Dzhokhar Tsarnaev holds up a bandaged at his arraignment on Wednesday.
By Matthew DeLuca and Tracy Connor, NBC News
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty Wednesday as survivors and victims' relatives stared him down and searched in vain for signs of remorse.
"I felt sick to my stomach," said Liz Norden, the mother of brothers J.P. and Paul Norden, who each lost a leg in the April 15 blasts that killed three people and left 260 wounded.
Tsarnaev, 19, was arraigned on a 30-count indictment that charges him with using weapons of mass destruction and other crimes. He wore an orange jail jumpsuit over a black T-shirt and a bandage or cast on his left hand.
His attitude seemed almost casual to some as he smiled crookedly, stroked his chin, slouched in his seat and glanced around the federal courtroom.
"Not guilty," he said over and over as each charge was read.
The eight-minute hearing marked Tsarnaev's first public appearance since he was hauled bleeding from a boat four days after the bombing. His older brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with police.
Brian Snyder / Reuters
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) police officers stand outside the federal courthouse for the court appearance by accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Mass., on July 10.
Security for the arraignment was tight with Department of Homeland Security officers visible and a police boat behind the courthouse, where spectators began lining up early in the morning.
Seventeen campus police officers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lined up in uniform outside the building in tribute to slain colleague Sean Collier, slain during the Tsarnaev brothers' getaway bid.
"I didn't see the remorse," MIT police chief John DiFava, who was inside, said of the defendant.
Everyone injured in the bombing was invited to attend, and 30 were seated inside. As Tsarnaev was led in and out, the victims kept their eyes trained on him.
Peter Brown, the uncle of the Norden brothers, said he detected "a smirk."
"I thought maybe he would come in with a different attitude...maybe look like he cared a little bit," Brown said.
Tsarnaev's demeanor also didn't sit right with Ed Fucarile, 64, whose son Marc is still in the hospital after losing a leg.
"He came out and he smirked at the families," said Fucarile, who was upset he was not allowed to wear a Boston Strong T-shirt in the courtroom. "The lawyers put their hands on his shoulders like it was going to be all right."
Victim and family members of the Boston Marathon bombing describe the proceedings of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev court hearing.
Mildred Valverde, 44, who walked out of the courthouse with crutches, said the hearing was emotional for her.
"Just to be in the same room with him was bothersome," she said.
She said she hopes that if Tsarnaev is convicted, he doesn't get the death penalty.
"I'd rather see him suffer," she said. "Death is too quick."
Tsarnaev's sisters were in the courtroom, and at least one of them was crying. Outside, a small group of supporters cheered as a caravan carried him past, invoking his nickname as they yelled "Justice for Jahar!" according to the Associated Press.
Liz Norden, the mother of two men who each lost a leg in the Boston Marathon bombings, tells WHDH "I want to know what happened that day," as she prepares to attend a federal hearing for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Janet Wu reports.
Prosecutors said they expect the trial will last three to four months and they anticipate calling 80 to 100 witnesses. The next court date is Sept. 23.
Attorney General Eric Holder has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen and American citizen who was born in Dagestan.
Investigators say the motive for the bombing might be found in anti-American messages the college student scrawled in the boat where he was found April 19: "The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians," "I can't stand to see such evil go unpunished," and "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all."
After the FBI identified the brothers as the bombing suspects, they embarked on a bloody escape bid ? allegedly executing Collier, hijacking a car and hurling pipe bombs at police.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a firefight, but Dzhokhar fled and remained at large during a daylong lockdown that ended when a Watertown, Mass., homeowner noticed blood on the boat in his backyard.
The suspect was taken from the boat to a Boston hospital where some of his victims were still recovering. He was later transferred to a federal prison with medical facilities.
Previous coverage:
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Explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and led to a massive manhunt as police locked down the city.
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This story was originally published on Wed Jul 10, 2013 5:53 PM EDT
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