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Tsarnaev Died Of Blunt Trauma, Bullet Wounds; Cemeteries Reject Burial

BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's official cause of death will be listed as gunshot wounds and blunt trauma, a law enforcement source told WBZ-TV's Joe Shortsleeve on Friday.

Tsarnaev's body is now at a funeral home in Worcester.

Peter Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors, told WBZ-TV Friday he is handling funeral arrangements for the Tsarnaev family.

Stefan said his staff has experience with Muslim services, which includes washing the body and preparing it for burial.

Worcester Funeral Home
A police cruiser parked outside the Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlor May 3.

"We take care of a lot of Muslim funerals here, throughout the state," Stefan said, "and this was no different, except for the circumstances."

A burial site has not yet been located and it's not clear yet when a service will be held.

"Normally, with Muslims it's usually done sometimes as the same day, but no later than the following day, but we don't have that option with this," he said.

WBZ's Beth Germano has confirmed that two cemeteries, one in West Roxbury, and one in Enfield, Connecticut, have turned down requests to having Tsarnaev buried there. Cemeteries in New Jersey have also said no.

"There's a fear there," Stefan says. "Will people want to go to the cemetery, or will people be upset that somebody who's a terrorist will be buried next to their Uncle Freddy."

Stefan's funeral home will have paid police details outside throughout the weekend.

He told WBZ he is prepared for protests.

"You're always going to get a certain amount of people that are probably going to complain about what you do," he said.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones Reports

Tsarnaev's Body Now In Worcester

"I go back to the time when Lee Harvey Oswald died, somebody buried him.  Timothy McVeigh, somebody handled that.  Jeffery Dahmer, somebody handled that.  Ted Bundy, somebody handled that.  I mean, we bury the dead.  Can I control what the circumstances are around their death?  No.  Can I pick and choose?  No."

"Would you criticize the medical people who saved the life of the other guy? (Tsarnaev's brother Dzhokhar)"

Several protesters showed up outside a funeral home in North Attleboro Thursday night when Tsarnaev's body was taken there after it was released by the state medical examiner to the family.

Stefan said that was because of a "mixup" and that the body should have been brought directly to his business.

There are some people who have been calling Stefan who want to contribute to the cost of the burial, and he says he will not be seeking state funding. "He doesn't deserve it," says Stefan. "Why should the public pay to bury a terrorist?"

WBZ-TV's Beth Germano contributed to this report.

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