| "He was such a good, sweet boy. But then... something happened." |
A jury is mulling whether Tsarnaev -- found guilty last month of all counts related to the April 15, 2013 attack on the Boston Marathon that killed three people and maimed 264 more -- should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
His defense team last week began presenting evidence in a bid to save his life, and had brought his aunt, 64-year-old Patimat Suleimanova, from Russia to testify.
But the woman, her voice choked with sobs, was only able to tell the court her name, age and where she was from before she had to step down and was escorted from the courtroom.
Tsarnaev, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen of Chechen descent, briefly rubbed his eyes, appearing to wipe away tears.
Two of his cousins from Dagestan
...a formerly inoffensive Caucasus
republiccurrently bedevilled by low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism, primarily due to its proximity to Chechnya. There are several dozen ethnic groups, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russers form less than five percent of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca...
in southern Russia had earlier taken the stand, describing Tsarnaev as a kind-hearted young boy who cried while watching the Disney animated classic "The Lion King."
"He was very kind, very warm... his kindness made everybody kind," said Raisat Suleimanova, a 35-year-old nurse who now lives near Moscow. Her testimony was translated from Russian into English by an interpreter for the court.
She described Tsarnaev's somewhat nomadic childhood, as his parents moved often -- from Kyrgyzstan to Chechnya to Dagestan.
Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan -- who was killed in the days after the marathon bombings as the pair attempted to evade police -- virtually lived out of their suitcases, changing schools and friends often.
She offered a glimpse into the life of their mother, Zubeidat, who loved fashion and jewelry before she moved to the United States. But in 2010, when she saw her again, Zubeidat was wearing the hijab.
"It was a shock, knowing the kind of person she used to be," Raisat Suleimanova testified, noting that the family had been "kind of removed" from religion.
Tsarnaev's lawyers were expected to present witnesses testifying on their client's behalf for about two weeks.