2011 Waltham triple murder

Three men, Brendan Mess (age 25), Erik Weissman (31) and Raphael Teken (37), were discovered murdered in the early afternoon on September 12, 2011. They were found in Mess's apartment at 12 Harding Avenue in Waltham, Massachusetts.[6]

All three victims were Jewish according to a number of sources.[7][8][9][10][11] Other sources have not reported a religion for Mess.[7][10][12] Weissman was outspoken about his Jewish faith, and an active member of his synagogue. Teken had majored in history at predominantly Jewish Brandeis University; he was buried in Israel.[10]

Mess had been described by Tamerlan Tsarnaev as his best friend.[10][13] Mess, Weissman, and both Tsarnaev brothers had attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School at various times.[10] Mess received a bachelor's degree in professional writing from Champlain College in 2008.[14]

The three men, who were described as being physically strong, were dragged to or killed in three different rooms.[15] Mess was a well-known mixed martial arts fighter, and is listed as a martial arts instructor on his death certificate. Teken is listed as a personal trainer on his death certificate.[2] Weissman was a bodybuilder.[16]

In 2008, police had pulled Weissman over for failing to yield, and smelled marijuana smoke in his vehicle. He was charged with marijuana possession and intent to distribute. Teken lived in Waltham, where certain neighbors said they believed he was a drug dealer, saying he rarely left the house and had a steady stream of visitors. In 2010, Mess and another man were arrested on charges that they assaulted several people at a store.[14]

Autopsies revealed that their throats had been slit from ear to ear with such force that they were nearly decapitated.[17][18] The bodies had been left covered with thousands of dollars' worth of marijuana (seven pounds of marijuana; in what investigators described as a symbolic gesture) and thousands of dollars of cash, in three different rooms.[19][20] Police found $5,000 in cash at the scene, which suggested that robbery was not the motive.[21][22]

Police said that the murders were not random.[10] Two unidentified men had been seen at the apartment before the murders.[23] Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said that it appeared that two unknown perpetrators and the victims knew each other, based on evidence that the police had obtained.[21] It was believed that multiple people other than the victims were at the scene, and that the victims let the killers into their apartment; there was no evidence of forced entry.[24] Neighbors whose windows were open did not hear anything unusual.[24]

The Boston Globe first made the connection of the Tsarnaev brothers to the murders on April 22, 2013, after the Boston Marathon bombing.[10] The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office stated that it was investigating the possible connection of bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the murders.[25] ABC reported that authorities believe Tsarnaev may have been responsible for the triple homicide.[7] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the investigation in April.[26]

Investigators on the Boston Marathon bombing case said Tamerlan Tsarnaev visited Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya for six months following the date of the Waltham murders.[2] They sought to determine whether the killings may have been timed to take place on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.[27]

After the Marathon bombing, a Planet Aid driver found discarded fireworks in the Planet Aid donation bin in the parking lot of a restaurant, Gerry's Italian Kitchen, that has been connected in other ways to the Waltham murders case and to the Tsarnaev brothers.[24] Police investigators told ABC News that "the gunpowder had been emptied from the fireworks and the shells discarded in a shopping bag inside the bin."[24]

Tamerlan Tsarnaev's connection to the victims

Authorities believe Tamerlan Tsarnaev may be responsible for the triple homicide[24]

Tamerlan Tsarnaev had formerly described murder victim Brendan Mess, who lived a few blocks from him in Cambridge and was a year younger than Tsarnaev, as his best friend.[28] Tsarnaev had been a regular visitor at Mess's apartment where the murders took place, and authorities believe that they were roommates for a time.[28] Mess also brought Tsarnaev with him to social events and fight events.[28] Investigators believe Tsarnaev was one of the last people to see Mess alive.[29]

Both men were boxers and spent hours training and sparring together, starting in 2009.[28] In 2011, Tsarnaev had introduced Mess to John Allan, owner of Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Allston, describing him as his "best friend".[2] Tsarnaev stopped going to the martial arts center after Mess was murdered, and did not return until March 2013, when he unexpectedly visited and acted rudely.[25]

The website BuzzFeed interviewed a man named Ray, who was a friend of Mess and an acquaintance of Tsarnaev.[30] Ray said: "Tam wasn't there at the memorial service, he wasn't at the funeral, he wasn't around at all ... And he was really close with Brendan. That's why it's so weird when he said, 'I don't have any American friends.'"[10] Ray continued: "He was somebody who was in contact with Brendan on a daily basis. Anybody like that you would think they would have been around."[30] Ray did not have any further contact with Tsarnaev after the murders.[31]

One of Mess's relatives confirmed that Tsarnaev was not at Mess's funeral or memorial service.[21] The relative also noted Tsarnaev and Mess had disagreed over Mess's lifestyle choices.[32] On May 10, 2013, Massachusetts investigators were reported to have forensic evidence placing the Tsarnaev brothers at the crime scene.[24] Further definitive DNA testing had to be completed before an indictment against the surviving brother could be considered, according to the officials.[24] Officials said cell phone records for that date appeared to put the Tsarnaev brothers in the area of the murders.[24]

• Crime in Massachusetts

• "Dead Men Tell No Tales". This American Life. Episode 519. Chicago. March 7, 2014. WBEZ. Retrieved March 8, 2014. Investigative report on the murders and the death of Ibragim Todashev.
• Zalkind, Susan (March 2014). "The Murders Before the Marathon". Boston. Retrieved March 8, 2014. A different version of the above report.