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FBI said both backpacks that had pressure cooker bombs were black. Dzhokhar's is is white. What is it that people don't understand?
Was probably in the middle of some sting or informant operation with the FBI and his brother. But one thing is clear. That ain't his backpack.
Boston Marathon Bombing Evidence: Dzhokhar's Backpack Was White, Not Black
Was probably in the middle of some sting or informant operation with the FBI and his brother. But one thing is clear. That ain't his backpack.
Boston Marathon Bombing Evidence: Dzhokhar's Backpack Was White, Not Black
Boston Marathon Bombing Evidence: Dzhokhar's Backpack Was White, Not Black
As the death penalty appeals process in the Boston Marathon bombing case gets underway, a stark conflict has been noted in the officially admitted evidence. In 2017 Newsweek confirmed that official evidence shows that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was carrying a white backpack, the opposite color of the backpack that killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, which was black.
The contradiction supports the theory now being put forth by Boston Herald reporter Michelle McPhee. Writing for Newsweek, McPhee suggests that the brothers did not act alone, that the FBI knew them well for many years, and that other killers may still be on the loose.
In the 2018 Newsweek article "Whoever Built the Boston Marathon Bombs is Still on the Loose, Able to Kill Again," McPhee writes:
"The FBI has said repeatedly that they don't know who armed the Tsarnaev brothers for their bloody attack, but cops in the Boston area think that there's a suspect in plain sight and that the bureau and the U.S. attorney are protecting him for some reason."
Newsweek reported in 2017 that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "can be seen carrying" a "white" backpack "in video taken before the deadly blasts." That video, which was presented as evidence on day two of the trial, shows the Tsarnaev brothers rounding the corner at Whiskey's Steakhouse. But the indictment, FBI statements, and a close-up of the backpack sitting all show that the backpack which killed Martin Richard was black, as was the backpack at the finish line allegedly planted by the older brother Tamerlan.
The backpack carried by Dzhokhar, the younger brother convicted of the crime, can be seen in the official prosecution surveillance compilation at :33 seconds (posted at Boston NPR affiliate WBUR.) The backpack which the prosecution asserted killed Richard, can be seen at the official FBI exhibits website labeled as Exhibit 29 in day two of the trial. The FBI maintained that both backpacks were black and that there were only two backpack bombs.
Although the Newsweek reporter calls the contention that the prosecution described both backpacks as black "bizarre," the indictment handed down against Tsarnaev after months of investigation states on page 3:
"The IEDs that exploded at the Marathon were constructed from pressure cookers, low explosive powder, shrapnel, adhesive, and other materials. They were concealed inside black backpacks."
Passage from page 3 of official and only indictment against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, posted at New York Times | Source
In a press conference on April 16th, the day after the bombing, Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, then head of the Boston FBI and the agent in charge of the investigation, stated:
"In addition, this morning, it was determined that both of the explosives were placed in a dark-colored nylon bag or backpack. The bag would have been heavy because of the components believed to be in it."
And in an interview with ABC News, FBI agent Kevin Swindon, head of the FBI’s Computer Analysis Response Team (CART) lab, described seeing the backpack in front of The Forum for the first time, which was the one that killed Martin Richard, in a photo submitted by a spectator.
ABC News reported it was the "key" to cracking the case. ABC reported:
"The photo, closely examined, showed a black backpack on the ground in the precise place that was what analysts said was the 'seat' of the bomb -- the exact spot where it exploded, next to a tree just behind eight-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the blast. Standing over the backpack was a young man with a white baseball cap worn backward....That was the 'Ah-ha!' said Swindon. 'We said, That's gotta be the bomb.'" .... Boston Marathon Bombing Evidence: Dzhokhar's Backpack Was White, Not Black
