Boston Marathon Bombing Case Latest News: Trial Could Be Delayed After Paris Attacks
Lawyers for Boston Marathon suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have petitioned a court to suspend the jury selection in light of the attacks in Paris, which killed more than 10 people.
Tsarnaev is facing trial for the bombing of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, which killed three and injured more than 200 people.
He and his brother, Tamerlan, were the main suspects in the case. Tamerlan died during a shootout with the police.
"Now, at the very moment that this attempt is to be made, the Boston bombings are being newly placed at the center of a grim global drama. At a minimum, the court should pause long enough to let this latest storm subside," Tsarnaev's lawyers said in their request, according to Reuters.
Two masked men entered the office of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris last January 7, killing 12 people. Among the victims were cartoonists and editors.
A day after the attack, a police officer was killed. On Jan. 9, four persons were killed in a supermarket.
The U.S. government is seeking the death penalty for Tsarnaev for using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, use of firearm, conspiracy to bomb a public place resulting in death, bombing of a public place and malicious destruction of property resulting in injury and death.
Three people were killed in the marathon bombing: Krystle Marie Campbell, Martin Richard and Lingzi Lu. Officer Sean Collier was killed during an ambush days after the bombing.
About 1,350 potential jurors were screened for the trial, according to Reuters.
According to an affidavit by FBI special agent Daniel Genck, two explosions occurred during the final stretch of the marathon.
The improvised explosive devices were placed near metal barriers where the spectators were located.
The Tsarnaev brothers immigrated to the U.S. in 2002 as refugees.
