Confronting James "Whitey" Bulger, who she believes murdered her father as well as the 11 other people he's been convicting of killing, a woman told the mob boss Wednesday morning that "we got you, you rat."
Relatives of the notorious gangster's victims are testifying at his sentencing in Boston. Our colleagues at WBUR are tweeting from the courthouse. WCVB-TV is among the news outlets that are live blogging.
It was Marie O'Brien Mahoney, daughter of William O'Brien, who delivered the "got you, you rat" line.
Her comments were followed shortly after by some from William O'Brien Jr., who caused a disruption when he began by accusing Mahoney "of falsely claiming she is the only child of William O'Brien," reports David Frank, a lawyer and managing editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
As WCVB's Kelley Tuthill posted moments later, "omg. anything can and does happen in this courtroom."
William O'Brien Jr. then went on to say that "for the 7 families of the not proven ... just because it wasn't proven [that Bulger murdered their loved ones] doesn't mean you will be forgotten."
Later in the morning, relative Steve Davis used a common expletive when he called Bulger "a piece of @#$%." He also shouted at the "son of a bitch" to look him in the eye.
He hopes, Davis said, that Bulger dies the same way Davis' sister Debra dead when she was strangled: "gasping for air."
Bulger's sentencing hearing, which could last into Thursday, has begun with statements from both relatives of the 11 people he was convicted of murdering and relatives of the 7 people whose deaths he was not held responsible for.
The mobster, who was captured in 2011 after 16 years on the run, is not facing the death penalty. Several of the relatives who spoke Wednesday morning said that was fine with them because "the electric chair" would be too easy an out for Bulger.
We'll keep an eye on the news from Boston. In the meantime, WBUR remains on the case.
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