Bay Area victims of Boston Marathon attack react to death verdict

MARTINEZ, Calif. (KTVU) - When the verdict of death from the jury was read, court witnesses said convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev showed no emotion.

For Alan and Katherine Hern of Martinez, the verdict brought a mix of reaction.

"Today was kind of a hard day," said Alan as his sat next to his wife Katherine, "and she asked why is this really bothering us today?"

Katherine was running in the Boston Marathon with Alan and their children waiting at the finish line. Their then 11-year old son Aaron suffered a severe leg injury when one of the pressure cooker bombs placed by Tsarnaev and his brother exploded.

"I knew this day was coming," said Katherine, "and I really didn't know how I was going to feel about which way the verdict was going to go."

She says when she heard the verdict of death she had a physical reaction that took her breath away.

"I hate to say, I guess my first reaction was: good, I'm glad," she said.

The Hern's say, after two years, their son has recovered about 95-percent from his leg injury.

Alan Hern says the Boston Marathon bombing is not something they think about day to day but it surfaces on major events of the trial.

"I don't think there's really a sense of finality at all right now," said Alan, "it's just the end of a certain phase."