By David Abel, The Boston Globe, July 10, 2013

[....] Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will appear in federal court Wednesday in Boston to face charges that he used weapons of mass destruction to kill three people and wound more than 260 others at the Boston Marathon.

Tsarnaev, who is also accused of killing an MIT police officer, faces 30 federal criminal charges, including use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and bombing of a place of public use resulting in death. Authorities allege...and that he left a confession in the boat justifying the bombings as payback for US military action in Muslim countries.

Seventeen of the charges carry the possibility of the death penalty [....]

The appearance of the former University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student is expected to be brief and under heavy guard. It should answer questions about the extent of injuries he sustained during a firefight with police the night before he was captured and how much he has recovered [....]

Prosecutors said they expect a packed courtroom at US District Court on Wednesday afternoon. They have set aside seats for victims [....]