Just in case the Boston Marathon bombing case has yet to reach peak surreality: The FBI now believes that 19-year-old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev effectively entangled his friends into destroying evidence by texting them "LOL."
Dias Kadyrbayev noticed on Thursday, April 18 that the image of "Suspect #2" -- a shaggy-haired young man in a white baseball cap -- released by the FBI in connection to the Marathon bombings looked like his friend Dzhokhar. Kadyrbayev, 19, texted Tsarnaev that evening around 8:40 to ask what was up with that.
"Tsarnaev's return texts contained 'lol' and other things KADYRBAYEV interpreted as jokes," according to a federal criminal complaint released today, "such as 'you better not text me' and 'come to my room and take whatever you want.'" That turned out to be a fateful series of texts.
According to the complaint, earlier that day, Kadyrbayev and their mutual friend Azamat Tazhayakov entered Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth the following day, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. They watched an unspecified movie with Tsarnaev's roommate while Tazhayakov noticed that Dzhokhar's backpack contained "fireworks." Allegedly, Kadyrbayev put two and two together when he saw the empty fireworks containers -- it's unclear if that happened before he texted Tsarnaev -- and figured their friend was the bomber. News reports on the room TV showing the fateful footage of Tsarnaev, followed by his texts, confirmed it.
Then they decided to help their bro.
According to the complaint, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov gathered up the backpack, Tsarnaev's laptop -- apparently to avoid making the roommate think they were stealing Tsarnaev's stuff -- and placed it into a trash bag. During that crucial evening, Tsarnaev allegedly texted his friends, "I'm about to leave if you need something in my room take it." The next morning, Kadyrbayev allegedly placed the bag into a dumpster near Tsarnaev's Carriage Place apartment.
Federal agents recovered the bag -- including Tsarnaev's computer. They interviewed Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov over the last two weeks, as well as another friend, Robel Phillipos, 19 years old like the others. All three were arrested and charged in Boston today. Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, Kazakh nationals here on a student visa, face charges of obstruction of justice that could jail them each for up to five years. Phillipos, a U.S. citizen, faces charges of lying to investigators, an eight-year maximum sentence. There is, perhaps inevitably, already a #FreeRobel hashtag.
Tsarnaev, by all accounts a charismatic personality, has his loyalists online. Apparently, he had a few IRL, too.
