The horrifying 2013 bombing of the iconic Boston Marathon by brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was bound to create a host of bad memories that have not diminished much with the passing of time. Now, the defense lawyers for Dzhokhar, the younger of the two brothers, are using those same feelings to continually postpone the trial for the 21-year-old suspect.

Tsarnaev is accused of conspiring with his older brother to create the two homemade pressure-cooker bombs that killed three and wounded more than 260 people at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in April 2013. He was 19 at the time. His older brother Tamerlan died days after the tragedy following a firefight with police. His lawyers aim to prove that Dzhokhar was heavily influenced by – perhaps even afraid of – his brother’s radical fanaticism.

Last week, Boston bartender Chris Laudani shoveled snow off of the finish line for the Boston Marathon after the area was hit by a sever blizzard. The image of the letters standing out against the snowy street quickly went viral, and Tsarnaev’s lawyers were just as quick to use it as leverage to delay the trial. They claim that the image proves that the wounds from almost two years ago have not yet healed, and that it is “unrealistic to expect” a fair trial might be held in Boston for Tsarnaev.

His lawyers have tried this tactic before: following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, they asked for a delay, citing stories of the violence as stirring up “extraordinary prejudice.” The motivations for both the Paris and Boston attacks were linked to radical Islam beliefs. This request for a delay was denied.

But now, perhaps, the weather has come to Dzhokhar’s aid. His trial will be suspended on Monday due to a storm that is set to dump at least a foot of snow on the Boston area. He has pleaded not guilty against the charge of 30 federal crimes, including 17 that carry the possibility of the death penalty. His defense is expected to focus on the crimes and influence of his older brother as the “main instigator” of the bombings.

Under the federal death penalty law, juries deciding on a sentence can consider whether a defendant “was under unusual and substantial duress” – in this case, Dzhokhar’s controlling brother. More than 100 prospective jurors have been questioned in connection with the case.