2011 Waltham triple murder

All three victims were Jewish according to a number of sources. Other sources have not reported a religion for Mess. Weissman was outspoken about his Jewish faith, and an active member of his synagogue. Teken had majored in history at Brandeis University; he was buried in Israel. Mess had been described by Tamerlan Tsarnaev as his best friend. Mess, Weissman, and both Tsarnaev brothers had attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School at various times. The three men, who were described as being physically strong, were dragged to or killed in three different rooms. Mess was a well-known mixed martial arts fighter and was listed as a martial arts instructor on his death certificate. Teken was listed as a personal trainer on his death certificate. 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. == 2011 investigation ==

The bodies of the three men—Mess, 25, Weissman, 31, and Teken, 37,—were discovered by Mess's ex-girlfriend on September 12 in Mess's apartment at 12 Harding Avenue in Waltham, Massachusetts. Autopsies revealed that their throats had been slit from ear to ear with such force that they were nearly decapitated. 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. Police found $5,000 in cash at the scene, which suggested that robbery was not the motive. Police said that the murders were not random. 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. Neighbors whose windows were open did not hear anything unusual. == 2013 investigation developments ==

The Boston Globe first made the connection of the Tsarnaev brothers to the murders on April 22, 2013, after the Boston Marathon bombing. ABC reported that authorities believe Tsarnaev may have been responsible for the triple homicide. 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. 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. 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. Both men were boxers and spent hours training and sparring together, starting in 2009. 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.'" One of Mess's relatives confirmed that Tsarnaev was not at Mess's funeral or memorial service. On May 10, 2013, Massachusetts investigators were reported to have forensic evidence placing the Tsarnaev brothers at the crime scene. They said that he implicated both himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the murders during the questioning and was beginning to write a formal statement when he asked to take a break and then suddenly attacked the FBI agent. The agent sustained minor injuries requiring stitches. The FBI established a post-shooting incident-review team to investigate the shooting. Time of the murders Based on cell phone usage, police believe the killings took place on the evening of September 11. A call was placed at 8:54 p.m. from Weissman's cell phone to Gerry's Italian Kitchen, a Watertown restaurant, for delivery of three dinner entrees. When a delivery woman arrived at 9:14 p.m., there was no answer at the door, and no one answered when the restaurant called Weissman's cell phone. == See also ==