(With the day's court action over, we updated this post at noon ET.)
Confronting James "Whitey" Bulger, who she believes killed her father in addition to the 11 people he's been convicting of murdering, a woman told the mob boss Wednesday morning that "we got you, you rat."
Relatives of the notorious gangster's victims testified at his sentencing in Boston. Our colleagues at WBUR tweeted from the courthouse. WCVB-TV is among the news outlets that live blogged.
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. He 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.
Davis said he hopes Bulger dies the same way Davis' sister Debra died when she was strangled: "gasping for air."
Bulger's sentencing hearing, which will continue Thursday, began with statements from both relatives of the 11 people he was convicted of murdering and relatives of the seven 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.
He is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. Bulger is 84.
We'll keep an eye on the news from Boston. In the meantime, WBUR remains on the case.
Update at noon ET. Over For The Day; No Statement From Bulger:
After hearing from another victim's son who believes that corrupt FBI officials played a role in his father's death (Bulger was an FBI informant), the session ended.
According to WBUR, the judge asked Bulger if he wished to speak. "Bulger rises and says 'No,' " the station tweeted.
Then it added that the judge "will deliver her sentence tomorrow."
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