Tags: Boston

Convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was once a bright, hardworking child who won the adoration of his teachers and classmates alike, his former instructors testified on Wednesday for defense attorneys trying to spare him the death penalty.

The older brother of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev changed from a roisterous boxer known for flashy outfits into someone with a bushy beard and drab clothes and obsessed by Islam, following a trip to Russia in 2012, witnesses said on Tuesday.

Defense lawyers will begin to present their case Monday that a jury should sentence convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev to life in prison rather than death, as the trial enters a new and critical stage.