Feds Join Investigation Into Bombing-Murder Cases

More than a year after the murders, additional details have emerged about a possible connection between accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his friend who was found killed in a Waltham home in 2011, according to ABC News and the Boston Globe.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have joined the investigation with local authorities to determine whether there is a link between Tsarnaev and Brendan Mess.

Mess, and two of his friends, Erik Weissman and Raphael Teken, were found murdered in a Harding Avenue home on Sept. 12, 2011. Authorities said the murders were likely not a random act, but no suspect or arrest was ever made. The case remains unsolved.

Tsarnaev, was killed on April 19 after a shootout with police in Watertown. 

Among the new details: Tsarnaev previously lived with Mess, and Gerry’s Italian Kitchen on Belmont Street in Watertown may be linked to both the bombing and murders, according to ABC News.

According to the report, the last time anybody heard from the victims was around 8:54 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2011, when somebody used Weissman’s cell phone to order food. The female delivery driver went to the Harding Avenue home, but nobody answered the door or answered Weissman’s phone.

A relative of one of the victims told the Boston Globe he believes the three men were killed on Sept. 11. However, death certificates for Mess and Teken state they were killed on Sept. 12. 

The relative told the Globe he had been texting one of the men at around 8:15 p.m. when the conversation suddenly ceased. Communications with the other two victims stopped at around the same time, the relative told the Globe. 

The next day, the victims’ bodies were discovered with their throats slashed. Also, marijuana had been spread on top of the bodies and $5,000 was left in the house.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Tsarnaev once worked at Gerry’s as a delivery driver, according to ABC News. The shop’s manager and employees have said Tsarnaev never worked there.

Also, days after the bombings, investigators were called to Gerry’s after a Planet Aid driver discovered used fireworks inside a donation box outside of the store, according to ABC News. The gunpowder had been taken from the fireworks. Investigators took the items as possible evidence in the bombing case.