Tsarnaev Death Penalty Verdict 'Another Door Closed' For Collier Family
BOSTON (CBS) – Speaking at a fundraiser in memory of fallen MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, family members said they do not want to talk about the decision to sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death, but they are glad that phase is over.
"There will never be any closure. We've passed another milestone. We're never going to forget about Sean," Collier's stepfather Joe Rogers told WBZ-TV.
Collier was gunned down by Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the days following the 2013 bombings.
A new memorial was recently unveiled in his honor at MIT.
Officer Collier's sister, Jennifer Lemmerman, said the Remember Sean Collier First Responder basketball tournament provides strength to her family.
"It's another door closed and we can move forward and not worry about the perpetrators," said Lemmerman. "Now we can move forward talk about Sean, Lingzi Lu, Krystle Campbell, and Martin Richard and remember them instead of remembering the terrorist."
Just as Collier's family is ready to move on following Friday's verdict, the MIT Police Department continues to heal as well.
"The MIT Police Department is going to move forward. It's really hard to heal but now that it's completed it might make it easier for us going forward," Sgt. Richard Sullivan said.
The basketball tournament is held to raise money for the Jimmy Fund, which was a charity Officer Collier held close to his heart.
"He'd be very proud," said Lemmerman.
Though the death penalty verdict closes one chapter in the lives of Collier's loved ones, his stepfather said the grieving process is one that will never end.
"We're never going to heal," said Rogers. "There's always going to be a void where Sean was. Regardless of what happens - the holidays, his birthdays, it's never going to be the same anymore."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports:
