After 15 days of testimony and 92 witnesses the government rested its case at noon Monday in the trial of admitted marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The first people to testify were those who lost the most, Bill Richard, the father of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who died at the scene; and a friend of Lingzi Lu talked about holding her hand until her last breath.
We heard from people who lost limbs: Roseann Sdoia and Jessica Kensky, a double amputee.
The prosecution wanted jurors to feel the pain that so many people suffered at the hands of 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and they wanted to make it clear that Dzhokhar was just as much a part of the planning and execution of the bombings as his older brother, Tamerlan.
They detailed cell phone records, computers loaded with jihadi propaganda, and they traced the brothers actions from a practice firing range in New Hampshire to area stores where they bought the backpacks they loaded with bombs.
While the defense began Monday, it may likely rest as soon as Tuesday.
The theory goes that they’ll get the guilty phase behind them and then fight like mad to save the life of the young man who took four lives and maimed and wounded many others.
Whether the defense dares put their own client on the stand during the penalty phase is a matter of much speculation.
On Greater Boston, Emily Rooney and Adam Reilly discussed the dramatic way the government rested its case.
