Katherine Russell, right, wife of Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the law office of DeLuca and Weizenbaum Monday, April 29, 2013, in Providence, R.I.
Officials at the FBI have confirmed that the female DNA found on fragments of the deadly bomb used in terrorist activity last month at the Boston Marathon does not match that of Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspected of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Russell was married to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers suspected of placing bombs at two different sites near the finish line of the Marathon on April 15.
Tsarnaev, who was later killed in a gunfight with authorities, called his wife in the hours after the FBI released surveillance images of him and his younger brother, Dzhokhar.
Although Russell has not officially been declared an accomplice in the bombings, the FBI is continuing to monitor her activity and many inside sources say that her insistence that she knew nothing of her husband’s activities is not very credible.
The FBI is currently investigating the nature of a phone call that took place between Tsarnaev and Russell just a few hours after his photograph was released to members of the news media that he was wanted for questioning in the bombing episode which killed three spectators and injured more than 150 others.
According to John Miller, a former assistant FBI director, Katherine Russell is still an integral part to the agencies investigation:
What continues to puzzle the FBI about Russell is what she knew and when, if anything, Miller said. “What they really want to know from her is, you know, here’s a woman who dated Tamerlan, who converted to Islam after they were married, who … lived in the same apartment — not a big apartment — where bombs were being constructed and pressure cookers were being bought two or three at a time,” Miller said. “They want to know, ‘Is it possible all of this was going on concealed from you or did you know it the whole time?’”
Although Russell for the time being is free to come and go as she pleases, including driving a minivan to and from her parents’ home in Rhode Island, the FBI continues its surveillance of her movements.
On Thursday, the Huff Post reported that the Tamerlan and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, considered suicide attacks and striking on the Fourth of July. Dzhokar is currently in custody.
Source:
Bombing suspect’s wife DNA doesn’t match bomb evidence; Investigators “skeptical” about Katherine Russell’s story
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57582720/bombing-suspects-wife-dna-doesnt-match-bomb-evidence-investigators-skeptical-about-katherine-russells-story/
DNA on Boston bomb does not match suspect’s wife, investigators say
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/03/18040596-dna-on-boston-bomb-does-not-match-suspects-wife-investigators-say?lite
