Opening statements got underway on Wednesday for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man accused in the Boston Marathon bombing, and his lawyer stunned the court by admitting that her client was indeed the bomber.

The noted that defense attorney Judy Clarke made the flat-out statement to the courtroom, but it was of course part of a strategy.

"It WAS him," Clarke said of Tsarnaev, but then claimed that he only acted under the influence of his deceased older brother, Tamerlan.

"The evidence will not establish and we will not argue that Tamerlan put a gun to Dzhokhar's head or that he forced him to join in the plan," she continued, "but you will hear evidence about the kind of influence that this older brother had."

As previously reported, the defense was expected to pin the elder brother, who was killed in a shootout with police, as the mastermind and driving force behind the Boston Marathon bombing.

On April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. After a manhunt, the 21-year-old Tsarnaev was arrested.

If convicted, he faces the death penalty.