Official: Boston bombing suspect suffered throat injury, may not be able to talk

[jsr]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/20/us/boston-attack/index.html

Official: Boston bombing suspect suffered throat injury, may not be able to talk
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN
updated 8:08 PM EDT, Sat April 20, 2013

(CNN) -- The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings suffered an injury to his throat and may not be able to talk, a federal official told CNN on Saturday, possibly hindering attempts by authorities to question him about a motive in the attack.

With one suspect dead, authorities believe answers to a motive and whether the brothers had help rest with Dzhokar Tsarnaev, who was captured Friday night after a shootout just minutes after authorities had indicated that a massive manhunt for the 19-year-old suspect appeared to come up empty.

The official, who was briefed on Tsarnaev's condition, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Tsarnaev was in "serious but stable condition" and "not able to communicate yet," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told reporters during an impromptu briefing on Saturday.

[Frustratedlady]

1. He can write or print. Sounds like he could tweet. eom

[busterbrown]

3. Asshole freepers will have a blast spewing lies about this.. If its true...

[Fumesucker]

15. ...

[Riftaxe]

4. Well he was a UMass student....

so only time will tell.

[ChangeUp106]

21. UMass *Dartmouth*

I love how we constantly get UMass "Amherst" shoved down our throats as if we aren't a flagship campus, but now everyone calls UMass Dartmouth by just UMass. We have nothing to do with that scum.

[Riftaxe]

22. Point taken (nt)

[randome]

8. Screw that. He can type.

[gateley]

2. I wonder if that means temporarily or permantly?

[OhioChick]

6. "not able to communicate yet,"

I'm taking that as it's temporary.

[gateley]

7. Thanks -- I passed right over that little word. :-)

[OhioChick]

9. There's so much information being posted, it's easy to miss

[LiberalElite]

5. So give him a pen and paper -

one of the victims who lost his legs managed to write a note right after he came out of anesthesia.

[fleur-de-lisa]

11. Thank you! If you choose to do so, you will communicate. - n/t

[TwilightGardener]

10. An injury to your throat/larynx that prevents you from talking...if it was a bullet, shrapnel

or crush injury it's incredible his airway didn't totally swell shut, or that he didn't choke on lungfuls of blood. Maybe once the swelling goes down, he'll be able to talk. Until then, I'll bet the little fucker's texting thumbs work just fine.

[Luminous Animal]

12. What a remarkably stupid article. Of course he would be able to communicate via writing or typing.

[HipChick]

13. Are there any actual journalists over at CNN?

It seems to be populated by clowns right now..

[Eleanors38]

19. They're all out looking for Richard Jewell.

[Triana]

14. He can write or type. Shouldn't matter. n/t

[HooptieWagon]

16. Blink once for yes, twice for no. nt

[starroute]

17. Gives a whole new meaning to "You have the right to remain silent"

I guess that special Miranda exception isn't going to apply.

[avebury]

18. Not being able to speak is an advantage for the boy.

Intense interrogations can result in spontaneous utterances from a defendant. Having to rely upon a written response gives the person time to think first and the person may be less apt to give away information that he/she doesn't want to give out.