It has been over a decade. Most people remember the chaos of April 15, 2013, with startling clarity—the smoke near the finish line, the frantic search through Watertown, and that final image of a teenager bleeding out in a dry-docked boat. But as the news cycle moved on to other tragedies, a lingering question remained for those who lived through it: Where are the Boston bombers today?
The short answer is that one is dead and the other is living out a very slow, very legalistic endgame in a federal "supermax" prison.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother and suspected mastermind, never made it to a courtroom. He died following a violent shootout with police in the early hours of April 19, 2013. His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, remains the sole living face of the attack. If you’re looking for him, you’ll find him in Florence, Colorado. He is inmate number 19076-114. He is buried alive in the most secure prison on American soil, waiting to see if the government will eventually kill him or just let him rot.
The End of the Road in Florence, Colorado
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is currently held at ADX Florence. People call it the "Alcatraz of the Rockies." It’s a place designed specifically for people the United States government deems too dangerous or too high-profile for a normal prison population.
Think about that for a second.
He isn't walking a yard or playing basketball. He’s in a 7-by-12-foot concrete cell. He spends 23 hours a day there. The furniture—the bed, the desk, the stool—is all made of poured concrete. It can't be moved. It can't be broken. He sees a sliver of the sky through a four-inch-wide window. That’s his world. It has been his world for years, and unless a miracle happens in the appellate courts, it will be his world until he dies.
The isolation at ADX is psychological warfare. It's meant to be. He’s housed alongside people like Terry Nichols (the Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator) and various Al-Qaeda operatives. It is a quiet, sterile, and utterly relentless environment.
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The Legal Rollercoaster: Death Row or Life?
When people ask where are the Boston bombers, they usually aren't just asking about a physical location. They want to know the status of the "justice" part of the equation. Why is Dzhokhar still alive?
It’s complicated.
In 2015, a jury sentenced him to death. You might remember the headlines. But in the American legal system, a death sentence is really just the beginning of a decade-long marathon of paperwork. In 2020, a federal appeals court actually threw out his death sentence. They argued that the original judge didn't do enough to screen the jury for bias—basically, that it was impossible to find an impartial jury in the very city that was bombed.
The Supreme Court stepped in later. In 2022, they reinstated the death penalty. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, essentially saying the lower court was wrong to mess with the jury's decision.
But even with the Supreme Court's blessing, the case isn't "closed." His lawyers are still fighting. They are digging into claims that Tamerlan was involved in a triple homicide in Waltham years prior, arguing that Dzhokhar was under the "radicalizing influence" of an older brother who was already a killer. They want a new sentencing phase. They want life without parole instead of the needle.
What Happened to Tamerlan?
We can't talk about where are the Boston bombers without looking at the strange, dark end of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He died at the age of 26. After the shootout in Watertown, where the brothers threw pressure-cooker bombs at police, Tamerlan ran out of ammunition.
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He was tackled. While police were trying to cuff him, Dzhokhar—in a desperate attempt to flee—drove a stolen SUV toward the officers. He missed the cops but ran right over his own brother. Tamerlan was dragged under the car for about 30 feet.
He didn't die instantly. He was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the same hospital where many of his victims were being treated. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Then came the burial controversy. No cemetery in Massachusetts wanted him. Protesters stood outside funeral homes. Eventually, a woman in Virginia coordinated a burial in a small Islamic cemetery in Doswell, Virginia. He’s there now, in an unmarked grave, far away from the city he terrorized.
The "Third" Bomber Theory
Over the years, internet sleuths and even some legal professionals have questioned if the brothers acted alone. You've probably seen the threads. There was the friend of Tamerlan, Ibragim Todashev, who was shot and killed by an FBI agent during an interrogation in Florida shortly after the bombing.
The official line from the FBI and the Department of Justice is firm: there were only two. They used the internet to learn how to build the bombs. They radicalized themselves. While the "lone wolf" narrative is scarier in some ways—it means anyone can do it—the evidence presented in court heavily supports the idea that the Tsarnaev brothers were a closed loop of two.
Living in the Shadow of 2013
For the survivors, the question of where are the Boston bombers is a daily weight. Many of the 260+ people injured in the blast are still undergoing surgeries. They are dealing with prosthetics. They are dealing with PTSD.
When the news reports on Dzhokhar’s latest appeal, it reopens the wound. There is a specific kind of exhaustion that comes with a "forever" legal case.
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Actually, Dzhokhar’s life in prison is funded by the taxpayers. This became a major point of contention in 2021 when it was revealed he received a $1,400 COVID-19 stimulus check. People were furious. The government eventually seized the money to pay toward the $101 million he owes in restitution to the victims, but the incident highlighted the strange reality of a high-profile inmate's life. He has a canteen account. He can buy stamps. He can buy snacks. It’s a far cry from the life his victims are forced to lead, but it is a life entirely devoid of freedom.
Why the Case Refuses to Die
The reason this story stays in the news isn't just because of the horror of the event. It's because the case sits at the intersection of some of the most debated topics in America:
- The morality of the death penalty.
- The effectiveness of "Supermax" isolation.
- The failure of intelligence agencies to track Tamerlan after warnings from Russia.
- The limits of the 6th Amendment right to a fair trial.
Some argue that by keeping Dzhokhar in the headlines through endless appeals, we are giving him the notoriety he wanted. Others argue that if we don't follow the letter of the law—even for a terrorist—the law becomes meaningless.
Honestly, the legal battle could go on for another five or ten years. The federal government under different administrations has different appetites for carrying out executions. Biden’s Department of Justice placed a moratorium on federal executions, yet they continued to defend the death sentence for Tsarnaev in court. It’s a weird, contradictory middle ground.
Current Status and Insights
As of early 2026, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains at ADX Florence. His legal team is currently focused on "habeas corpus" petitions, which are essentially the last-ditch efforts to prove that his detention or sentence is unconstitutional.
If you are following this case, here is what you should keep an eye on:
- The Waltham Triple Homicide Evidence: Watch if new evidence is unsealed regarding Tamerlan's involvement in the 2011 murders. This is the lynchpin of Dzhokhar’s "influence" defense.
- Supreme Court Rulings: Any shift in how the Supreme Court views "jury prejudice" could trigger a move back to a lower court.
- Department of Justice Policy: If the moratorium on federal executions is ever lifted, Tsarnaev would be near the top of the list for an execution date, though he would likely still have years of appeals left.
The story of the Boston bombers is no longer about a manhunt. It is about the slow, grinding gears of the American judiciary. Tamerlan is a ghost in a Virginia field; Dzhokhar is a number in a Colorado mountain. Neither is going anywhere.
To stay informed on the actual progression of the case without the sensationalism, follow the dockets from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This is where the most significant updates regarding his sentencing and potential new hearings will actually land. Avoid the speculative forums and stick to the court filings if you want the truth of where the case stands. The victims' restitution fund and the "Boston Strong" community organizations also provide regular updates on how the survivors are faring, which is, in many ways, the more important part of the story.