Female DNA has been found on at least on at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks, but have yet to determine whose it is or whether it indicates if a woman helped the Tsarnaevs execute their deadly plot on April 15, USA Today reported.
An unidentified official said there could be multiple explanations for the female imprints, which could include a store clerk who handled the materials that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar used to make the bombs. It could also be genetic material that ended up on the explosive devices, perhaps from a marathon bystander near the blasts.
FBI agents also received DNA samples from Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamerlan who died in a shootout with police on April 19. The sample will be compared with the genetic material recovered. She supported the family by working as a home health aide.
Her attorney said she and her family expressed shock that her husband and brother in law emerged as suspects.
Meanwhile, suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being held in a U.S. prison medical facility at Fort Devens, nearly 40 miles west of Boston.
A federal judge approved the addition of attorney Judy Clarke to join Tsarnaev's legal team. Clarke assisted Jared Loughner who is serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Loughner killed six and wounded 13 in Tuscon, Arizona. Clarke also defended Ted Kaczynski, also known the Unabomber.
Russian officials alerted the CIA about their concerns over the potential radicalization of Tamerlan Tsarnaev in late September 2011, and a US intelligence official says the agency nominated Tsarnaev for inclusion on a government terror watch-list. The partnership, while somewhat strained because of mutual mistrust, has harbored positive results, according to President Obama. The president indicated he spoke to his Russian counterpart about counterterrorism strategies.
"In late September 2011, the CIA received information from a foreign government on Tamerlan that was nearly identical to the information the FBI received in March 2011," a US intelligence official said Wednesday in a written statement.
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