Boston Bombing Trial: Jury Selection Complete

A jury has been selected for the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates, consisting of eight men and 10 women, will hear the federal death penalty case.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

It took two months to select the jury from a pool of 1,200 people, as winter weather and repeated attempts by the defence to have the trial moved out of state slowed the process.

Many potential jurors were dismissed because they had personal connections with the 15 April 2013 bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Tsarnaev's lawyers argued throughout the process that the 21-year-old could not have an impartial jury in Boston because of the emotional impact of the attacks.

Judge George O'Toole Jr rejected the change-of-venue motions three times, and the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals twice upheld his ruling.

Tsarnaev faces 30 charges in connection with the bombings near the marathon finish line.

He is also charged in the killing of an MIT police officer days after the attacks.

Survivors and first responders are among those who will testify during the trial, which is expected to last three to four months.

The defence is expected to argue that Tsarnaev had a difficult childhood and was heavily influenced by his elder brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who authorities believe became radicalised in the last few years of his life.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was later killed in a shoot-out with police.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found four days after the bombings hiding in a boat parked in the backyard of a home in nearby Watertown.