The surviving suspect in the Boston marathon bombings admitted to his role in the attacks to the FBI - but clammed up when finally read his Miranda rights.
It has been revealed that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, initially confessed to authorities that he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, carried out the attacks during 16-hours of questioning over the weekend.
Dzhokhar has been communicating with law enforcement officials by writing on a pad after suffering an injury to his throat during the frenzied manhunt for him which renders him unable to talk.
However, the moment he was read his rights on Monday - which as a citizen of the United States entitle him to the constitutional right to remain silent and seek a lawyer - he stopped communicating.
Indeed, it has been claimed that federal agents were surprised when a magistrate judge and a representative from the U.S. Attorney's office entered the hospital room and read Tsarnaev his rights, four officials and one law enforcement official said.
Investigators had planned to keep questioning him.
This apparent confusion came after the White House decided against treating Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant.
It is unclear as to whether this will matter in court as the FBI says Tsarnaev has already confessed to a witness.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said: 'Before being advised of his rights, the 19-year-old suspect told authorities that his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, only recently had recruited him to be part of the attack'.
Tsarnaev said he was behind the devastating terrorist attack. He spoke to police from his hospital bed. Whether suspected terrorists should be read their Miranda rights has become a controversial issue in the U.S
Reflecting on the scenes of destruction at Boston marathon, Vice President Joe Biden condemned the bombing suspects as 'two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis'
The debate over whether suspected terrorists should be read their Miranda rights has become a sticking point.
Many Repuplicans believe they hinder intelligence gathering.
The Department of Justice has said investigators may wait until they have gathered intelligence about other threats before reading those rights in terrorism cases.
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Investigators have found pieces of remote-control equipment among the debris and are analyzing them, officials said.
One official described the detonator as 'close-controlled,' meaning it had to be triggered within several blocks of the bombs.
A piece of remote control equipment has been found amongst the debris at the scene of the bombing. Experts say it would have been triggered just blocks away from the site of the bomb
Confused reports about the shootout in a Boston backyard have emerged. Officials now claim that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was unarmed as he hid in boat in Watertown. This contradicts Boston Police Commissioner's account of hour-long firefight with Tsarnaev
Dzhokhar is recovering in a hospital from injuries suffered during a getaway attempt last Friday.
Police had previously said Dzhokhar exchanged gunfire with them for more than an hour last Friday before they captured him inside a boat in a suburban Boston neighbourhood.
But yesterday, two unnamed officials said that he was unarmed when captured, raising questions about the gunfire and how he was injured.
The report contradicts the Boston police department's own account of Dzhokar Tsarnaev's capture - after commissioner Ed Davies describes a firefight between him and officers before the terror suspect was captured.
More than 4,000 mourners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology paid tribute to a campus police officer who authorities say was gunned down by the bombing suspects.
Among the speakers in Cambridge, just outside Boston, was Vice President Joe Biden, who condemned the bombing suspects as 'two twisted, perverted, cowardly, knockoff jihadis.'
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gives his respects to police officers at memorial services for officer Sean Collier, who authorities say was shot dead by the Boston Marathon bombing suspect
Mr Biden paid tribute to officer Sean Collier's family: 'The moment will come when the memory of Sean is triggered and you know it's going to be OK. The purpose of terror is to instill fear. You saw none of it here in Boston. Boston, you sent a powerful message to the world.'
Investigators have said the brothers appeared to have been radicalized through jihadist materials on the Internet and have found no evidence tying them to a terrorist group.
Dzhokhar told the FBI that they were angry about the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the killing of Muslims there, officials said.