Describes Tsarnaev was “mean” and “abusive”; regrets not pressing charges on him

To be broadcast Wednesday, May 8th

New York, NY—-May 7, 2013—INSIDE EDITION’s Deborah Norville interviews Nadine Ascencao, former girlfriend of alleged Boston Marathon Bomber TamerlanTsarnaev, in her first televised interview. Tsarnaev was killed in a police shootout April 19th, four days after allegedly co-masterminding the bombing that killed 3, and injured over 250.

Ascencao dated Tsarnaev from 2006 to 2009, when they attended high school together.

While Ascencao tells INSIDE EDITION that Tsarnaev never expressed anti-American sentiment, she did notice an increased interest in Islam.

ASCENCAO: “He started ordering Islamic magazines…Nothing extreme, but he’d push them towards me. Soon, he stopped sleeping with me. He said it was a sin for unmarried people to sleep with one another. Then he started to pray five times a day, and was very religious and scared of God.”

Ascencao also reveals to INSIDE EDITION details about the 2009 assault that resulted in Tsarnaev’s arrest – and their final split.

ASCENCAO: “He started yelling at me about the shorts I was wearing. He grabbed my jaw and pushed me until I hit the car, and he slapped me across the face. After his arrest, I was very embarrassed and upset that the neighbors had seen everything. [After the arrest] We broke up, and I opted not to press charges on him.”

NORVILLE: “Do you regret not pressing charges?”

ASCENCAO: “Now I do. But at the time, I was young and I didn’t really think it through.”

INSIDE EDITION is produced daily by Inside Edition Inc. and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Check local listings for stations and times at www.insideedition.com.