Jennifer Kauffman

Jennifer Kauffman delivered an unsworn victim impact statement at sentencing on Day 67. She recalled standing near Marathon Sports at the finish line when the first bomb exploded, while waiting with a friend for the friend's son to finish. She described the explosion's continuing effects on her health, work, relationships, and sense of safety.

Kauffman reported abdominal, neck, back, heart, and ear injuries, along with persistent pain, fatigue, hearing loss, and restrictions on eating and physical activity. She said she had been diagnosed with PTSD and experienced nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, and panic attacks. The court proceedings, she explained, had brought her nightmares back with renewed intensity. She also described withdrawing socially and feeling misunderstood because her injuries were not readily visible.

Kauffman said she had given up her coaching and consulting clients after the bombings, lived on savings for 15 months, and returned to limited work in July 2014. She reported spending more than $50,000 on treatment and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings. She closed by expressing forgiveness toward the defendant and his brother, while asking the defendant to accept full responsibility and forgo appeals so survivors could move forward in peace.