The Boston Marathon bombing trial has begun with the defense team shocking the court with a candid statement saying their client, accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, committed the crime.

"It was him," Tsarnaev's lawyer Judy Clarke said, stressing that her client was just coerced by his older brother into committing the crime.

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Tsarnaev, 21, was slapped with more than 30 charges in connection to the bombing and could face death if found guilty. He was slumped in his chair and only stared straight ahead as prosecutor William Weinreb delivered his opening statements.

The other half of the court was filled with over a dozen bomb attack victims.  Among those present were Denise and Bill Richard, parents of 8-year old Martin who died in the attack. 

The prosecutor told the jury that the accused, Tsarnaev, had "murder in his heart" when he planted the bomb.

Weinreb somehow brought back the terror felt throughout that fateful day as he described the scenes at the finish line, with the smell of burning sulphur and the sound of people's screams filling up the air.

However, when it was the defense team's turn, they candidly admitted Tsarnaev was behind the bombings. Clarke, a prominent defense lawyer known to have saved many of her clients from death penalty, said she and her team have no plans to hide Tsarnaev's guilt. 

Clarke argued that Tsarnaev was coerced by his elder brother into carrying out the senseless attack on innocent people. His elder brother Tamerlan was killed by police in a manhunt following the attacks.

In 2013, Tsarnaev had pleaded not guilty to all charges related to the bombing.

Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed after a backpack bomb packed with nails and other shrapnel exploded near the finish line in April 2013. More than 260 people were hurt in the incident.

Experts said the kind of bomb the suspect allegedly planted had the capacity to "tear people apart and create a bloody spectacle."

TagsDzhokhar Tsarnaev, Boston Marathon bombing