3.Marc Fucarile — Direct
231 linesMARC FUCARILE, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: State your name, spell your last name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic so everyone can hear you.
MARC FUCARILE: Marc Fucarile. M-A-R-C, last name Fucarile, F-U-C-A-R-I-L-E.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Good morning, Mr. Fucarile.
MARC FUCARILE: Good morning.
MR. WEINREB: How old are you?
MARC FUCARILE: Thirty-six.
MR. WEINREB: Are you married?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: What's your wife's name?
MARC FUCARILE: Jennifer.
MR. WEINREB: Do you have any children?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: How many?
MARC FUCARILE: One, a seven-year-old boy.
MR. WEINREB: What's his name?
MARC FUCARILE: Gavin.
MR. WEINREB: What town do you live in?
MARC FUCARILE: I live in Redding at the moment.
MR. WEINREB: How long have you lived there? How long have you lived there?
MARC FUCARILE: Since I got out of the hospital. A year and a half.
MR. WEINREB: Where did you grow up?
MARC FUCARILE: I grew up in Stoneham.
MR. WEINREB: Where did you go to school?
MARC FUCARILE: I went to Stoneham High School.
MR. WEINREB: Were you at the Boston Marathon in 2013?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Who did you go there with?
MARC FUCARILE: I went there -- we met people there. I went to the actual marathon with JP Norden; Stevie B., is what they call him, just the second time of hanging out with him; and Jared Crowley and a female friend of Steven's. I forget her name.
MR. WEINREB: Why were you there?
MARC FUCARILE: I was there to support a friend of ours from high school.
MR. WEINREB: Who was that? Was it Mike Jefferson?
MARC FUCARILE: Mike J. Mike Jefferson. He's a marine. He was running for fallen soldiers.
MR. WEINREB: Do you remember when you arrived at the marathon?
MARC FUCARILE: I think we left the house a little after 11:30. I'm not exactly 100 percent sure when we parked and made the long trek to where we were standing that day.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So what in general, though, did you do after you arrived in Boston? Where did you go, what did you do?
MARC FUCARILE: We parked. We were actually on the opposite side of Boylston Street from the Forum. And we were supposed to be meeting JP's brother Paul, his girlfriend and -- there was a total of eight of us that day -- on the other side of the street. So we ended up on the wrong side. So we made a long trek up Boylston Street, crossed over at the fire department before Mass. Ave., came back down, down Hereford Street or so, and then walked up I think Newbury or one of those streets to get back onto Mass. Ave. to come around over Commonwealth Ave. and get on the right side of Boylston Street.
MR. WEINREB: So you mentioned JP Norden and Paul Norden?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Are they brothers?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Are they friends of yours?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes, grew up with them.
MR. WEINREB: And you did eventually all meet up together?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes, we did. Right in front of the Forum.
MR. WEINREB: I'm going to show you an exhibit.
MR. WEINREB: Exhibit 22, please. Let's just not run it yet. This is already in evidence.
MR. WEINREB: So if you look at the screen in front of you, you'll be able to see it. Do you recognize that area?
MARC FUCARILE: Oh, yeah.
MR. WEINREB: What is that?
MARC FUCARILE: That's the Forum restaurant we were standing in front of, and this is Boylston Street. I see JP with the red mark on his jacket with his black hat, me in my gray jacket. I have a black hat and sunglasses on.
MR. WEINREB: So that screen in front of you is actually touch sensitive and if you --
MARC FUCARILE: Oh, it is? I just touched -- yeah --
MR. WEINREB: There you go. So that arrow is pointing directly at you, correct?
MARC FUCARILE: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: And just to your left, you said there's an individual with the red band on his arm?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, that's JP.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So we don't see Paul here yet, right?
MARC FUCARILE: No. That's Steve, who drove us there that day.
MR. WEINREB: Paul came over a little later?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah. I think -- yeah, if you play the video --
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So let's do that.
MR. WEINREB: So if we could just play the first 20 seconds here.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: So you see a figure in a white circle walking up towards the -- where you are.
MARC FUCARILE: Yup.
MR. WEINREB: Actually, I think that's Paul right there in the red hat. I think.
MR. WEINREB: Okay.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: So I'm going to skip ahead now in the video to about 20 seconds.
MARC FUCARILE: Oh, there's Paul in the gray hat.
MR. WEINREB: Right. Why don't we play it for the next 25 seconds or so.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So now the person you identified as JP, did he just walk over here --
MARC FUCARILE: JP is right here.
MR. WEINREB: Right. And he's tapping somebody?
MARC FUCARILE: He's hugging, I'm pretty sure that's Mike Jefferson's mother.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Can we pause right there for a second.
MR. WEINREB: So now these two people right here who I circled in blue.
MARC FUCARILE: That's Paul and JP. Paul is in the dark hat -- I'm sorry. JP is in the dark hat and Paul is in the gray with the white shirt.
MR. WEINREB: If you would continue, please.
(Vide recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: And pause right here.
MR. WEINREB: What are you wearing on your face and your head in that photo?
MARC FUCARILE: I have a black hat and sunglasses.
MR. WEINREB: Continue, please. Actually, we're done there. Let's skip ahead now to a few minutes, three minutes, actually, ahead.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: Actually, pause it there for a second, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you remember bombs going off?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, I remember the first -- yeah, I remember the first one.
MR. WEINREB: What happened when the first bomb exploded?
MARC FUCARILE: Like everybody kind of flinched and looked in the direction of the first bomb, which would be to my left down the street closer to the finish line.
MR. WEINREB: Can you play it, please.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: So what happened? What do you remember happening after that? You said everybody flinched and looked to the left. What did you do?
MARC FUCARILE: We kind of all looked at -- like looked around to see where to go, what to do. We all agreed it wasn't good. We knew it was something. I'm a person who in my mind I always think the worst-case scenario situation, so I knew: Perfect place to do something bad, you know? I'm always thinking crowds like that, easy targets.
MR. WEINREB: So what did you do?
MARC FUCARILE: I stepped back, and next thing I remember is looking up at the sky.
MR. WEINREB: What do you remember after that?
MARC FUCARILE: A lot of yelling, a lot of screaming, people calling for tourniquets, a tablecloth. I remember a lot of pressure on my chest. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest but it was the nurse actually holding me down. And I remember her screaming, "Oh, shit. He's still on fire," so I -- she said, "We need to cut his pants off, I need scissors." And I actually said "my pants" in my head, so I helped undo my belt buckle, and that's where I got the third degree burn on my hand, that skin graft, from the belt buckle being so hot. So I helped her get my belt buckle off and what was left of my pants at the end, more Daisy Dukes.
MR. WEINREB: Can we play Exhibit 23 which is also in evidence? Okay.
MR. WEINREB: So we're going to pick up now where that other video left off, and I'd just ask you to direct your attention to where you were standing right before the bomb exploded.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: Would you pause it for one second there, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you see yourself?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, I'm right here. I was standing here.
MR. WEINREB: Okay.
MR. WEINREB: Continue, please, Mr. Bruemmer.
(Video recording played.)
MARC FUCARILE: You can see the fire in my crotch right there. And this is before the nurse came over.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. So what are you doing there?
MARC FUCARILE: Trying to get up.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Continue.
MARC FUCARILE: That's when I realized that something bad had happened.
(Video recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Let's pause here for a second.
MR. WEINREB: Now, directing your attention to your right leg over there, what happened to your right leg?
MARC FUCARILE: Amputated instantly right through the knee.
MR. WEINREB: Now, you mentioned before that you were on fire?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, you could see the flames.
MR. WEINREB: How badly were you burned?
MARC FUCARILE: A lot. Probably 90 percent of my lower extremity from my waist down.
MR. WEINREB: How about your face?
MARC FUCARILE: Oh, yes. I didn't even -- my face, second degree. I had scarring. My lips; my hair was singed, burnt; forearms; my hands; pieces of my chest from -- pieces of my back.
MR. WEINREB: Your legs?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, my legs: Skin graft.
MR. WEINREB: How many skin grafts did you need to prepare the damage?
MARC FUCARILE: A lot. I have -- they took probably 80 percent of my back -- the skin off my back; they took -- they needed more skin so they took off the front of my thigh area where they needed just to try to gain anywhere that wasn't burnt.
MR. WEINREB: What does it mean to have a skin graft?
MARC FUCARILE: It's kind of like a cheese grater. They slice your skin off, thin, thin, and then they spread it out using like a -- almost like a pizza dough roller to make the skin actually larger to cover more of an area so...
MR. WEINREB: You said they took it primarily from your back?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah.
MR. WEINREB: When you would sleep at night, were you able to sleep on your stomach?
MR. WEINREB: So you had to sleep on your back?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Was your hearing affected?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: In what way?
MARC FUCARILE: Both my eardrums were perforated, blown apart. I'm pretty much permanently deaf in my right ear, and in my left ear I lost -- some severe inner ear damage, which is my hearing.
MR. WEINREB: What exactly happened to your right leg, the one you said was amputated on the scene?
MARC FUCARILE: Went out in the street, I guess. A firefighter told me I handed it to him. I don't recall that. And from what I've seen of the video -- I haven't seen the whole video, so I don't know.
MR. WEINREB: But was it amputated above or below the knee?
MARC FUCARILE: It's hard to tell. I don't know if you have the pictures from when I was on the -- but...
MR. WEINREB: What about after, when you went to the hospital?
MARC FUCARILE: Oh, yeah. Since surgery I've been an above-the-knee amputee, but I've had two revisions already, so I'm shorter above the knee. And I go for a third revision May 5th now.
MR. WEINREB: What's a revision?
MARC FUCARILE: The first two were done primarily because of infections, and HO, when your bone actually grows bone spurs and it inflames everything. And so I had two infections -- two bone infections -- so they had to cut the bone shorter, re-stitch you, and now I have what's called evagination, where it actually -- scar pulls in towards the bone, so it creates an air pocket in my prosthetic, so that doesn't fit properly. So now I'm going down to get a revision. This one's not due to infection or bone loss, but they will be cutting off some bone to stretch the muscle over the front of it, and then they'll layer stitch it to stop the skin from actually being able to pull in so I can get a normal fit on a prosthetic without having -- what I'm having now is blistering and skin breakdown because of that little air pocket, that evagination gives.
MR. WEINREB: What happened to your left leg?
MARC FUCARILE: My left leg was severely burnt, blew off calf muscle, major artery loss, giant hole. The back of my heel bone was shattered, my joints in my foot were separated. They re-pinned all my foot back together, re-pinned the tendons on to the joints to keep them in line, filled with debris, shrap metal.
MR. WEINREB: You're speaking in the past. Is that all done? Is it all fixed?
MARC FUCARILE: No, no. I just spent yesterday three hours getting probed with needles to do nerve testing because they're trying to figure out why my left foot is in the pain that it's in. And I still need to go in and debride more of my heel bone that was blasted into my ankle, they haven't taken that out yet, so they're going to take that out as well on May 5th when I do my revision. And they nerve-blocked one of my nerves yesterday as well.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know if you're going to be able to keep your left leg?
MARC FUCARILE: No, nothing. No, not at all. That's what we're trying to do still, if we can. I'm in what they call an IDEO brace right now. It's a similar -- it's actually the exact same thing Jess Kensky had. And it keeps your foot pretty much straightened and offloads all of the weightbearing up into my skin grafts under my knee.
MR. WEINREB: So the goal here is to save your left leg?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, we're going to try. Yup.
MR. WEINREB: And if they're not able to save it, have they told you where it will have to be amputated?
MARC FUCARILE: Above the knee more than likely. They said they would attempt to cut me below the knee but it doesn't look promising and eventually it could go up.
MR. WEINREB: Are you able to use a prosthetic limb rather than a wheelchair?
MARC FUCARILE: Very occasionally. I got a time when I wear it and use it because of the skin breakdown because I'm burned on the both right and left -- back of my left and right leg and on my ass, so where the prosthetic attaches up to your butt -- sorry -- a little swearing -- up, it rubs on the skin graft. And it actually, because it's so thin it breaks down, so it creates open wounds. So you got to take off your leg and let it heal before you could put it back on again usually.
MR. WEINREB: How long were you in the hospital after the bombing?
MARC FUCARILE: I was in Mass. General 45 days, which I was released early to get to Spaulding, so I was in hopes of seeing my kid; like my son being able to stay with me because they told me he would, which it didn't turn out that way. So I was in there for 45 days. I was promised I wasn't going to leave with any open wounds from Mass. General, but I left with three Wound VACs.
MR. WEINREB: What's a Wound VAC?
MARC FUCARILE: A Wound VAC is like a sponge-type material that they put over a wide-open wound. And then they tape it, seal it off, they poke a hole and put a little suction cup with a hose that goes through a machine that sucks fluid and -- so it doesn't pool and create bacteria. And then they have to change that every couple of days because that actual mesh netting, looks like a sponge, it adheres to your skin, so you've got to take it off and then put a new one on. And I had three of them. I had one on my right leg, one on my left heel, and one on my left ankle. Because where the tendon died, they couldn't adhere a skin graft to until some other stuff happened.
MR. WEINREB: Is all of this in an effort to ward off infection?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: In order to ward off infection, did you have to take a lot of medication?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: How much medication?
MARC FUCARILE: 24 pills in the morning, 22 pills in the afternoon, and 26 at night, and that's not counting some other just in-between stuff. That was just my main dosage of medication.
MR. WEINREB: You mentioned earlier that there was shrapnel in your body?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: You provided us with some X-ray photos the other day, and those are Exhibit 1608, 1609 and 1610. Are those, to the best of your knowledge, X-rays of your body that were taken during your treatment?
MARC FUCARILE: I don't see them here but I can recall -- I remember sending them to you, yeah.
MR. WEINREB: The government offers 1608, 1609 and 1610.
MS. CONRAD: As previously noted, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. They'll be admitted.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 1608, 1609 and 1610 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Can I have 1608, please.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: If you'd look at your screen, do you see that?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know what those white circles represent?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes. Ball-bearings, BBs.
MR. WEINREB: And I'm going to circle something right here.
MARC FUCARILE: Yup.
MR. WEINREB: It's straight. What's that?
MARC FUCARILE: That's a nail.
MR. WEINREB: Were they able to remove all of those from your body?
MARC FUCARILE: No. It's not worth risking. They did remove some of them because they had to because there was a threat of ruining my urinary tract and causing some major problems, infections. More problems and more infection. They were only able to get two out of the three that they were concerned about.
MR. WEINREB: May we have 1610, please.
MR. WEINREB: Is that also a picture of you?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Are those also BBs?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know how many of those they were able to remove?
MARC FUCARILE: Just the ones that forced themselves out. There's also things you can't see, is the plastic pieces and stuff.
MR. WEINREB: They're still in your body?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: 1609, please.
MR. WEINREB: What's that?
MARC FUCARILE: I don't know if that's from -- is that -- those are more BBs, but I'm just trying to see.
MR. WEINREB: If you don't know, that's all right. But let me ask you something else. Was there a piece of shrapnel or BB lodged in or near your heart?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, it's in my right atrium.
MR. WEINREB: What's the right atrium?
MARC FUCARILE: Of your heart. You have a right and your left atrium. That's where your blood returns to your heart. And it -- actually, they couldn't find any direct path, so there was no penetration through my heart, so it came up through my artery. Because the bomb literally went off under me and the blast came up and it actually went through my vein back into my right atrium and it lodged into the right atrium right before the valve, left valve, which is going to the left atrium, which should pump to your lungs. And that's where it probably -- they're worried about it puncturing my lungs if it releases.
MR. WEINREB: What would happen -- have you been told what would happen if it released and punctured your lungs?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, I would have a collapsed lung and I would have to get to the hospital before I didn't breathe anymore.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know what happened to JP Norden?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, JP Norden is a right leg below. We call it a BK, below-the-knee amputee.
MR. WEINREB: What about his brother Paul Martin?
MARC FUCARILE: Yeah, Paul Norden's a right leg AK, above-the-knee amputee. And both had other wounds and...
MR. WEINREB: So how many surgical procedures have you had since the bombing?
MARC FUCARILE: In the high 60s surgical procedures.
MR. WEINREB: And, in fact, where were you this morning when you woke up?
MARC FUCARILE: I was actually at Walter Reed Medical Hospital down in D.C.
MR. WEINREB: Why are you there?
MARC FUCARILE: I'm there continuing my surgeries. That's what I'm getting ready to do for May 5th.
MR. WEINREB: Have the doctors told you that there's any end in sight for the need to keep doing surgeries and...
MARC FUCARILE: No, there isn't right now. They don't know. They're still trying to figure out what they're going to do with my left leg even on -- they have the surgery date for the 5th. They know what they're doing with my right, but it's still -- I know the debris in the left ankle from the bone fragments, but as far as the nerve and the other pain in my left foot, that's what I still got to go back down on Monday and Tuesday to do more testing.
MR. WEINREB: Do you understand what the risks are for you going forward given your injuries and all these procedures?
MARC FUCARILE: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: What are they?
MARC FUCARILE: I mean, it could be anything from infections to death to above-the-knee amputation from everything.
MR. WEINREB: No further questions, your Honor.
MS. CONRAD: No questions.
THE COURT: No questions? All right, sir. Thank you.
MARC FUCARILE: Thank you.
(The witness is excused.)
MR. MELLIN: The United States calls Heather Abbott.