Day 38 - March 24, 2015

Matthew Levitt completed testimony comparing the defendant's boat writing with extremist literature. He distinguished Islamic teaching from the movement's treatment of civilians and described reprisal themes. On cross-examination, he said he could not independently verify the supplied files' provenance, had received no material from Tamerlan Tsarnaev's computer, and had not been asked to identify who radicalized the defendant. He maintained that the writing paralleled the supplied material while acknowledging other possible influences. On redirect, he said exposure to radical ideas does not necessarily lead to violence. Colleen Tanguay described documenting the Laurel Street scene after the suspect search and clearance of explosive hazards delayed access. Photographs showed the Ruger, ammunition, bomb pieces and damage to homes and vehicles. Firearms examiner David Cahill attributed all 56 recovered Watertown 9 mm casings and five MIT-related projectiles to the recovered Ruger P95. He attributed approximately 210 other casings to police weapons, clarifying that 16 rifle casings came from a separate incident four blocks away. He could not match 32 projectiles recovered from the Mercedes SUV to police weapons. On redirect, he identified a projectile recovered inside a police car as having been fired by the recovered gun. Timothy Dowd explained the limits of his scene diagrams, including illustrative vehicle placement and his reliance on evidence placards identified by Tanguay. During a sidebar about Officer Dic Donohue's injury, prosecutors said they could not identify the shooter and would not argue that either brother shot him. The court rejected the proposed inquiry as speculative and irrelevant. Later, it declined to recall Dowd or strike disputed house bullet-hole testimony; the parties disagreed over whether that testimony established a Ruger identification. Christopher Donahue identified Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's fingerprints on the ammunition box and pellet-gun trigger, and Tamerlan's prints on the Ruger magazine and live rounds. Cross-examination established that Dzhokhar's prints were not identified on the magazine or live rounds. Donahue could not date the prints and cautioned that an absent print did not establish that someone had never touched an object. Jennifer Montgomery testified that stains on a Honda Civic key card matched Sean Collier's DNA profile. Miguel Colon identified the defendant as the SUV driver and described the vehicle striking and dragging a person on the ground. On cross-examination, he said he could not determine how many people were shooting. Other testimony covered firing-range records, university records and the dorm-room search. Matthew Riportella qualified his reading of a rented handgun model and said his interpretation of ammunition marks came from information supplied to him. Mark Preble distinguished recorded card swipes from door openings. Kimberly Franks authenticated dorm-room evidence admitted over preserved defense objections; her examination remained unfinished at recess. The court authorized confidential defense access to Tazhayakov's presentence report. It also allowed some autopsy photographs with victims' faces masked, reserved review of a close-up wound photograph, and deferred a decision on private press viewing. Counsel discussed defense witnesses and advance review of jury instructions.