Tsarnaev Faces State Murder Charge in Collier's Death

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office will move forward with criminal charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after the current federal trial is completed

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will face charges for the murder of an MIT police officer he and his brother are accused of shooting dead in his car in the bombings' aftermath.

Tsarnaev, who is now being tried in federal court for the deadly 2013 bombings, will be prosecuted on a state murder charge for the death of Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier once his federal trial is over, a Massachusetts state prosecutor said.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in a statement Thursday reiterated a previous statement from June 2013 in which she said Tsarnaev would face trial in Collier's death following his federal trial. He was indicted in 2013.

Tsarnaev is in the middle of his federal death penalty trial for the April 2013 bombing at the marathon finish line in which three people died and more than 260 were injured.

Collier was shot several days after the explosions as the suspects tried to escape.

Ryan also said her office's investigation into the suspects' shootout with police in which transit Officer Richard Donohue was shot should be complete within two months.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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