Traces of female DNA found on bomb used in Boston blasts

New York: Investigators have discovered female DNA on one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon attack but it may be premature to jump to conclusions about a female bomber. There are several plausible reasons for why a woman’s DNA or anyone’s for that matter, other than the two bombing suspects — Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar — could have been found on the bomb’s exploded remnants. Investigators told The Wall Street Journal that the “genetic material could have come, for example, from a store clerk who handled materials used in the bombs or a stray hair that ended up in the bomb.” [caption id=“attachment_739619” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  The investigators took Russell’s DNA sample to determine if it matches the female genetic material found on at least one of the bombs. AP[/caption] However, as federal agents continue their investigation into the bombing, the focus is increasingly shifting to the woman one of the suspects left behind. An official familiar with the case told the Journal that FBI agents went to the Rhode Island home of the parents of Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev to collect a DNA sample from her. The investigators took Russell’s DNA sample to determine if it matches the female genetic material found on at least one of the bombs. American-born Russell is one of as many as half-dozen people in whom investigators are interested as they seek to determine if the brothers had any help in the bomb attack or the days afterward when they were on the run. From all-American girl to bomber’s wife Russell, 24, is doing everything she can to assist with the Boston investigation. According to her lawyer, Russell found out her husband was one of the Boston bombers the same way the rest of the world did, by seeing it on television. Attorney Amato DeLuca said Russell and her family were in shock when her husband and brother-in-law emerged as suspects. Russell, a Boston college dropout, converted from Christianity to Islam before marrying Tamerlan Tsarnaev three years ago. She later gave birth to a daughter. Russell worked long 70 to 80 hour weeks as a home health aide to support her family while her husband stayed home to look after their curly-haired toddler. Described by the US media as an all-American girl, Russell grew up in a Christian household and wasn’t particularly religious as a teen, but became a devout Muslim after meeting Tsarnaev. Last week, her lawyer emphasized: “She believes in the tenets of Islam and of the Quran. She believes in God.” The young American woman, who was besotted with Tsarnaev, married him in 2010 even though he had been previously arrested for domestic assault. The case was later dropped because the victim refused to cooperate. According to a police report, Tsarnaev, then a heavyweight boxer admitted slapping his girlfriend in the July 2009 incident. Media commentary has focused on how Tsarnaev, a cocky boxer and flamboyant dresser partial to white fur and snakeskin, turned to radical Islam after his boxing aspirations were frustrated. After capturing his second consecutive title as the Golden Gloves heavyweight champion of New England in 2010, Tsarnaev, was barred from the national Tournament of Champions because he was not a US citizen. The frustrated boxer and his younger brother Dzhokhar attacked the Boston Marathon in their American hometown on Patriots’ Day, on April 15 killing three people and wounding over 250. The Boston bombing was the worst bombing on US soil since security was tightened after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, 2001. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and is being held in a US prison medical facility. He was wounded during the gun battle that killed his elder brother Tamerlan during the police manhunt before his capture.