Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Injuries Revealed In New Court Documents
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s injuries were detailed in new court documents unsealed on Tuesday. According to them, the Boston bombing suspect suffered several serious injuries before his capture.
Dzhokhar, along with his deceased brother Tamerlan, are thought to be responsible for the April 15 bombings during the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured hundreds more.
While Tamerlan died during a gun battle with police, his 19-year-old brother was captured while hiding in a boat in the backyard of a home in Watertown, Massachusetts.
USA Today reports that the younger brother was seriously injured. According to the court documents, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s injuries included a skull fracture and a gunshot wound to his face.
The injuries were part of a testimony given shortly after the younger Tsarnaev’s arrest by Dr. Stephen Ray Odom. The trauma surgeon treated Dzhokhar at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
ABC News notes that, according to the transcript, Tsarnaev suffered “multiple gunshot wounds, the most severe of which appears to have entered through the left side of his mouth and exited the left face, lower face.”
The shot was described as a “high-powered injury” that caused damage to the teen’s ear, throat, mouth, skull, and vertebrae. There were also “multiple gunshot wounds” to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s arms and legs.
Along with the initial surgeries, Odom treated Tsarnaev for several days after he was initially admitted to the hospital. Along with dressing the wounds, Odom also helped to treat bone injuries, especially in the 19-year-old’s left hand, with fixation. Doctors also repaired tendons and performed “vascular litigation.”
After his initial treatment at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Boston bombing suspect was transferred to a prison medical facility in Devens, Massachusetts. He appeared in court to plead not guilty on bomb-related charges. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
According to the documents, Dzhoknar Tsarnaev remains in the hospital while he recovers from the injuries sustained in April.
