海角大神

On their last day of witness testimony, the prosecution in the Boston Marathon bombing trial wanted to bring a moment from one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in almost two decades up to a life-sized scale.

The twin bombings have been pored over for months in this trial. There is little the jury hasn鈥檛 already seen regarding the case, including the聽聽of the bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 鈥渓urking鈥� behind a crowd before planting his pressure cooker bomb.

Still, over numerous objections from the defense, the prosecution brought out a large white banner with a scanned image of a sidewalk grate. The picture was a scale replica image of the grate where Mr. Tsarnaev placed the bomb 鈥� and where the Richard family, including 8-year-old victim Martin Richard, were watching the marathon on April 15, 2013. It had been replicated from the 鈥渓urking鈥� picture by FBI Boston field photographer Michelle Gamble, who took the stand as a witness this morning.

鈥淲hat are those people standing on?鈥� asked a prosecutor.

鈥淎 grate,鈥� replied Ms. Gamble.

鈥淚s that grate there now?鈥� the prosecutor asked.

鈥淣辞.鈥�

鈥淲hy not?鈥�

鈥淚t was blown into several pieces.鈥�

Prosecutors then began to choreograph the final moments before the bomb detonated. A prosecutor took the position of Martin Richard, while Gamble took the position of the bomb on the mock 鈥済rate.鈥�

鈥淐an you measure distance between the bomb and Martin Richard?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淚鈥檇 say about 3.5 feet,鈥� replied Gamble.

Yet as dramatic as Gamble鈥檚 testimony was, the prosecution focused much of their last day of testimony in the penalty phase on survivors instead of victims.

The prosecution called 15 witnesses over the past three days 鈥� a fraction of the 92 witnesses called over 15 days in the trial鈥檚 first phase. The jury heard from the friends and family of Krystle Campbell and Lingzi Lu, who were both killed in the blasts, as well as those of Sean Collier, the MIT police officer who was fatally shot by Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan several days later.

Both Ms. Campbell's and Mr. Collier鈥檚 fathers and brothers testified, and Lu鈥檚 aunt testified after revealing that Lu鈥檚 parents were 鈥渢oo devastated鈥� to travel from China to testify.

No family members took the stand Thursday. The first witness of the day was Marc Fucarile, a survivor who lost a leg to the second bombing.

His testimony covered the actual bombing only briefly before moving on to his lengthy rehabilitation. Mr. Fucarile described the 45 days he spent in the hospital.

Fucarile said that the number of surgical procedures he鈥檚 had since the bombings are 鈥渋n the high sixties鈥� 鈥� and could possibly keep rising as his right leg is still 鈥渟alvageable.鈥�

鈥淲here were you earlier today?鈥� asked a prosecutor in court this morning.

鈥淎t Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where I鈥檓 continuing my treatment,鈥� Fucarile replied.

鈥淗ave your doctors suggested to you when there might be an end in sight?鈥�

鈥淣o,鈥� he replied again, quickly.

Fucarile finished his testimony and rolled down from the witness stand, his route to the exit taking him immediately past Tsarnaev. Both men ignored each other as Fucarile 鈥� familiar with his wheelchair for the better part of two years now 鈥� barely slowed on his way to the exit.

On the day of the bombing, Fucarile and Tsarnaev wouldn鈥檛 have been much further apart than they were today. The next witness of the day 鈥� Heather Abbott 鈥� was probably only a few feet down the sidewalk from Tsarnaev, waiting to get into the Forum restaurant to meet friends.

鈥淎s I reached for my ID the first bomb went off,鈥� she said.

Everyone around her flinched, and then a moment later the second bomb went off.

鈥淚 was catapulted through the front doors of the restaurant,鈥� she said, where she said she fell 鈥渋nto chaos.鈥�

Ms. Abbott was later taken to Brigham & Women鈥檚 Hospital, where she ultimately decided to have her leg amputated.

鈥淚t was probably the hardest decision I鈥檝e ever had to make in my life,鈥� she added.

Before she left the stand, the prosecution asked her to name some survivors in roughly a dozen photographs from a slideshow displayed to the courtroom.

One survivor wasn鈥檛 included in the slideshow, and he was the last witness of the day.

Steve Woolfenden began his Marathon Monday 2013 with 鈥渘ormal, day-to-day鈥� activities with his son, Leo: eating breakfast, brushing their teeth, eating lunch. Then they headed down to the marathon to watch his wife, Amber, finish.

As he worked his way, falteringly, through his story, the tension steadily built up in the courtroom. Mr. Woolfenden described how he drove into Boston and parked near Boston Common before walking toward the finish line on Boylston Street to meet friends at a restaurant.

鈥淚鈥檓 no longer unfamiliar with Boylston Street. At the time I was very unfamiliar with Boylston Street,鈥� he told the prosecutor.

He ended up on the wrong side of Boylston. In the process of trying to get to the other side of the street, the first bomb went off near the finish line.

鈥淲hen first bomb detonated what did you try to do?鈥� asked a prosecutor.

鈥淚 was in shock and disbelief, then it registered that we had to get out of there,鈥� Woolfenden replied. 鈥淭he most logical idea was to do 180 and head in other direction. But we couldn鈥檛.鈥�

鈥淲hy couldn鈥檛 you?鈥�

鈥淏ecause the second bomb went off.鈥�

At first he thought he was still standing, he added, but soon realized that was just because he was still holding onto the stroller carrying Leo. He immediately tried to check on Leo and found he was mostly OK, save for a cut on his head and some minor burns. Then he tried to stand up again.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized my leg had been severed,鈥� he said.

As he sat there on Boylston Street, unable to move, a procession of people came up to him offering help and screaming encouragement. Woolfenden was eventually able to hand Leo off to Boston Police Officer Thomas Barrett 鈥� a picture of the two eventually making the cover of聽.

Still unsure if his wife was alive, Woolfenden was transferred to an ambulance soon after, an ambulance he shared with another survivor:聽.

鈥淲hile you were in the ambulance, could you hear Ms. DiMartino saying anything?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淪he was screaming, in intense pain,鈥� Woolfenden replied.

鈥淲hat did you do then?鈥�

鈥淚 asked her to give me her hand.鈥�

鈥淲hy did you do that?鈥�

鈥淏ecause I wanted to hold somebody鈥檚 hand,鈥� said Woolfenden.

Near the end of his long and emotional testimony, prosecutors returned to the video taken from next to Forum during the bombings. Prosecutors slowed the video down to seconds before the bomb detonated, then they asked Woolfenden to identify himself. He did so.

Then they pointed out a second man in the dense crowd on the sidewalk, a man in a white hat. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

鈥淒o you remember seeing the man in the white hat that day?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淣ot that I recall,鈥� Woolfenden answered.

The video moved forward a few seconds and the crowd suddenly ducks and looks up the street, where the first bomb had just detonated.

鈥淲here is the man in the white hat at this moment?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淪tanding next to me,鈥� Woolfenden replied. Tsarnaev was also walking in the opposite direction as Woolfenden in that moment, away from the Forum and away from Marc Fucarile, Heather Abbott, and dozens of other witnesses who faced Tsarnaev from the witness stand during the trial.

鈥淒id the man in the white hat bump into you that day?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淣o, not that I recall," replied Woolfenden.

A few seconds later a blinding flash engulfs the screen. After the smoke cleared, Woolfenden was visible on the group next to the stroller. As fate would have it, he was also next to Martin and Denise Richard.聽

鈥淲hat could you hear from them?鈥� asked the prosecutor.

鈥淚 could hear 鈥楶lease鈥� and 鈥楳artin鈥� from Denise Richard,鈥� said Woolfenden.

鈥淲hat did you do?鈥�

鈥淚 put my hand on her back, and she turned to me and said, 鈥楢re you OK?鈥� 鈥� Woolfenden replied.