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The body of the slain Boston Marathon bomber was released to his family yesterday, nearly two weeks after authorities say he was shot and dragged under a car in an early-morning firefight with police.

The state medical exam-iner's office last night transferred the remains of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev -- killed April 19 in a gunfight in Watertown -- to a funeral home retained by his family, though spokesman Terrel Harris declined to say which one.

The funeral home is in North Attleboro, according to multiple reports, and a cause of death is expected to be released once a death certificate is filed, which could be as early as today.

It was unclear who among Tsarnaev's family made arrangements. His widow said earlier this week she would not claim his body, leaving it to family, and one of his uncles, Alvi Tsarnaev, told the Herald late yesterday he was not involved and had no details.

Meanwhile, Tsarnaev's brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is facing federal charges in the bombing, told invest-igators that they planned to attack on July 4 but fin-ished their pressure-cooker bombs earlier than expected and instead targeted Patriots Day, The New York Times reported late yesterday.

Three of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's college buddies are facing charges after authorities say they took a backpack and laptop from the accused teen terrorist's dorm room three days after the attacks and then threw some of the evidence into the trash.

Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov and Robel Phillipos, all 19, were being held at the Essex County Correction Facility in Middleton yesterday.

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