David Henneberry, the man who found the second Boston Marathon bomb suspect. Photo: WCVB.com Source: Supplied
THE man who found one of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects hiding in his boat in his backyard has told of how he discovered him during the manhunt.
David Henneberry went to check on his boat at his Watertown home after the lockdown order was lifted in Boston.
Earlier in the day, when he was holed up inside, Mr Henneberry noticed that two of the pads he puts near the boat to prevent chaffing were out of place.
"It was really windy, so I didn't think twice about it," told local station WCVB.
US police have released thermal image pictures that they said helped to track the Boston bomber suspect.
"So I went out in the yard and felt the freedom that everyone is Watertown was feeling.
"When I pulled the strap, it was a lot looser than it usually is. But again, the wind could have loosened things up,' he told WCVB.
Police release new thermal imaging video of Boston suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lying in a boat as a flash bang grenade explodes near him. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)
He saw what he described as "a good amount" of blood on the inside of the cabin.
At first he thought it may have been from a previous incident where he might have cut himself.
"And I looked back and forth a couple of times and my eyes went to the engine block and there was a body," he said.
He then ran back to his house and called the police, who immediately rushed to the scene.
Mr Henneberry and his wife are still unable to return to their home while investigators are searching the area for more evidence.
He has dismissed claims that he is a national hero, saying that if anything, he is an "incidental hero".
"It makes me feel wonderful that people that are thinking like that, but it is my boat. People lost lives and lost limbs," Mr Henneberry said.
"I am lucky I am alive. These other people were killed. Sometimes, I just sit and say, "Wow,"' he said.
Today, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has admitted to planting the explosives. The women closest to the Boston bomb suspects have told of their shock.
The American wife of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is co-operating with authorities probing the attack, her lawyers say.
Katherine Russell, 24, who married Tamerlan Tsarnaev in June 2010 and has a three-year-old daughter with him, is "doing everything she can to assist (the) ongoing investigation'', her lawyers said today in a media statement.
And the suspects' sisters - who live in New Jersey - have expressed their sadness over the "callous acts" of the Tsarnaev brothers.
The Boston Globe reported that Tsarnaev admitted to planting the bombs and killing MIT police officer Sean Collier with his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a police shoot-out.
The Boston Marathon attack left three dead and at least 264 people wounded.
Tsarnaev reportedly told authorities on Sunday that he and his brother were behind the attacks, and said his brother had become radicalised in part because of US action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement from the Russell family said news that the two brothers may have been behind the carnage came as an "absolute shock'' to Tsarnaev's wife and her family.
"As a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, Katie deeply mourns the pain and loss to innocent victims, students, law enforcement, families and our community,'' it said.
"In the aftermath of this tragedy, she, her daughter and her family are trying to come to terms with these events.''
Watch Mr Henneberry's interview with WCVB here.
