Tamerlan Tsarnaev Wife's Family Releases Statement of Condolence, Confirms Baby

Accused Bomber's In-Laws Release Statement Of Condolence

WASHINGTON --The family of Katherine Russell, wife of one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers, issued a short statement Friday evening to reporters outside their North Kingstown, R.I., home. Russell was married to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday morning in a shootout with police. She had a daughter with Tsarnaev a few years ago.

The family, like many who knew the terror suspects, expressed shock and horror at the events of this week. They wrote:

"Our daughter has lost her husband today, the father of her child. We cannot begin to comprehend how this horrible tragedy occurred. In the aftermath of the Patriot's Day horror, we know that we never really knew Tamerlane Tsarnaev." The FBI has given the spelling of Tsarnaev's first name as Tamerlan.

The family statement continued: "Our hearts are sickened by the knowledge of the horror he has inflicted." They asked to be left alone "in this difficult time."

The Russells ended the day with reporters knocking on their door. They began the day with police cars pulling up in front of their house.

A neighbor who lives across the street told HuffPost that she saw police cars parked in front of the Russell home early Friday morning, including a state police cruiser.

Paula Gillette, 59, said that one of the people on the scene appeared to be an FBI agent wearing a bulletproof vest. Soon after the police left, the Russell family pulled their car into their garage, Gillette said.

Another neighbor confirmed seeing law enforcement in the neighborhood. "Today there were unmarked cars over by the house and around the neighborhood," Cailyn Mather, 20, told HuffPost. "There was a police presence."

Gillette said Katherine Russell lived with her parents. She said they seemed like a close-knit family. She described them as "waspy types."

Neither of the neighbors recalled meeting Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

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