Has the Milk Gone Sour in Boston?

The Arch Bridge over the Charles River, Boston

by Dee McLachlan

Remember the milk-purchase affair in regard to the Boston bombing? I have made a little film – well it was an FBI film that I have artistically adapted. I’m hoping it will cheer his family to see it.

I have wondered about Jahar’s ability to get from his bombing activity to his shopping chores that day. Let’s consider how long it might take to get across the Charles River.  (Some of Boston’s landmarks still have quaint colonial names. In this case the Charles River, named after the king whose life ended by beheading. He was still reigning when Harvard was founded in 1636.)

I’m going to trace the route of the Tsarnaevs.

Twenty minutes after the explosions in Boylston Street, Boston, Jahar is seen in the above video buying milk at Whole Foods in Prospect Street, Cambridge.

Maybe the Bostonians leaving the Marathon that day can estimate if 20 minutes is a reasonable amount of time for the trip.

The Race To Buy Milk

Jahar takes off just before the second explosion and is seen walking into Fairfield Street from Boylston Street. This is just after the explosion — around 2:50 pm. There is footage of Tamarlan walking past 26 Exeter Street at 2:50:23 pm.

Now the brothers must reach their car. One would think that would take considerable time as the Marathon has attracted a huge mass of people into the centre of Boston, and countless roads have been blocked off. People are now streaming away from the explosion sites, and maybe  ambulances and firetrucks are headed in.

The brothers are heading north and across the river. , away from an extensive network of road closures.

From here they allegedly travel north — across the river. The only logical route is across the Arch Bridge. On a no-traffic day, Google estimates this journey at 13 minutes.

But hundreds of thousands of people have congregated in the city, and many are moving out.

Would it have been possible for the brothers to cross the Charles River and get to Whole Foods in jig time? (Please comment below if you are a user of this bridge.)

The brothers had to locate their car, hop into it, respect the speed limits, and arrive in Cambridge. They would need to be at Whole Foods parking lot by 3:11 pm, as that video above, which was shown in court, has Jahar walking into the store at 3:12.

The Perspective on a Purchase

The Telegraph (UK) writes:

“Prosecutors described how Tsarnaev, 21, was in a supermarket browsing milk varieties as his alleged victims “lay on sidewalk in pools of their own blood, wondering if they would live”.

Security footage of the store records Jahar buying milk after 3:12, with cash, then taking further time to exchange it.

Masslive reports that Tsarnaev “did not approach the customer service counter to make a formal exchange.” That is incorrect. He did ask permission to exchange the milk.

I find Jahar’s casual purchasing style so out of place for a teen that has allegedly just murdered people for the FIRST time.

The press and prosecutor use his casual attitude as callous guilt — with a complete lack of empathy or remorse. This kid is 19. He dutifully pays for the milk, and he is definitely not a thief n(as later demonstrated at the gas station). He DOES stop and ask the cashier if he can exchange the milk, demonstrating that he is socially polite and obedient.

I would imagine a wound up teen having just killed and maimed — on a mission of murderous vengeance on the peoples of Boston — would possibly reveal some tension in his body, and not be so casually strolling in and out of Whole Foods exchanging milk.

I may be wrong. But the prosecutor, William Weinreb, CANNOT assume that “The defendant acted that way because he believed in what he had done. He believed he was a soldier in a holy war against America and that he had won an important victory.” What nonsense. (reported here)

I don’t see a soldier — I see a bumbling teen making a wrong purchase.