Laura Lee

Laura Lee testified for the defense on Day 55 about treating Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after his capture in Watertown on April 19, 2013. The Boston Emergency Medical Services paramedic described head, jaw, eye, and leg injuries, but said he was initially stable, awake, and alert. During transport to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, he followed commands and answered medical questions. She identified the scene shown in Defendant's Exhibit 3060G, a photograph the court admitted.

Lee described assessing his head wound and airway, applying a bandage, and using a cervical collar to hold it against his head. Her observations about wound paths and possible eye-muscle damage were qualified, not definitive diagnoses. She attributed his later loudness and discomfort to a tight, tourniquet-like leg dressing applied by another occupant. When prosecutor Steven Mellin asked that she finish her answer, the court agreed. Lee had not applied that dressing and could not establish the other occupants' medical training.

Lee said Tsarnaev did not try to leave, while noting that seat belts, straps, and handcuffs restrained him. She recalled him asking where his brother was upon arrival at the hospital. That recollection did not establish what he knew about his brother's condition or why he asked. The prosecution asked no questions.