USA: Deceased Marathon Bombing Suspect Being Probed In A 2011 Homicide Case Where 3 Throats Were Slashed On Sept 11th In Boston Apt Of His Friend.

Bloomberg news

Marathon Bombing Suspect Being Probed in 2011 Homicide

written by Henry Goldman

Monday April 22, 2013

Investigators are looking into whether suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was involved in the 2011 murders of three men found dead in a suburban apartment with their throats slashed, according to a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County district attorney’s office.

“The 2011 triple homicide in Waltham continues to be an open and active investigation and we continue to follow all leads,” Stephanie Guyotte, the spokeswoman, said by telephone. “We will review any new information that may come to light in connection with the investigation into the alleged suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.”

The district attorney's investigators will be looking into whether there's a link to Tsarnaev in the case, Guyotte said.

Tsarnaev, 26, a two-time New England Golden Gloves boxing champion, was a sparring partner with one of the victims, Brendan Mess, 25, at Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Boston. He was one of the few people Tsarnaev appeared to be friends with there, said Michael Berezin, 32, the facility’s general manager, in an interview.

Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police in the early hours of April 19. His brother, Dzhokhar, 19, has been hospitalized in FBI custody since his capture later that day.

The younger Tsarnaev was formally charged today with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, and malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death, according to a filing in Boston federal court. He may receive a death sentence if convicted.

Police believe the homicides in suburban Waltham occurred Sept. 11, 2011, and the three victims were discovered the following day in Mess’s apartment, Guyotte said. Along with Mess, the victims were identified as Erik Weissman, 31, and Raphael Teken, 37, she said.

The victims’ throats had been slashed and the Medical Examiner’s office declared it a homicide, Guyotte said. “It has remained an open investigation since the crime was discovered,” she said.