Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Finally Cries

As his 64-year-old aunt briefly took the stand today
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted May 4, 2015 1:35 PM CDT
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Finally Cries
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is seen in a courtroom sketch from April 2015.   (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins)

"Showed no emotion" was a phrase often repeated in media reports throughout the first phase of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial. That changed today. The Boston Marathon bomber "appeared to break down" as his 64-year-old aunt took the stand, the Globe reports; she's one of five relatives who testified today as part of the sentencing phase. The Globe reports Tsarnaev reached for a tissue and "appeared to wipe tears from his eyes" as his aunt sobbed 10 feet from him; the AP more plainly declares that he cried.

The Globe notes that Patimat Suleimanova was herself incredibly emotional, so much so that she hyperventilated; after just a few minutes of her answering basic biographical questions about herself, she left the stand on the suggestion of Judge George O'Toole Jr., reports the AP. It's unclear if she'll finish testifying. The sentencing phase is expected to wrap up in two weeks. Read more from the relatives who did give testimony here. (More Dzhokhar Tsarnaev stories.)

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