Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Alleged Boston Bomber's Family Says Mysterious Muslim "Took His Brain"
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 23, 2013
Modified Apr 23, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 23, 2013
Modified Apr 23, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Earlier today we learned that the 19-year-old man charged with the Boston Marathon bombing has told federal investigators that his now-deceased older brother was the driving force behind the attack. Now the family and friends of that older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, are assigning blame to an unidentified Muslim convert who ostensibly brainwashed the 26-year-old Chechen immigrant.
The Associated Press was unable to determine the man's identity; friends and family only knew his first name: Misha. "Somehow, he just took his brain," Tamerlan's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, told the AP. "I heard about nobody else but this convert. The seed for changing his views was planted right there in Cambridge." Misha, an Armenian native, is described by those who met him as a slightly older, heavyset bald man with a long reddish beard. Tsarnaev reportedly met him around 2009.
Elmirza Khozhugov, 26, the ex-husband of Tamerlan's sister, Ailina, recalls that when he asked Tamerlan why he gave up boxing and writing music, Tamerlan told him, "Misha said it's not really good to create music. It's not really good to listen to music." Khozhugov says Tamerlan became increasingly interested in the conspiracy theory website Infowars, and was also trying to track down a copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. But he tells the AP, "He never said he hated America or he hated the Jews." Another friend insists, "He had nothing against the American people. He had something against the American government."
Meanwhile, Tamerlan's wife is said to be cooperating with investigators. Katherine Russell, an American-born convert to Islam who married Tsarnaev in 2010, says she did not know anything about the bombings. Her attorney tells Reuters she was busy taking care of the couple's 2-1/2-year-old daughter and working as a home healthcare aide while her husband allegedly plotted the attack without her knowledge. "The reports of involvement by her husband and brother-in-law came as an absolute shock to them all," Russell's lawyer says.
Russell's former roommates from college recall Tsarnaev as an abusive misogynist. They recall him calling Russell a "slut" and a "prostitute" and threw furniture at her during fights, according to an NPR report. Russell became pregnant during her senior year, and as Tsarnaev became more extreme, she started wearing a hijab. Friends say "she cut off contact with them, and she also cut off contact with her family members which her friends had been in contact with." Her attorney insists, "It is pretty evident that she didn't know anything."
Tagged
boston marathon
tamerlan tsarnaev
terrorism
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani names re-entry specialist as chair of Rikers oversight board
Christopher Watler will help the department that a federal monitor says remains in crisis.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 6, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. ET
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
By
Catalina Gonella
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .