By Jennifer Levitz
BOSTON--The defense in the Boston Marathon bombing trial rested
Tuesday after seeking to show that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's older
brother took the lead in gathering bomb components and downloading
the anti-U.S. jihadist propaganda that allegedly motivated the
siblings.
An online al Qaeda-linked article titled "Make a Bomb in the
Kitchen of Your Mom" was downloaded to a computer belonging to
older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev in December 2011 and was
transferred to the younger brother's laptop a month later,
testified defense witness Mark Spencer, a digital forensics
consultant.
In addition, Tamerlan's computer showed searches for information
related to the Boston Marathon and bomb parts ahead of the April
2013 attack, he said. A top activity on Dzhokhar's laptop was
Facebook, he said.
But under cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke
Chakravarty pointed out that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's laptop showed
other activity leading up to the bombings. "There were multiple
searches related to jihad as well, right?" he said.
"I believe so," Mr. Spencer said. Searches on that laptop, he
said, included the phrases "jannah al firdous"--which refers to the
highest levels of paradise--and "call of the jihad."
The defense team in the high-profile federal trial called only
four witnesses, compared with more than 90 government witnesses.
Closing arguments for both sides are expected Monday.
Write to Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com
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