The first several witnesses were called in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspected Boston Marathon bomber, after opening statements were delivered on Wednesday, March 4, almost two full years after the infamous incident.
The strategies for both the prosecution and defense were clear as six individuals took the stand. It was the prosecution that kicked off questioning, asking each person to describe themselves, how they ended up in Boston on April 15, 2013, and what they saw, heard and felt after two pressure cooker bombs combusted on Boylston Street.
Words like chaos, carnage, blood and flesh were used liberally, and rightfully so.
Several photos and video clips, some taken by the witnesses on the stand themselves, depicted a bloody scene in close proximity to the finish line exemplified just why.
Conversely the defense rested for the most part, opting not to cross examine the majority of the witnesses. Earlier that morning, the defense stated that “it was him,” Tsarnaev, who executed the bombings and aftermath along with older brother Tamerlan who manipulated Tsarnaev into partaking as substantially as he did – in essence attempting to alleviate some of the responsibility.
All six of the witnesses were directly connected in some way to the first explosion, which took place in front of Marathon Sports directly across the street from the Marathon grandstand.
I remember being jostled so much {in an ambulance} that blood pooled out of my leg
First up was Boston Athletic Association Executive Director Thomas Grilk who conveyed the size and scope of the event. Some 1,000 media members were credentialed from over 80 outlets broadcasted in 20 countries, roughly 36,000 people participated and the crowd of roughly half a million steadily increased as a nearby Red Sox game came to an end.
He identified specific locations on Boylston Street (restaurants, retailers, flagpoles, etc.) and commented that “it was a good weather day,” and compared to the year prior was “a good day to run and a good day to watch.”
Shane O’Hara, manager of Marathon Sports, was brought up after Grilk and testified that the explosions were so powerful that the first pane of the store’s double-paned glass window shattered.
“I was selling a pair of shoes to an old colleague when the bomb exploded,” remembered O’Hara.
People began spilling into the store, some of whom were injured that O’Hara made tourniquets for, and he tried enticing others inside to safety.
The next four witnesses were Colton Kilgore, Rebekah Gregory, Sydney Corcoran and Karen McWatters (née Rand).
All four were standing near Marathon Sports, suffered severe injuries and felt as though they were going to die.
I knew I was dying
Kilgore and Gregory are brother and sister in law. Kilgore, who took photos and video directly after the first bomb went off, lost hearing in his ear due to a perforated eardrum.
He was standing near Gregory, whose lower left leg was removed in 2014 after 17 surgeries. She, like the rest, remembered the actual explosion vaguely – a haze of smoke, faint yelling and intense heat.
Then she came to.
“My bones were literally laying next to me on the sidewalk,” she recounted. “Peoples’ body parts were also laying everywhere. At that point I thought it was the day I’d die.”
Becoming choked up, she mentioned that while looking around for her young son Noah, she saw Campbell lying deceased on the sidewalk.
She spent 56 days total in the hospital, 39 of those in Boston.
Corcoran followed Gregory and estimates she and her family made their way in front of Marathon Sports where the watch the runners for no more than 10 minutes when half of her right foot was blown away.
“I knew I was dying,” she said when describing her immense blood loss due to a broken femoral artery.
“I remember being jostled so much [in an ambulance] that blood pooled out of my leg,” she added.
Her mother lost both of her legs.
Words like chaos, carnage, blood and flesh were used liberally
Court adjourned after Karen McWatters, friend of Campbell for eight years, spoke. It was McWatters that held Campbell’s hand in hers as it went limp and her life slipped away.
“I got close to her head and put our faces together,” said McWatters.
McWatters was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where emergency operations couldn’t save her right leg, and her family couldn’t locate her. She had taken Campbell’s cell phone and Campbell’s family thought it was their daughter Krystle in surgery, not Karen, before identifying the latter devastatingly.
These witnesses were able do describe, to the best of their memories, how distressing and traumatic the scene on Boylston Street truly was; how deadly and vicious the Tsarnaev brothers were.
It’s unclear at this point how the defense will continue with witness testimony. Day two of the trial takes place on Thursday, March 5, at 9 a.m.
