Boston Suspect: Family Will Claim His Body

Relatives of the dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect are to claim his body after his wife agreed to release it.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's remains have been at the medical examiner's office in Massachusetts since he died in a gunfight with police more than a week ago.

Amato DeLuca, the lawyer representing his widow, Katherine Russell, said on Tuesday his client wanted the body released to the Tsarnaev family.

Police said Tamerlan Tsarnaev ran out of ammunition before his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing from the shootout.

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 Montgomery Village, Maryland, told The Associated Press.

"We'll do it. We will do it. A family is a family."

The Tsarnaevs' divorced parents have delayed travelling from their homes in Russia, but they have several relatives in the US.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in a prison hospital after being wounded.

He is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, a crime that carries a potential death sentence.

Mr DeLuca said Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow met with law enforcement "for many hours over the past week" and will continue cooperating.

FBI agents visited her parents' Rhode Island home and carried away several bags.

"Katherine and her family continue to be deeply saddened by the harm that has been caused," Mr DeLuca said.

In addition to declining to claim the body herself, the widow has taken other steps to distance herself from her late husband.

Her family released a statement saying they "never really knew" Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

She has also reverted to using her maiden name.