Crime & Safety

Did Waltham Murder Victim Know Marathon Bomber?

A Boston Globe report says a Waltham murder victim knew one of the Boston Marathon bombers.

Brendan Mess, one of the three people murdered in a Waltham home in 2011, was the “best friend” of one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, according to the Boston Globe.

John Allan, the owner of the Wai Kru mixed martial arts gym in Allston, told the Boston Globe Tamerlan Tsarnaev introduced Mess to him two years ago.

Police say Tamerlan and his younger brother Dzhokhar committed the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. Tamerlan was shot and killed during a shootout with police in Watertown on Friday, April 19. Dzhokar was captured after a lengthy manhunt in Watertown on Friday, April 19.

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Mess, 26 and two other men were found murdered at 12 Harding Ave. in September 2011. The murders remain unsolved. 

Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Stephanie Chelf Guyotte could not confirm any relationship between Mess and Tamerlan or link between the bombing and murder cases. She told Waltham Patch the Harding Avenue murders are still an active homicide case and that investigators would pursue any new leads they receive. 

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