Crime & Safety

Court Docs Tie Tamerlan Tsarnaev to Waltham Triple Murder

New federal court documents implicate accused Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the murder of three men in a Harding Avenue home in 2011.

The records, filed as part of the case against Tsarnaev's brother, Dzhokar, state, "In any event, the government has already disclosed to Tsarnaev that, according to [Ibragim] Todashev, Tamerlan Tsarnaev participated in the Waltham triple homicide."

Todashev, an associate of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during questioning at his Florida home in May. Dzhorkar Tsarnaev, who is also a suspect in the bombing case, was captured on April 19 after a shootout with police in Watertown. 

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed by police during the shootout.

The documents are part of prosecutors' response to Dzhokar's Tsarnaev's motion to obtain all investigative materials related to the Waltham murders.

"Any benefit to Tsarnaev of knowing more about the precise 'nature and extent' of his brother’s involvement does not outweigh the potential harm of exposing details of an ongoing investigation into an extremely serious crime, especially at this stage of the proceedings," prosecutors argued in their response.

A judge is still considering that request. 

Previous media reports have quoted federal law enforcers claiming Todashev, immediately before his death, implicated himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the murders. But, those reports have never been officially confirmed. 

Brendan Mess, Raphael Teken and Erik Weissman were found murdered in 12 Harding Ave. on Sept. 12.


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