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Who is the widow of accused Boston bombing mastermind?

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Searching for Katherine Russell, widow of accused Boston bombing mastermind, is like searching for a ghost.

The last time we saw her was in January, when she appeared in a Wrentham courtroom, charged with driving on a suspended license. A public records search lists her parents’ home in North Kingstown, Rhode Island as her address, but that house is for sale.

And according to the Providence Journal, she's moved out of state. But as the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the scrutiny hasn't ended. Authorities have never publicly linked Russell to the deadly terrorist attack believed to have been carried out by her husband and brother-in-law, but as Criminal Defense Attorney and former police officer Joseph Keegan explains, there's a lot about this case that the public doesn’t know.

“The investigation remains open and we don’t know what the investigation will bring up or what the trial will bring up as additional evidence,” he said.

Russell grew up in Rhode Island, her father was an E.R. doctor and her mother was a nurse. She graduated from North Kingstown High School in 2007. While studying communications at Suffolk University in Boston, she met Tamerlan Tsarnaev, an aspiring boxer originally from Dagestan. The two were married in a Dorchester mosque in 2010. Their daughter was born 4 months later.

Russell was raised Christian, but converted to Islam. She changed her clothes and her name to Karima. She lived an inconspicuous life, until certain images appeared across the world. At the time of the bombing Katherine, Tamerlan and their young daughter shared an apartment on Norfolk Street in Cambridge.

In April 2013, the New York Daily News published pictures showing inside the apartment. It's been widely reported that authorities found extremist material on Russell's computer, and court documents suggest the sophisticated bombs used in the attacks may have been constructed in the apartment, possibly in the kitchen.

“I think something that Katherine hangs her hat on through her attorney's is the fact that she worked so much, that she was out of the house and didn't have an idea,” Keegan said.

And there were also court documents filed last week that raise even more questions. Around this time last year, it was revealed that the pressure cookers used to make the bombs were purchased at a Macy's department store. New court documents indicate it was the store in Downtown Crossing.

Those documents suggest a woman may have been on the shopping trip, and according to the new filing, before entering the Cambridge apartment in May 2013.

Investigators wrote a search warrant application that they hoped to find "male and/or female clothing worn by the two individuals" seen in the Macy's surveillance video.

The names of the people in the video do not appear in the paperwork and there's no mention if the clothing was found.

“That in and of itself doesn’t mean anything, but when the totality of the evidence is processed that could be something that helps tips the scales,” Keegan said.

Despite hundreds of requests from the media to tell her story, Russell has been silent since the bombings.

But her lawyer paints an innocent picture of the 25-year-old. He says Russell had no knowledge of the attack and is just as shocked as everyone else.

Did Tamerlan hide a secret double life from her? Based on her experience working with couples in crisis Dr. Karen Ruskin, a licensed marriage counselor, says it should not be ruled out.

“Is it also possible that something is going on right in front of your nose, but because of your love for that person, you are in complete denial and don't see it or don't want to believe, even if you think something’s going on, indeed,” Ruskin said.

Russell's parents and other relatives have reportedly testified before the Grand Jury convened to investigate the bombings, but Russell, reports say, has not been asked to appear.

Authorities may feel she's clean, with nothing more to add. It's also possible she's target of the Grand Jury. Federal targets are often excluded from the process by design. It will ultimately be up to federal prosecutors to decide if Russell will be thrust into the spotlight, or if she will remain a ghost.