Boston: The in-laws of slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev testified before a federal grand jury investigating the deadly April 15 attack.
Judith and Warren Russell, parents of Katherine Russell, declined to comment to The Associated Press yesterday as they entered the grand jury room in US District Court in Boston.
Katherine Russell is the widow of Tsarnaev, who was killed in a gunbattle with authorities pursing him and his brother for allegedly setting off two bombs near the race`s finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 260.
The US Attorney`s office would not comment on whether Russell or anyone else is being investigated or why a grand jury continues to meet after four people have already been indicted.
Josh Dratel, a lawyer who represents Katherine Russell and her family, said her parents appeared after being subpoenaed to testify, and said they "told the truth."
Dratel said he has been told by prosecutors that Katherine Russell is not a target of the investigation.
Tamerlan`s brother, Dzhokhar, was indicted on 30 counts in June and faces the possibility of the death penalty. Three of his friends were also indicted for allegedly lying to investigators or trying to cover up his role after the bombings.
Amato DeLuca, an attorney for Katherine Russell and her family, has said she didn`t suspect her husband of anything before the bombings, and nothing seemed amiss in the days after. DeLuca said that her parents also knew nothing about their son-in-law`s alleged involvement until after he was publicly identified by authorities.
There are many unanswered questions about what Russell knew or did before and after the bombings. The couple lived in the Tsarnaev family`s cramped Cambridge apartment, where federal authorities have said the brothers assembled the bombs. Russell has never spoken publicly, although DeLuca has said she was working 70 to 80 hours per week as a home health aide and had no reason to suspect her husband of anything. Dratel said the grand jury`s investigation "is not necessarily an investigation of Katherine."
PTI
