Tsarnaev’s attorney, Judy Clarke, was expecting the guilty verdict, admitting on day one that Tsarnaev was culpable. Moving forward into the sentencing phase of the trial, Clarke’s main objective will be to ensure that Tsarnaev does not receive the death penalty, but instead gets life in prison. According to reports, Clarke’s main case will be to show that Tsarnaev was acting under the influence of his older brother.

Opening statements in the sentencing phase are scheduled to begin April 13.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.