Defense continues with character witnesses, family life in Tsarnaev trial

On the sixth day of testimony in the penalty phase of the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the defendant’s attorneys delved further into his complicated family life and presented witnesses from his high school years.

Tsarnaev, a former University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student, faces the death penalty on 17 of 30 charges for placing two bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260.

First, Elmirza Khozhugov, ex-husband of the defendant’s older sister, Ailina Tsarnaeva, testified from the U.S. Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan through video conference.

While the defendant, his father Anzor Tsarnaev and mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva moved to Boston in 2002, the other three Tsarnaev children lived with Khozhugov’s family in Almaty, he said.

Khozhugov developed a close relationship with Dzhokhar’s brother Tamerlan, as the two were similar in age and shared common interests.

“Tamerlan was an interesting young man,” he said. “Polite and good friend. He was charismatic, friendly, goofy sometimes. Overall, he was fun to be around.”

In 2003, Tamerlan joined his family in the United States. Khozhugov arrived about a year and a half later to attend Western Washington University. During his first year of studies, Khozhugov said the Tsarnaev family visited him and he became romantically interested in Ailina.

During Khozhugov’s second year of college, Tamerlan, whom Khozhugov called his “only friend in the U.S.” visited. Toward the end of that visit, Khozhugov said he told him about the feelings he developed for Ailina.

“I asked if he would mind if I had a relationship with her,” he said. “He answered, ‘As long as it has good intentions, I don’t mind.’”

Khozhugov and Ailina married in July 2006 and had a son, Ziyaudi, who was born on April 15, 2007. The marriage lasted two years before they divorced, partially due to an incident where Khozhugov struck Ailina after looking through her Facebook account. When Khozhugov was arrested, Tamerlan paid for his bail and stayed with the couple to attempt to ease the situation.

Testimony then shifted to the dynamic of the rest of the Tsarnaev family. Over the course of his marriage to Ailina, Khozhugov said he visited the Tsarnaev household in Cambridge “about four to six times.” Khozhugov said Zubeidat and Tamerlan had a close relationship and he “listened to her more than anyone else.”

Khozhugov described the defendant as “quiet” and “polite” and said Dzhokhar spent most of his time in the house reading or writing. Zubeidat frequently posted his good grades on the family fridge, he said.

During Khozhugov’s final visit, he said Tamerlan seemed changed due to his new friend “Misha,” who “preached” about Islam.

Khozhugov said he did not like these conversations, but Zubeidat encouraged them and once prevented Anzor from walking into the kitchen late at night so Misha and Tamerlan would not be interrupted.

Eventually, Khozhugov said, Tamerlan quit boxing, acting and playing music, telling him that he did so because Misha said they were not consistent with the values of Islam.

Tamerlan still “adored” his younger brother, though, who doted on him in return. Khozhugov described an old Chechen saying, that in a family of seven sons, it was better to be the dog than the seventh son.

“The younger boy is obliged to do the things that the older brothers tell him,” he said.

Khozhugov moved back to Almaty after his separation. In 2010, Zubeidat brought Ziyaudi from Boston. When he saw Zubeidat at the airport, Khozhugov said she wore garments that covered her body “as a good Muslim woman would.”

“To be honest, it actually made me laugh more than be surprised because knowing that person, wearing those clothes isn’t going to change who she is actually,” he said.  “I saw it as an attempt to cover up what she had on her mind, actually.”

While his relationship with the Tsarnaev family deteriorated, Khozhugov said his son had a special connection to Dzhokhar.

“Dzhokhar, from the words of my son, is his older brother,” he said.

The prosecution questioned Khozhugov’s ability to know what was going on in the family after his relationship with Tamerlan soured.

“I was getting information from the women in the family … The women find ways to talk to each other about what was happening,” he said.

As a follow up, the prosecution asked if it was possible if the information he received was what Zubeidat wanted him to know. Khozhugov said it was possible.

Next, the defense called Jay Giedd, a child psychiatrist who researches the maturation process of the brain.

Giedd said that as humans develop, the brain becomes more connected and specialized. Teenagers are more likely to choose smaller, short-term rewards, he said, and have a greater capacity to be influenced by their families.

In cross-examination, the prosecution attempted to refute the notion that age could be a mitigating factor in decision-making. Giedd confirmed that even young children can understand the consequences of their actions.

Sonya Petri, a paralegal at the federal defender’s office, was called to the stand and read a summary of Anzor’s medical history, which included diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis.

Anzor’s condition worsened after he suffered a brain injury in 2009 when he was assaulted outside a restaurant in Cambridge, Petri read. By 2012, medical documents showed he divorced his wife and stopped taking all medications.

Jennifer Callison, who previously served as the faculty advisor for the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School’s chapter of Best Buddies, was next to testify. The club hosts activities for students with and without developmental disabilities to foster friendships.

“He was nice to every student he encountered,” she said. “He was a good member of the club.”

The defense asked Callison if she thought the Dzhokhar that committed the Marathon bombings was the same student she knew.

“I don’t believe that it was the student in my club that I’m speaking of today,” she said.

The prosecution declined to cross-examine Callison.

Next, the defense called Eric Traub, a software engineer who taught Tsarnaev math at Cambridge Rindge and Latin.

“Dzhokhar was a kind student and got along great with his peers,” he said.

Tsarnaev, while not outspoken in class, brought a fun energy to the classroom and was always willing to engage in conversation, Traub said.

Traub said he had never met Tsarnaev’s parents and did not know he had an older brother. He did know, however, that Tsarnaev was Russian and Muslim because he sometimes prayed in the classroom with other students.

When applying for college, Tsarnaev asked Traub to write him a letter of recommendation. Traub said he was happy to comply.

The jury was then presented with the letter, which Traub read aloud. Overall, it depicted Tsarnaev as an energetic and lively student, whose “tongue in cheek contests are taken in good spirit.”

“He is always polite and respectful and enters the classroom with a warm greeting,” it read. “He is a strong student with a positive attitude.”

Traub said he sincerely meant what he wrote in the letter and stands by what it says to this day.

When he first learned about the bombing, Traub said he was visiting family in South Africa.

“I was shocked when I saw his picture on the TV,” he said. “I didn’t even believe it was him at first because it just didn’t make sense to me.”

The prosecution then briefly questioned Traub, asking if he thought Tsarnaev was self-motivated.

“He was self-motivated in the classroom,” he said. “He was mature for a high school kid.”

Next, the defense called Kevin Roche, a deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service who has worked in Boston for 17 years.

Roche said he interacted with Tsarnaev at least half a dozen times as part of a detail that provided security while Tsarnaev was being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center following his arrest. While he escorted him to medical appointments, Roche said Tsarnaev followed instructions.

When Tsarnaev waited in a cell before his arraignment at the courthouse, though, he made obscene gestures at the security camera, Roche said. Tsarnaev held up his pointer and middle finger sideways, and then his middle finger upwards.

“I perceived it as defiance,” he said. “I understood it was a disrespectful sign.”

After Roche told Tsarnaev that his behavior was not acceptable, he said he apologized.

Lastly, Mark Bezy, who owns a correctional consulting company, took the stand.

The defense asked Bezy about “special administrative measures,” known as SAMs, which limit an inmate’s communication with the outside world.

Inmates under SAMs have restrictions on phone calls and visitations, Bezy said.

Such inmates can only have approved contact with immediate family members and are not allowed to have any contact with other inmates or the media. Some inmates can spend years under these restrictions, he said.

The defense then showed an aerial photograph of super-maximum security federal prison in Florence, Colorado. It is the same prison where Tsarnaev could potentially spend the rest of his life.