WORCESTER, Mass. (WHDH) — The parents of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev are asking for his body to be returned to Russia.
The director of a Worcester funeral home is asking for help to find a place to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. Cemeteries across Massachusetts are refusing to take the accused terrorist’s body. Many are calling for Tsarnaev’s body to be sent back to Russia.
Tsarnaev’s uncle said he understands.
“I do understand. No one wants to associate their names with such evil events,” said Ruslan Tsarni, Tsarnaev’s uncle.
Funeral director Peter Stefan confirmed Tsarnaev’s mother has contacted him and asked that her son’s body be shipped to Russia. But Stefan said he hasn’t been able to find anyone able to handle the logistics of making that kind of transfer.
Stefan wants the State Department of other federal officials to help.
“We need some help from them to get this guy buried. You can’t just walk away from this. Somebody has to be responsible,” said Stefan.
A local businessman said he has set up a fund for donations to help pay the approximately $3,000 it might cost to ship Tsarnaev’s body to Russia. He said he even donated the first $500 himself.
“As an American, life-long resident of Main South, I feel I have the right to stand up here and say that we want him removed to his homeland,” said William Breault, a local businessman.
Worcester said it has spent about $30,000 already on increased security because of protests around the funeral home. Taxpayers are currently paying the bill, but officials said they are negotiating with the funeral director to see if he could possibly pay some or all of that cost.