Uncle: Family to claim Boston bomb suspect's body
By MICHELLE R. SMITH and ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press / May 1, 2013
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Relatives of the dead suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing will claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it, an uncle said as officials in both Washington and Russia deepened their investigations into him and his ties.
The body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, has been at the medical examiners office in Massachusetts since he died after a gunfight with authorities more than a week ago.
Amato DeLuca, the Rhode Island attorney for his widow,
Katherine Russell, said Tuesday that his client had just learned that the medical examiner was ready to release Tsarnaevs body and that she wants it released to his side of the family.
Police said Tsarnaev ran out of ammunition before his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene. His cause of death has been determined but will not be made public until his remains are claimed.
Of course, family members will take possession of the body, uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Maryland told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. We'll do it. We will do it. A family is a family.
He would not elaborate. Tsarnaevs parents are still in Russia, but he has other relatives on his side of the family in the U.S., including Tsarni.
In Rhode Island, DeLuca said Tamerlan Tsarnaevs widow met with law enforcement for many hours over the past week and will continue cooperating. FBI agents on Monday visited her parents North Kingstown, R.I., home, where she has been staying, and carried away several bags.
Katherine and her family continue to be deeply saddened by the harm that has been caused, DeLuca said Tuesday.
Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday evening that the state had not yet received
Russells request to release her husbands body.
He said arrangements must be made to release the body and once that happens a death certificate will be filed and the cause of death made public. He said it is too soon to speculate on when that might happen.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rh...uspect-body/pVelW92L0KuvqzjTKABUjI/story.html