My Older Brother was the RngLeader in the Bombing- Boston Bomb Suspect

 

BOSTON bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has uttered his first word after being charged with using a weapon of mass destruction - "No".

The 19-year-old, who could face the death penalty if convicted, was mostly silent and nodded affirmatively throughout the brief bedside hearing, indicating that he understood the charges laid against him,  court transcripts published by The New York Times reveal.

But when asked if he could afford a lawyer, the teen spoke for the first time, saying: "No".

Details of Tsarnaev's bedside hearing came amid reports that the teen reportedly told investigators his older brother and alleged co-conspirator Tamerlan was the driving force behind the bombings.

CNN says Tsarnaev, who has an injury to his throat, has communicated he and his brother acted alone and that Tamerlan, the older of the two, was the ringleader in the bombings.

The teen has reportedly told investigators that no international terrorist groups were behind the act and that his elder brother carried out the bombings as he wanted to defend Islam from attack, CNN says.

The source reportedly told CNN that preliminary interviews indicate the two brothers fit the classification of self-radicalised jihadists. CNN says the pair's radicalisation had an online component as they watched videos on the internet.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's brief bedside proceeding began when Judge Marianne Bowler asked a doctor whether Tsarnaev was alert, according to the summary of proceedings provided by the court.

"You can rouse him,” the judge told the doctor.

A doctor, identified in the transcript as Dr Odom, asked Tsarnaev how he was feeling.

"Are you able to answer some questions?" the doctor asked the teen.

Tsarnaev "nods affirmatively," according to the document, the first of four times during the hearing.

The only word Dzhokhar Tsarnaev uttered apparently was "No," after he was asked if he could afford a lawyer.