'Forgive us, give us a second chance'

Bali Nine Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran inside the workshop of Kerobokan jail in Bali. Picture: Bintoro Luckman Source: News Limited

BALI Nine drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have begged for a second chance as their lawyers plead for the Australian Government to step up the fight to save them from the firing squad.

The pair is just a pen stroke from execution after seven years on death row in Bali and Indonesia recently re-started executions, with a target of ten this year.

As Chan and Sukumaran told News Limited of chilling nightmares of being shot dead by a firing squad, their legal team demanded their lives be made a priority in Australia.

The men's situation has become even more grave in recent weeks after reports Indonesia's national narcotics board and a top judge have recommended President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reject Chan's plea for clemency - his last chance of survival.

Go behind bars with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in the interactive below. For the best experience using a mobile, click here.

''The moment of truth is on the horizon,'' one of their Australian lawyers Peter Morrissey SC, said last night.

''The Australian government should make these boys lives a genuine priority, whatever distractions exist.

''The government must not appear merely to go through the motions.''

Foreign Minister Bob Carr's office revealed that in January this year the Minister wrote to his Indonesian counterpart, outlining Australia's strong opposition to the death penalty.

Andrew Chan's brother Michael speaks for mum Helen, who has little English but her agony is painfully clear - no parent should outlive their child.

The letter is understood to have said that the Government vigorously supports clemency for the two Australians.

As a campaign for clemency stepped up outside, inside Kerobokan Prison, Andrew Chan said he desperately hoped the Australian public - who gave the drug dealers little sympathy when first sentenced for leading a 2005 bid to traffic 8.2kg of heroin from Bali to Australia - would now support their fight for life.

Chan said he understood why Australians may be apathetic, given the pair were initially surly and unrepentant after their arrest, but believed their actions since proved their lives were worth saving.

''I cry out for the public to help me, with a sincere heart I do ask for their help,'' Chan, 28, said.

''Sincerely I am sorry for the crime that I did commit and I apologise to the Australian public for that.''

Chan also revealed he had personally apologised to Bali Nine members.

Both Chan and Sukumaran have told of their terror at the firing squad fate.

''You basically get taken out of your cell, they take you to a remote area from there they line you up and shoot at your heart . . . they say . . . if that doesn't complete the job the guy in charge comes up with a hand gun at point blank,'' Chan said.

For Sukumaran the image is equally vivid.

''That scenario, being lined up, having a thing tied over your face and seeing these people in front of you with guns. That is the image that comes to my mind,'' he said.

In what their lawyers say demonstrates their transformation, Sukumaran and Chan personally turned part of Kerobokan prison into a quasi-TAFE where prisoners learn computing, English, philosophy, graphic design and art and make silver jewellery and screen print t-shirts, in awarding-winning rehabilitation programs.

Sukumaran, 32, said the execution would end their lives just when they were achieving good for others.

''We are sorry for what we did. We were young and stupid. I would ask, please forgive us and give us a second chance, a chance to make up for what we have done,'' Sukumaran said.

''I want to become a better person and I want to help everybody else become a better person as well.''

''Clemency is not a get out of jail free card. We are doing something good, running the rehabilitation programs. If they execute us we won't be doing those things.''

They were sentenced to death by a Bali court in 2006 and have since lost all legal appeals against the death penalty.

There is no time frame for the President to give a decision on clemency and the recent political developments in Jakarta have alarmed their supporters.

Mr Morrissey said support from ''ordinary people who believe the boys deserve jail, but not execution''.

''It reminds the Indonesian government that this really matters,'' he said.

''These boys have done everything Indonesia could ask, and more again,'' Mr Morrissey said.

''When captured, both boys were immature young offenders, who put forward silly excuses and did not face their guilt. They began to reform by engaging in the Indonesian prison system and its calm, rehabilitation-focused approach.

''They have not just improved their own lives but reached out through education to help others. Even The Governor came to court to assist them because he recognised their astounding change.

''No-one should be executed; but it would be cold and callous to kill two boys who have reformed totally, who are happy to serve a proper jail term and who can offer much to the world''

A spokesman for Mr Carr said that the issue was raised each time the Minister met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
 

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'I'd wear it again, any day': Delta

The Voice coach Delta Goodrem poses ahead of the next phase of the top-rating TV series. Picture: Nic Gibson Source: News Limited

IT was the pantsuit which polarised Australia, but The Voice's only female coach Delta Goodrem has vowed to wear the controversial stage costume ''again, any day.''

A production decision to keep the look of Channel 9's top-rating talent series consistent across the nine episodes of blind auditions set the Sony singer up for a fashion assassination on social media, as Goodrem appeared night after night in the same plunging black Lisa Ho design.

Wearing the criticism well, a defiant Goodrem told News Limited she ''found it quite astounding my wardrobe became such a talking point when we all wore the same outfits over (the blinds). I loved it, I'd wear that again, any day. It was custom made, it was so comfy, but it's now exciting to have new things to wear and more styles to play with.''

As the competition launches into a new 'showdown' phase tonight, the good news for Goodrem's critics is the wardrobe budget will extend to costume changes across every episode until the season's grand finale.

The format changes reflect the network's request for more content from production company Shine and creators Talpa, after the series set ratings records last year, and will give the public its first chance to vote for their favourite artists.

Tonight, four contestants from Team Ricky and Team Seal will perform individually, while Monday night's program will see Team Joel and Team Delta singers appear.

Viewers will have until 6pm Monday to vote on Sunday's performances, with Monday's voting to roll directly into the live results show on Tuesday night.

Delta Goodrem in the controversial Lisa Ho pantsuit. Picture: Channel 9

Of the four singers from each team, the artist with the highest vote will move through directly to the finals, while the lowest is eliminated immediately.

The two singers left standing will then sing off for their coach's vote and another ticket into the finals.

Those who survived the battle rounds have had about four weeks to rehearse their 'showdown' song, chosen in consultation with their coach and if they find themselves in the sing-off will be asked to perform their original blind audition again.

Goodrem explained the repetition of the audition song was ''our chance to see how far they've grown, what they're still comfortable with or if they were just rehearsed at that one song. That's the psychology behind it - what's the real potential in what we first heard and of course, it's a reminder of what we loved about them.''

The public vote is about ''testing the relationship the artists have formed with people and that's really critical to what's going to help them have a career.''

If iTunes is any measure, Team Seal's Harrison Craig, Team Delta's Celia Pavey, Team Ricky's Caterina Torres and Team Joel's Michael Paynter are already tracking well with fans.

This week's performance shows were pre-recorded over two sessions on Friday night at Sydney's Fox Studios.

The Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am, who is a coach on The Voice in the UK, will perform live during Tuesday's results show.

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Fifty shades of Sasha Grey

Sasha Grey, at Sydney's Hilton Hotel during a previous visit, has just written her first erotic novel. Picture: Carlos Furtado Source: News Limited

SASHA Grey admits she can feel shy about asking for what she wants during sex.

This is a woman who has starred in more than 200 adult films, and who, at 18, in her first shoot, went off-script and requested her Italian co-star, Rocco Siffredi, become even more extreme during one scene.

"Even women who really are confident in their sexuality, or know what they like, we're still sort of submissive in the sense that we always want the man to make the first move.

"And when you find a partner you match with sexually, you often let the man take the lead and then that becomes dangerous, because it [gets] repetitive," she explains.

Sasha Grey, at Sydney's Hilton Hotel during a previous visit, has just written her first erotic novel. Picture: Carlos Furtado Source: News Limited

So even porn stars find it tricky to shake things up in the bedroom?

"It's been difficult for me, in the past, to demand what I want, especially when you love somebody, because you want to choose your words carefully," she says.

This would come as a surprise to people, I suggest. Grey laughs: "Well, porn exists in a place where I could do what I wanted."

This burning need to explore her sexual horizons is what propelled 18-year-old Grey – or rather, Marina Ann Hantzis from Sacramento – towards the harsh lights and flimsy plot-lines of the Los Angeles porn industry in the first place.

"I'd only had sex with a few people before I got into porn. I was very shy, I was the last of my friends to lose my virginity [at 16]. I started having fantasies before I'd even had sex.

Then I met someone I was able to explore with – things most people today are comfortable with doing – but I wanted more. I confided in a couple of girlfriends and they thought I was crazy, so it only made me feel more self-conscious.

Sasha Grey, at Sydney's Hilton Hotel during a previous visit, has just written her first erotic novel. Picture: Carlos Furtado Source: News Limited

"One of the main reasons I got into porn is that I wanted to explore those things safely, because how does an 18-year-old girl go and find somebody to explore sexually with? I don't trust the internet enough to go and meet people with the same kinks as me."

After a few years churning through puntastic titles including Face Invaders 4 and Sasha Grey's Anatomy, she retired at 23, feeling she had "accomplished everything I could as a performer".

Now, along with writing her debut erotic novel The Juliette Society ("I'm way too young for a memoir") Grey is trying to build her non-X-rated acting career, having entered the mainstream consciousness with two pivotal roles: playing herself in Entourage, and a high-class escort in Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience.

She recently worked on a Spanish thriller called Open Windows opposite Elijah Wood.

Sasha Grey, at Sydney's Hilton Hotel during a previous visit, has just written her first erotic novel. Picture: Jim Trifyllis Source: News Limited

The protagonist of The Juliette Society, Catherine, is a young film student who is drawn into a secret sex club. Grey – who has been dating her camera-operator boyfriend for almost a year – wrote the book because she saw a void in contemporary erotica.

"A lot of those novels exist in a hyper-fantasy world, much like romantic comedies. And who doesn't like romantic comedies? But I wanted to create something where people really felt like this was something that could happen to them. My character isn't out there looking for Mr Right."

In the book, Grey controversially claims sex and violence are two sides of the same coin. As Catherine delves into the sexual underworld, there are graphic descriptions of women being restrained and much more – think Fifty Shades turned up to 11.

Has Grey met women who find this erotic? "Definitely," she says emphatically. "Something might sound completely offensive to one person, but you have to understand there's an entire community of people around the world who have been ostracised for their sexual kinks."

For every woman who has the self-possession to indulge her sexual proclivities on camera à la Grey, there are plenty more who are ashamed to go there even in their fantasies. Grey hopes to help change this.

"It's a community and a sexual interest that has long been criticised, which is why Fifty Shades of Grey is so important, because it's addressing a facet of people's sexuality and allowing people to talk about it openly."

Self-expression and open-mindedness are one thing, but I mention to Grey my doubts about elements of that sexual underworld, particularly the proliferation of extreme pornography on the internet, which, regardless of the director's intentions, can be enjoyed through a misogynistic filter.

"I… " Grey pauses. "I think the biggest thing is, you can't control who watches porn, so it's a shame that some people will go into their sexual adult life thinking that all women enjoy being tied up. But I think that's a very small percentage of people.

"You have more men thinking women don't need foreplay before sex," she says with a big laugh. "That's the reality." Fair point.

The Juliette Society (Little, Brown, $19.99) is out Thursday.

Follow Alice on Twitter @alicewasley

 

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No one wants to bury bomb suspect

Protesters outside the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home in North Attleborough where Tsarnaev's body was taken following its release by the state medical examiner. Picture: AP/Charles Krupa Source: AP

A FUNERAL home director is scrambling to find a cemetery that would bury a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, ignoring protesters gathered outside his business and saying everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of his or her death.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died from ''gunshot wounds of torso and extremities'' and blunt trauma to his head and torso, said a Worcester funeral home owner, Peter Stefan.

He has Tsarnaev's body and on Friday read details from his death certificate.

The certificate lists the time of Tsarnaev's death as 1.35am on April 19, four days after the deadly bombing, Stefan said.

Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with authorities who had launched a massive manhunt for him and his brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago.

Police have said he ran out of ammunition before his younger brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing.

People boo the hearse of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev as it drives to a funeral home.

Tsarnaev died in a shoot out with police three days after the bombing. Picture: AP/Julia Malakie

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body was released by the state medical examiner on Thursday.

It initially was taken to a North Attleborough funeral home, where it was greeted by about 20 protesters, before being taken to Stefan's Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors, which is familiar with Muslim services.

''My problem here is trying to find a grave site. A lot of people don't want to do it. They don't want to be involved with this,'' said Stefan, who said dozens of protesters gathered outside his funeral home, upset with his decision to handle the service.

''I keep bringing up the point of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh or Ted Bundy. Somebody had to do those too.''

Meanwhile, two US officials said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators that he and his brother initially considered setting off their bombs on July 4.

Boston police said they planned to review security procedures for the Independence Day Boston Pops concert and fireworks display, which draws a crowd of more than 500,000 annually and is broadcast to a national TV audience.

Katherine Russell, right, wife of Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the law office of DeLuca and Weizenbaum with Amato DeLuca. (AP Photo/Stew Milne) Source: AP

Authorities plan to look at security procedures for large events held in other cities, notably the massive New Year's Eve celebration held each year in New York City's Times Square, Massachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Governor Deval Patrick said everything possible will be done to assure a safe event.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a backyard in Watertown, a Boston suburb, faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill.

Three of his college classmates were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly helping the alleged bomber by removing a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The April 15 bombing, which used pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards, killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

The brothers decided to carry out the attack before Independence Day when they finished assembling the bombs, the surviving suspect told interrogators after he was arrested.

A vehicle believed to be carrying the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev backs into an underground garage at the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, Thursday, May 2, 2013, in North Attleborough, Mass. The body of Tsarnaev, who was the subject of a massive manhunt and died after a gunbattle with police, was claimed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Stew Milne) Source: AP

Investigators believe some of the explosives used in the attack were assembled in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's home, though there may have been some assembly elsewhere.

It does not appear that the brothers ever had big, definitive plans, an official said.

The brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, who has been living with her parents in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, learned this week that the medical examiner was ready to release his body and wanted it turned over to his side of the family, her attorney Amato DeLuca said days ago.

Tsarnaev's uncle Ruslan Tsarni, of Maryland, said Tuesday night the family would take the body.

"Of course, family members will take possession of the body,'' Tsarni said.

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted links to Islamic websites on what appears to be his page on a Russian language social networking site. Lily Grimes reports.

Tsarnaev, who had appeared in surveillance photos wearing a black cap and was identified as Suspect No. 1, died three days after the bombing.

The April 15 bombing, using pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards near the marathon's finish line, killed three people and injured more than 260 others. Authorities said Tsarnaev and his younger brother later killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus police officer and carjacked a driver, who later escaped.

Authorities said that during the gunbattle with police, the Tsarnaev brothers, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago, set off another pressure cooker bomb and tossed grenades before the older brother ran out of ammunition.

In this picture taken by Bob Leonard about 10-20 minutes before the Boston Marathon blast, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Suspect Two) and Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Suspect One) watch runners pass by. Source: AP

Police said they tackled the older brother and began to handcuff him but had to dive out of the way at the last second when the younger brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, drove a stolen car at them. They said the younger brother ran over his brother's body as he drove away from the scene to escape.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured later, wounded and bloody, hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a suburban Boston backyard. He is in a federal prison and faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill.

The Tsarnaev brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

Three of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's friends, college classmates, were arrested on Wednesday and accused of helping after the marathon bombing to remove a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

A top Republican senator on Thursday asked President Barack Obama's administration to explain how one of the students entered the United States without a valid student visa.

Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, in a three-page letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, asked for additional details about the student visa applications for Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, college roommates from Kazakhstan charged with obstruction of justice in the marathon bombing case, and how Tazhayakov was allowed to re-enter the United States in January.

How did Boston terror suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev - whose mother was also on a terror database - slip through the cracks, despite warning signs?

Tazhayakov was a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth when he left the US in December. In early January, his student visa status was terminated because he was academically dismissed by the university.

Peter Boogaard, a DHS spokesman, said on Wednesday that when Tazhayakov arrived in January Customs and Border Protection had not been alerted that he was no longer a student. Boogaard said the department was working on a fix to the student visa system.

The third student arrested, Robel Phillipos, was charged with willfully making materially false statements to federal law enforcement officials during a terrorism investigation.

Three men accused of providing aid to Boston Marathon suspects have been arrested. Fox News

All three men charged in connection with the case began attending UMass Dartmouth with Tsarnaev in 2011, according to the FBI.

If convicted, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov could get up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.

The lawyers for the Kazakh students said their clients had nothing to do with the bombing and were just as shocked by it as everyone else. Phillipos' attorney said the only allegation against him was "he made a misrepresentation.''

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A photo a year for 35 years

The Brown Sisters 1980. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

PHOTOGRAPHER Nicholas Nixon has taken photographs of his wife and her three sisters for almost half a century.

In fact he has taken a photo of his wife, Bebe, and her sisters Heather, Mimi and Laurie every year for 35 years.

In every photo, Nixon has the Brown sisters pose in the same order, Heather on the left, followed by Mimi, Bebe and Laurie.

The result, a series of beautiful, haunting black and white photos commemorating their life together.

Check out the photos below.

1975

The Brown Sisters 1975 Source: Supplied

1976

The Brown Sisters 1976 Source: Supplied

1977

The Brown Sisters 1977 Source: Supplied

1978

The Brown Sisters 1978 Source: Supplied

1979

The Brown Sisters 1979 Source: Supplied

1980

The Brown Sisters 1980. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1981

The Brown Sisters 1981. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1982

Brown Sisters 1982 Source: Supplied

1983

Brown Sisters 1983. Source: Supplied

1984

The Brown Sisters 1984. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1985

The Brown Sisters 1985. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1986

The Brown Sisters 1986. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1987

The Brown Sisters 1987. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1988

The Brown Sisters 1988. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1989

The Brown Sisters 1989. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1990

The Brown Sisters 1990. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1991

The Brown Sisters 1991. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1992

The Brown Sisters 1992. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1993

The Brown Sisters 1993. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1994

The Brown Sisters 1994. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1995

The Brown Sisters 1995. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1996

Brown Sisters 1996 Source: Supplied

1997

Brown Sisters 1997 Source: Supplied

1998

The Brown Sisters 1998. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

1999

The Brown Sisters 1999. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2000

The Brown Sisters 2000. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2001

The Brown Sisters 2001. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2002

The Brown Sisters 2002. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2003

The Brown Sisters 2003. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2004

The Brown Sisters 2004. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2005

The Brown Sisters 2005. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2006

Brown Sisters 2006 Source: Supplied

2007

The Brown Sisters 2007. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2008

The Brown Sisters 2008. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2009

The Brown Sisters 2009. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

2010

The Brown Sisters 2010. Picture: Nicholas Nixon Source: Supplied

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Missing woman resurfaces after 11 years

It's been 11 years since Brenda Heist walked away from her two children, her job and her life in central Pennsylvania to hitchhike with strangers to Florida.

THE teenage daughter of a woman who just revealed she abandoned her family 11 years ago said the disclosure has angered her and she is not eager to restart their relationship.

Morgan Heist, who learned last week her mother Brenda Heist had surfaced in the Florida Keys, said the news has made her recall with bitterness the years of mourning she endured when she assumed her mother was dead and feared she'd been murdered.

Brenda Heist, 53, was last seen dropping her children off at school in Pennsylvania in 2002, CNN and AP report.

"I ached every birthday, every Christmas," said 19-year-old Morgan Heist, a freshman at a community college outside Philadelphia.

"My heart just ached. I wasn't mad at her. I wanted her to be there because I thought something had happened to her. I wish I had never cried."

Brenda Heist's mother, Jean Copenhaver, said that her daughter "had a real traumatic time" but was doing OK.

Police say Brenda Heist, who disappeared after dropping off her children for school 11 years ago, has been located in Florida after travelling there with homeless hitchhikers. Picture: AP Photo/Lititz Borough Police

Brenda Heist was released from police custody on Wednesday and is staying with a brother in northern Florida for now, Copenhaver said.

Copenhaver, of Brenham, Texas, said she had spoken with Heist several times since Friday, when the 54-year-old woman turned herself in to police in Florida and was identified as a missing person.

"She just said she thought the family wouldn't want to talk to her because of her leaving," Copenhaver said.

"And we all assured her that wasn't the case and we all loved her and wanted to be with her."

Morgan Heist said she's not sympathetic, partly because her mother had a choice, unlike the family she secretly abandoned.

"It's definitely very selfish," Morgan Heist said. "She clearly did not think of me or my brother or my dad at all with that decision. She thought of herself."

Heist told police she made a spur-of-the-moment decision in 2002 to join a group of homeless hitchhikers on their way to Florida, walking out on Morgan, 8, and her brother, then 12.

Brenda and her husband, Lee, were living together but going through an amicable divorce when she learned she had been denied housing support, police said. She was crying about that in a Lancaster park when three strangers befriended her and offered to let her join them.

Morgan Heist said her parents had agreed to live near each other once they divorced. Brenda Heist had been a bookkeeper at a car dealership.

"It's more of a mystery than ever," she said. "Her life was not hard at all."

Brenda Heist told police she slept under bridges and survived at times by scavenging food from restaurant trash and panhandling.

For seven years she lived with another man in a caravan and for the past two years has again been homeless, most recently residing in a tent community run by a welfare agency.

But Lititz Police Detective John Schofield said Thursday he is looking into reports that have come in over the past day suggesting Brenda Heist's time in Florida included much less miserable periods.

"We're getting several calls from people down in Florida that knew her who want to say she's not being truthful with us," Schofield said.

Heist told a detective with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that she had recently been arrested in the Tampa Bay region and might be in violation of probation.

She told the detective she used the name Kelsie Lyanne Smith and provided a date of birth.

Jail and court records show Kelsie Lyanne Smith, with a matching birth date, was arrested in January on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and providing false identification to law enforcement. After pleading guilty, Smith was sentenced to time served and was released on Feb. 13. She was also ordered to pay court costs but failed to do so and was found delinquent on April 15.

Copenhaver said she has not pressed her daughter about what led her to walk away from the life she knew in Pennsylvania and then live underground for more than a decade.

"We haven't gone into that with her," Copenhaver said. "She just needs time to recover, and have some peace and that. She'll tell us when she's ready."

She agreed to pass along a message from The Associated Press, asking Brenda Heist for an interview.

Heist told police she contacted them after feeling like she was at the end of her rope and tired of running.

"She's doing OK," Copenhaver said. "She's got a long way to go. She had a real traumatic time, but she's doing OK."

She said Heist was born in South Carolina, then moved as her father was transferred by the Air Force to Italy and Missouri before ending up in San Antonio, where she graduated from high school.

When she vanished, Lee Heist, was investigated but was cleared as a suspect. He raised the children without her and got the courts to declare her legally dead. He has since remarried.

Morgan Heist is a freshman at Montgomery County Community College. Her brother recently graduated from college.

Schofield kept Heist's missing person flyer posted on his wall for 11 years. "I was convinced something horrible happened to her years ago," he says.

Now he can finally close the case.

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Thousands bid for 24 chocolate bars

Tayto bars. Source: Supplied

IT'S like Willy Wonka's golden tickets.

Thousands of Irish Australians are desperately trying to get their hands on 24 special chocolate bars that landed in Oz.

The limited edition bars are sold out in Ireland but 24 were shipped to Australia to give Irish expats and Aussies the chance to taste them.

What's so special about them?

The bars are made from the famous Irish Tayto cheese and onion crisps mixed with Irish chocolate - all in one bar.

A winning combination or a controversial mix? The jury is out but the response has been overwhelming.

Taste Ireland CEO Eamon Eastwood is the holder of the elusive chocolate bars and decided to raffle them off in a Facebook campaign.

"I couldn't believe the reaction, it went off the richter scale with almost half a million impressions," said Mr Eastwood. 

"It's an unusual taste - crunchy chocolate and then a lingering taste of cheese of onion," said Mr Eastwood who distributes the Irish goodies to Woolworths stores throughout the country and on his website.

He will raffle off the five remaining bars on the Facebook page today and one at the Rose of Tralee ball at the Sydney Sofitel Wentworth tomorrow evening.

But all is not lost for those who miss out - Mr Eastwood has made a video demonstration of how you can create your own snack.

Tayto, the Irish snack giant, decided to introduce the bar in response to thousands of emails and tweets from fans begging for a "Tayto Bar".

Mr Eastwood set up Taste Ireland in 2005 to save thousands of "Mammys" posting out the beloved Dairy Milk chocolate and crisps to their travelling children - and make them available here.

"I brought over a box of Tayto in 2005 and raffled off one of the bags in a pub one night," he said. "When one bag of crisps sold for $25 - I knew there was big demand."
 

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Why you can't get that concert ticket

Want to go to the Pink concert? These tickets are harder to come by than you think, says the author of a new book. Picture: Supplied Source: news.com.au

• Tell us about your experiences buying tickets in the comments below

WE'VE all been there. It's 9am, you've logged onto Ticketmaster with all the hope in the world. Your dreams are pinned on getting those A-reserve seats for that concert, game, once-in-a-lifetime gig. You've got your credit card at the ready.

But by 9.02am your dreams are over - you can't even score a spot up in the nose-bleed section. The concert is SOLD OUT.

Wait, how did that happen? How did tens of thousands of tickets come and go within the blink of an eye? How did you end up empty handed when you've been staring at the screen for an hour?

It's an all too familiar scenario for Aussie music, sports and concert lovers. Just this week promoters announced that tickets to the sought-after Splendour in the Grass festival sold out in under an hour. Similarly all tickets to the up-coming British Lions rugby tour sold out in less than 15 minutes.

The fact is we're all getting scammed and it's out of hand, says Dean Budnick, co-author of Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped.

Budnick became so despondent with the sky-high prices of impossible-to-purchase tickets that he decided to investigate the inner workings of the ticketing industry, along with his Relix magazine colleague, Josh Baron.

Here, in a news.com.au exclusive, Budnick, who interviewed more than 100 people in the industry for the book, explains what's gone wrong and why it's almost impossible to get a ticket to anything anymore.

This man is ecstatic. Because it's extraordinarily hard to get your hands on a ticket these days. Picture: Jeff Herbert Source: news.com.au

How does an arena that seats 80,000 sell out in two minutes?

A very small percentage of seats are available to purchase during the initial general sale.

"Before that time a lot of artists have committed their ticket inventory to credit card companies they have alliances with, to their fan clubs for pre-sale, to the promoter who has a variety of opportunities, to sponsors and to the venue," explains Budnick. "Plus they also keep some inventory for themselves and the secondary market (more on this to come)."

At Justin Bieber's Nashville show in February, only seven per cent of tickets to the show were available to purchase at the general sale, meaning 93 per cent of tickets had already been set aside for other partners.

At Taylor Swift's US concerts, just 15 per cent of tickets were available at the advertised on-sale date. For Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana tour, the numbers were similar, about 15 to 20 per cent.

The moral of the story? "If you don't have a ticket before the general on-sale, you're going to find it extraordinarily challenging," says Budnick.

But Matthew Lazarus-Hall, CEO of Chugg Entertainment, disagrees and told news.com.au that this concept was a "very American thing".

"I wouldn't say it's prevalent in Australia at all," he said. "I can't speak for everyone else, but I would say for Chugg Entertainment, it's always greater than 55-60 per cent in all price categories."

Just seven per cent of Justin Bieber's concert tickets went on sale to the public during the general sale. Picture: AP Source: news.com.au

What is a "secondary market"?

The "secondary market" is a term given to the online re-sale platforms such as eBay, Gumtree and StubHub in the US which allow people (or scalpers) to re-sell tickets they have already purchased.

"Because of these secondary markets there are so many people who are aggressively competing online for tickets," says Budnick. "Some are professional ticket brokers and scalpers who know how much tickets to the really hot shows are worth. Others are mums, dads or uni students trying to make a bit of extra money."

Budnick says artists are now even scalping their own tickets by keeping a number and re-selling them to these online platforms for inflated prices.

Artists now realise the profit that can be made on places like eBay and so as a result, they demand a certain allotment of tickets in their riders which they are then able to directly on-sell on the secondary market.

"Katy Perry is known to do this," says Budnick. "Let's say her tickets go on sale for $100 and then two hours later they sell for $200 - that gets pretty frustrating for the artists' manager and to the artist, so they want a taste, too.

"The way one of the managers described it to me was 'look, somebody is sitting in front of this computer, smoking a cigar who is not involved at all in this show, he's just sitting there making all this money off us, we deserve a little bit of that money."

It's a full house at the A League Grand Final - but how many people managed to buy their tickets during the general on-sale? Picture: Taylor Adam Source: news.com.au

How do scalpers get so many tickets?

Aside from everyday people buying and re-selling tickets there are professional ticket brokers and scalpers making a really good living out of writing computer programs which utilise "bots".

"I know one individual and his team who got 700,000 tickets in 2007 through mechanisation and computer programs," says Budnick. "There are these computer programs that are working simultaneously to try to get in and get tickets.

"They flood the website with hundreds of thousands of attempts so that even if their program fails to interpret the security captcha code, it's all the more challenging for other people to get in and get tickets. It's a real problem."

AFL and NRL Grandfinal tickets go on sale, Ticketek is down. Again. Picture: Supplied Source: news.com.au

Why are tickets so expensive in the first place?

Forking out $150 for a One Direction concert ticket is a big ask for a 14-year old, and Budnick says most of the blame lies with the artist.

"The price is controlled by an artist who asks for a guaranteed percentage of the ticket price, this can be as high as 100 per cent," says Budnick.

This is why many venues add their own additional charges onto tickets and charge a fortune for parking, alcohol and food.

"A lot of people assume it's the cost of delivering the ticket, but service fees are a profit centre for the promoter and the venues and quite frankly they're also an additional profit centre for the artists who will not only take the money that they're getting from the ticket, but they'll also take a little bit of the money from that service fee as well," says Budnick.

In October last year, Choice magazine named Ticketmaster and Ticketek in its annual "Shonky" awards for shoddy services. They cited a November Elton John concert sold by Ticketmaster and held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The ticket price was $119.90, but after adding the credit card surcharge of $2.64 and a handling fee of $9.50, consumers were up for $132.04.

In response, Ticketek Australia managing director Cameron Hoy said consumers often did not understand the real costs that underpinned the company's charges, adding "our fees include labour, dispatch, handling and the cost of technology that supports the scanning of these tickets".

Some fans have become so frustrated trying to buy tickets online, they now camp overnight in the hope of buying a ticket from an outlet. Picture: Mark Evans Source: news.com.au

So, how can you increase your chances of getting a ticket at face value price?

• Establish a relationship and a loyalty with the promoter, so you can sign up early to pre-sales and fan clubs
• See if your credit card company, such as Visa, has pre-sale tickets available
• If you're buying online on the day of general sale, log on early and be in the system before 9am
• Follow the promoters, the venue, the fan clubs and the artists on social media to pick up on special offers
• If you are looking for a ticket in the "secondary market" – wait. As it gets closer to the show, some get nervous and drop the price. "I have a friend who went to 18 concerts in a row and he actually paid less than the ticket price because he waited and scalped the scalpers," Budnick says.
• Consider buying on your mobile rather than your desktop, says Lazarus-Hall, as the "bots" can't work on mobiles.
• Read the frequently asked questions on the promoter or ticket-sellers website before you buy so you understand how the sale process works

Dean Budnick and Josh Baron's book, Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped is available through Penguin Books.

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Gillard 'changed her mind' on Medicare

The Gillard government has confirmed workers will face a tax increase through the Medicare levy to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme

AUSTRALIANS will pay the highest effective tax rates in almost a decade under Julia Gillard's plan to lift the Medicare levy to part-fund the national disability insurance scheme.

In a broken promise after previously saying she would not fund DisabilityCare with the levy, Ms Gillard announced a hike from 1.5 to 2 per cent because she had "changed her mind".

Ms Gillard said she would take the policy, which would mean an average worker earning $70,000 pays $1400 a year - a $350 increase - to the election.

Just hours later she changed her mind again and said if Opposition Leader Tony Abbott pledged support for the rise, she would bring it before "parliament immediately".

It is understood Ms Gillard, having broken a promise not to introduce a carbon tax before the last election, decided she would seek a mandate for the change.

Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan announcing plans to raise the Medicare levy to help fund disability insurance. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Gillard is in Launceston to sign a forestry deal but she expected to talk on the NDIS.

As business groups condemned the hike and a leading economist warned the impact could spark a Reserve Bank rate cut, Mr Abbott would not commit to  backing the move, which would earn the government an extra $3.3 billion a year.

He criticised the increase for raising less than half what was needed for the NDIS.

As well as hitting higher income families, more lower wage earners would be trapped paying a tax rate of 29c charged while they catch up on paying the Medicare levy when their income exceeds the $20,542 threshold.

Jessica Irvine and Tory Maguire discuss the levy to fund the disability scheme

Ms Gillard said she had been forced to change her mind because of a $12 billion revenue shortfall and the need to support states in rolling out the NDIS.

The money raised by the levy would be put in a fund that could be used only for DisabilityCare, either directly or by funding state implementation.

"I will be asking the Australian people to endorse this choice in September," Ms Gillard said.

Her staff engaged in a petty Twitter squabble, with one tweet from her press office's official account replying "Meeow" to a staffer of Queensland Premier Campbell Newman.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said, while the NDIS was an important reform, a levy should only be introduced after pilots, evaluation and a 10-year implementation plan.

"Then and only then should we put all the funding options on the table, including a levy on all taxpayers, and determine the best approach following a cost-benefit analysis,'' she said.

Peak doctors' group the AMA and disability groups supported the levy rise yesterday.

"It is an opportunity for truly transformational reform for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in our community.

"We need to have a properly funded, and reliably funded, scheme for it to be successful," AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said.

Head of the Disability Advocacy Network Andrea Simmons said: "The NDIS is too important to be allowed to languish through a failure to find the necessary funding. The Productivity Commission has been clear a properly funded NDIS will save Australia money in the long run and  is a people and wealth-building investment."

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the impact of the levy rise  on a person earning $100,000 with a $250,000 mortgage would be the equivalent of a 0.25 per cent rate rise and that the RBA may have to lower rates in response.

A 0.5 per cent hike to take the levy to 2 per cent would add to Australia's top marginal tax rate of 45c in the dollar - effectively taking the highest marginal rate to 47c,  the highest effective tax rate since 2005-06, when the rate was  47c before former treasurer Peter Costello's last round of tax cuts.

Mr Costello said this week the NDIS, education reform Gonski and Mr Abbott's proposed levy on big business to fund generous paid maternity leave were unaffordable.

University of NSW tax expert Professor Neil Warren said it would also hit lower income earners, with more people being caught by higher taxes to "claw back the threshold".

Income earners above the $20,542 threshold will have to catch up on paying the levy so are taxed at jl10 per cent, in addition to the 19c tax rate which applies to lower income earners.

Catch up will apply up to an upper threshold of $25,677 under the proposed hike, up from $24,167.

The government said yesterday it had cut taxes, including for high-income earners, with a spokeswoman for Treasurer Wayne Swan saying a person on $300,000 was $6053 better off.

People earning $30,000 had received tax breaks of $1053 since 2007, she said and average wage earners on $70,000 were $1303 better off. 

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Bomb arrest trio 'trying to help'

Attorneys for two of the men charged with obstructing the investigation into last month's fatal Boston Marathon bombing say their clients deny any wrongdoing. Deborah Gembara reports.

THREE college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and accused of trying to protect him by going into his dorm room and getting rid of a backpack filled with hollowed-out fireworks three days after the deadly attack.

The three 19-year-olds - Kazkh nationals Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakovwere and American Robel Phillipos - are not accused of any role in the bombing itself.

But in a footnote in the court papers outlining the charges, the FBI said that about a month before the tragedy, Tsarnaev told two of them that he knew how to make a bomb.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, both of whom came to the U.S. from Kazakhstan, were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by concealing and destroying evidence.

Robel Phillipos, who graduated from a Cambridge, Massachusetts, high school with Tsarnaev, was charged with lying to investigators about the visit to Tsarnaev's room.

Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev waived their right to bail in court and agreed to voluntary detention.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, right, on a visit to Times Square in 2012 with Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, who were arrested and charged with covering up for the Boston Marathon bombers. Picture: Fox News.

Their next hearing is scheduled for May 14.

Phillipos, is charged with making false statements to federal investigators. He awaits a court appearance.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, Kazakh nationals in the United States on a student visa, face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $US250,000 ($A242,000) fine, the Justice Department said.

Phillipos faces up to eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the FBI account, just hours after surveillance-camera photos of the Boston Marathon suspects were flashed around the world April 18,

Three men accused of providing aid to Boston Marathon suspects have been arrested. Fox News

Tsnarnaev's friends suspected he was one of the bombers and removed the backpack along with a laptop from Tsarnaev's room at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

One of them later threw the backpack in the garbage, and it wound up in a landfill, where it was discovered by law enforcement officers last week, authorities said. In the backpack were fireworks that had been emptied of their gunpowder.

The lawyers for the Kazakh students said their clients had nothing to do with the bombing and were just as shocked by the crime as everyone else.

Phillipos' attorney, Derege Demissie, said outside court: "The only allegation is he made a misrepresentation.''

At a court appearance, the Kazakh students did not request bail and will be held for another hearing May 14.

This courtroom sketch shows signed by artist Jane Flavell Collins defendant Robel Phillipos appearing in front of Federal Magistrate Marianne Bowler at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. Phillipos, and two other college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room. (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins)

Phillipos was held for a hearing on Monday. If convicted, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov could get up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.

Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded on April 15 when two bombs exploded near the finish line.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunfight with police days later. His 19-year-old brother was captured and lies in a prison hospital.

Their mother has said the allegations against them are lies.

Investigators have not said whether the pressure cooker bombs used in the attacks were made with gunpowder extracted from fireworks.

This courtroom sketch signed by artist Jane Flavell Collins shows defendants Dias Kadyrbayev, left, and Azamat Tazhayakov appearing in front of Federal Magistrate Marianne Bowler at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. The two college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and another man, were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room. (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins)

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov have been in jail for more than a week on allegations they were in violation of their student visas, one because he was skipping classes, the other because he was no longer enrolled.

All three men charged Wednesday began attending UMass with Tsarnaev in 2011, according to the FBI.

Tazhayakov was allowed to return to the US from Kazakhstan in January despite not having a valid student visa, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

His student-visa status had been terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The FBI said that before Tsarnaev's roommate let the three friends into the room, Kadyrbayev received a text message from Tsarnaev that read: "I'm about to leave if you need something in my room take it,'' according to the FBI.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was reportedly refused entry to Saudi Arabia in 2001. Picture: AP/Julia Malakie

When Tazhayakov learned of the message, "he believed he would never see Tsarnaev alive again,'' the FBI said in the affidavit.

It was not clear from the court papers whether authorities believe that was an instruction from Tsarnaev to destroy evidence.

Once inside Tsarnaev's room, the men noticed a backpack containing fireworks, which had been opened and emptied of gunpowder, the FBI said.

The FBI said that Kadyrbayev knew when he saw the fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the bombings and decided to remove the backpack "in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble.''

Kadyrbayev also decided to remove Tsarnaev's laptop "because he did not want Tsarnaev's roommate to think he was stealing or behaving suspiciously by just taking the backpack,'' the FBI said.

How did Boston terror suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev - whose mother was also on a terror database - slip through the cracks, despite warning signs?

After the three returned to Kadyrbayev's and Tazhayakov's apartment with the backpack and computer, they watched news reports featuring photographs of Tsarnaev.

The FBI said Kadyrbayev told authorities the three men then "collectively decided to throw the backpack and fireworks into the trash because they did not want Tsarnaev to get into trouble.''

Kadyrbayev said he placed the backpack and fireworks along with trash from the apartment into a large trash bag and threw it into a garbage bin near the men's apartment, according to court papers.

When the backpack was later found, inside it was a UMass-Dartmouth homework assignment sheet from a class Tsarnaev was taking, the FBI said.

The court papers do not say what happened to the laptop.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and TamerlanTsarnaev pictured at the Boston Marathon. (AP Photo/FBI)

In a footnote, the FBI said: "Tazhayakov also informed the FBI agents that while eating a meal with Dzhokhar and Kadrybayev approximately one month prior to the marathon bombing, Dzhokhar had explained to Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov that he knew how to make a bomb.''

Robert Stahl, an attorney for Kadyrbayev, said his client "absolutely denies the charges'' and didn't know that the backpack and fireworks were part of the bombing case.

Kadyrbayev is "just as shocked and horrified by the violence in Boston that took place as the rest of the community is,'' the lawyer said.

He also denied that Kadyrbayev instantly recognized Tsarnaev's photo, saying: "His first inkling came much later.''

Tazhayakov's lawyer, Harlan Protass, said Tazhayakov "feels horrible and was shocked to hear that someone he knew at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth was involved with the Boston Marathon bombing.''

Katherine Russell, the American wife of marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the house where he lived in Cambridge, the day after Tsarnaev, was killed in a shootout with police. Picture: Austral via William Farrington / Polaris

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov lived at an off-campus apartment in New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston, and got around in a car registered to Kadyrbayev with a souvenir plate that read "Terrorista #1.'' The car was pictured on Tsarnaev's Twitter feed in March.

The plate was a gag gift from some of Kadyrbayev's friends, meant to invoke his penchant for late-night partying rather than his political sentiments, Kadyrbayev's lawyer said last week.

Michael McKeown, 20, attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School with Tsarnaev and Phillipos.

"He wasn't a stupid kid,'' the Boston University sophomore said of Phillipos. "I'm surprised he would do something this foolish.''

Saudi Arabia warned US about Tamerlan Tsarnaev

The mother of the two Boston bombing suspects, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, left, speaking at a news conference in Makhachkala, the southern Russian province of Dagestan.

The arrests came after it emerged Saudi Arabia reportedly sent a written warning to the US about Boston Marathon suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev last year and refused him entry to the country over security concerns.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wrote to the US Department of Homeland Security about the older Tsarnaev brother in 2012, a senior Saudi official says.

The official told the Daily Mail the warning was based on intelligence from Yemen and was separate to concerns raised by Russian intelligence.

He also revealed Tamerlan was refused an entry visa into Saudi Arabia for the Mecca pilgrimage in December 2011.

Russian agents placed the older suspect under surveillance during a six-month visit to southern Russia last year, then scrambled to find him when he suddenly disappeared after police killed a Canadian jihadist, a security official said.

The father of the two Boston bombing suspects, Anzor Tsarnaev speaks at a news conference in Makhachkala, the southern Russian province of Dagestan.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 and his younger brother Dzhokhar are accused of carrying out the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon, which killed three and wounded more than 264 at one of the world's premier sporting events.

The Saudi official said the warning, which was also shared with the UK Government, was "very specific" and warned "something was going to happen in a major US city".

The "government-to-government" letter "did name Tamerlan specifically", the official told the Daily Mail.

An official from Homeland Security denied the department had received any such warning from Saudi Arabia.

"DHS has no knowledge of any communication from the Saudi government regarding information on the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing prior to the attack," an unnamed offical told the Daily Mail.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police as he tried to flee the Boston area three days after the bombing.

Dzhokhar was wounded and captured, and now faces terror charges carrying a possible death sentence.

The Saudi official said the letter was sent by the Saudi Ministry of Interior in part so the US could inspect packages being sent to Tamerlan in the post.

"With Saudi Arabia it's always code red," he said.

"There's no code orange, or code yellow. Always red."

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's relatives will claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it, an uncle said.

Tsarnaev, 26, has been at the medical examiner's office in Massachusetts since he died after a gunfight with authorities more than a week ago.

Amato DeLuca, the Rhode Island attorney for his widow, Katherine Russell, said on Tuesday that his client had just learned that the medical examiner was ready to release Tsarnaev's body and that she wants it released to his side of the family.

Police said Tsarnaev ran out of ammunition before his 19-year-old brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene. His cause of death has been determined but will not be made public until his remains are claimed.

"Of course, family members will take possession of the body," uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Maryland told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "We'll do it. We will do it. A family is a family."

He would not elaborate. Tsarnaev's parents are still in Russia, but he has other relatives on his side of the family in the U.S., including Tsarni.

Tsarnaev's father, Anzor, announced plans last week to travel to the US in the hope of burying his elder son, but he said on Wednesday that those plans are off because he is suffering from bad headaches and high blood pressure. The 46-year-old Tsarnaev said he still hopes to go when he is feeling better.

Reports came as it was revealed the Tsarnaev family, including the suspected terrorists and their parents, benefited from more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance - a bonanza ranging from cash and food stamps to housing from 2002 to 2012.

The state has handed over more than 500 documents to the 11-member House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, which Monday met for the first time and plans to call in officials from the Department of Transitional Assistance to testify.

"I can assure members of the public that this committee will actively review every single piece of information we can find because clearly the public has a substantial right to know what benefits, if any, this family or individuals accused of some horrific crimes were receiving,'' said state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, the committee's chairman.

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