The aunt of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing alleged that the case against her nephews may have been "staged."
Maret Tsarnaev, of Toronto, spoke with Canada's CTV about Tamerlan, 26, and his brother, Dzhokhar, 19. She said that the FBI has not given her enough evidence to convince her that Dzhokhar and the now-deceased Tamerlan committed the crimes of which they are accused.
"Why FBI does not give me more?" she asked reporters who surrounded her in Canada on Friday afternoon. She said she wants to see more evidence than just the bureau's photo of Tamerlan and Dzhokar.
"I am suspicious that this was staged," she said, referring to the still images released by authorities from a security camera on the day of the bombing. "The picture was staged [by] whoever needs this, whoever is looking for those who need to be blamed for these attacks."
She reiterated the sentiment to the Toronto Sun, as well.
“This is a huge tragedy for the family,” the 45-year-old said. “My brother’s two boys, they are growing up so fast. My first reaction is, ‘Why the hell would they do this?’ But when I go through all the material, it’s not giving anything … the whole world is now making a decision [on them] now by just seeing these pictures and not having anything else.”
The aunt does not seem to believe that her nephews, whom she described as "smart boys, good boys," could be to blame for killing three and injuring more than 170.
Other family members of the Chechen brothers have also spoken out.
Anzor Tsarnaev, the suspects' father, claims he is shocked that his two sons could ever be involved in a bombing because they hated firearms.
"They never could have done this. Never, ever, ever!" Tsarnev told People magazine via a phone conversation from Russia. "I feel terrible! Why they kill my son? Something wrong! My sons never do bombing. They hated guns – how they do bombs?"
The sister of the bombing suspects, identified as Alina Tsarnaev, called them two "great people." But their uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, said they are "losers."
When asked what could have motivated them, Tsarni said, “Being losers, hatred to those who were able to settle themselves; these are the only reasons I can imagine of. Anything else, anything else to do with religion, with Islam – it’s a fraud, it’s a fake."
Tamerlan was killed during a police shootout in the Boston suburb of Watertown on Friday morning. Dzhokhar, who is presumed to be armed and dangerous, is still at large. The city of Boston and surrounding areas remain in lockdown as police continue their manhunt.
Related
Before You Go
