Survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing were in court for opening statements and the start of testimony in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Two busloads of people hurt in the bombings arrived at the federal courthouse at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. They entered through a side entrance, away from reporters and photographers gathered at the main entrance.
Marc Fucarile, who lost a leg in the attack, went in the front entrance, but did not comment to reporters. He came to hear opening statements and the first witness, then left to catch a flight with his wife.
Fucarile lost his right leg and has had multiple surgeries on his left. He got married last April, almost a year to the day after the bombing.
An artist drew a sketch of survivors and victims’ families in Courtroom 9. There were more than 100 seats for the families, law enforcement, the public and the media.
Even more people filled an overflow courtroom to watch the testimony on monitors.
The family of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old killed in the bombing, was present in court. Survivor Heather Abbott also attended.
A reporter in the courtroom described emotional testimony from the fifth witness, Sydney Corcoran, who was watching the 2013 Marathon with her parents when the bombs went off. The 19-year-old was severely injured and her mom lost both her legs below the knee. Corcoran said they were “immersed in smoke and could hear stifled screams, it was like everyone around me was gone.”
Some jurors seemed to have emotional reactions to the testimony.
Lawyers for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have made it clear they will try to show that at the time of the bombings he was influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan, who died following a shootout with police days after the bombings.
Prosecutors say Dzhokhar was an equal and willing participant in the plot that killed three and hurt more than 260.