The body of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, killed in a shootout with police, has been claimed by a funeral home.
A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, where the body has been since mid-April, said it was picked up Thursday by a funeral home hired by the Tsarnaev family, The Associated Press reported. Dyer-Lake Funeral Director Tim Nye said to The Sun-Chronicle that the body was placed temporarily in his facility and taken to another unnamed home.
The medical examiner’s office, meanwhile, reported it’s close to announcing the 26-year-old’s official cause of death. His cause of death was determined earlier this week, AP reported, but the medical examiner refused to announce it for the public until the body was claimed, and a death certificate put on file.
Katherine Russell, Tsarnaev’s widow, said through her attorney and from Rhode Island — where she’s been living with her parents — that she learned the medical examiner wanted to release the body a few days ago, AP reported.
On Tuesday, Tsarnaev’s uncle from Maryland, Ruslan Tsarni, said he would accept the body.
“Of course, family members will take possession of the body,” he told AP.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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