Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went on trial for his life in the Boston Marathon bombing with his own lawyer bluntly telling the jury he committed the crime. But she argued he had fallen under the influence of his older brother.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has gone on trial over the Boston Marathon bombing, with prosecutors saying he used a backpack to plant a bomb designed to “tear people apart and create a bloody spectacle”.

Potential jurors stared intently at Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev yesterday as jury selection in his federal death penalty trial began under tight security.