Olga LaFond

Olga LaFond testified for the prosecution on Day 39 as an FBI Russian linguist, explaining her review of translations used in the government's evidence. She described her qualifications and competency testing and emphasized conveying meaning in context rather than translating word for word. She clarified that she had reviewed almost all the translations for accuracy rather than originally preparing them and thought she had translated one.

LaFond confirmed translated handgun-guide text and computer file names. She distinguished the guide's original Russian language from the Ukrainian website and did not remember the source of a document counsel associated with a Sony VAIO laptop. The court admitted Government Exhibits 1321, 1408 and 1409 without objection.

On cross-examination, defense counsel William W. Fick tested whether translations of Tsarnaev's tweets missed literary or musical references. LaFond did not recognize the Sergey Esenin quotation he proposed, was unaware of his proposed rap-song reference, and acknowledged that she had not researched either phrase's origin. She confirmed a translation stating that the writer would die young and acknowledged spelling errors, but rejected Fick's proposed division of a Russian word as nonsensical in context. The court initially allowed questioning over an objection, then sustained a later objection during questions about puns. Fick ended the examination, and LaFond was excused.