Massachusetts investigators have "mounting evidence" that suggests Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were possibly involved in a 2011 unsolved triple homicide. Investigators linked the brothers through "forensic hits," according to ABC News.
Authorities are exploring the link between Tamerlan and Brendan Mess, one of the three men killed in the unsolved murders. Officials say Mess and two other men were discovered in a Waltham, Massachusetts home with their throats slit and their bodies covered with marijuana.
Tamerlan and Mess were once roommates and practiced boxing and martial arts together.
In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, investigators matched forensic evidence from the 2011 crime scene to the Tsarnaev brothers. Cell phone records also indicate that the brothers were in the Waltham area on the date of the crime.
Once Tamerlan's photograph was plastered on news channels in April, friends and family of the victims recalled his "strange behavior" after Mess's murder. Tamerlan, who had been friends with Mess, didn't attend the funeral and reportedly stopped attending the martial arts gym where they had practiced together.
There was no sign of forced entry. Scott Wood, who trained Mess, believes the killer entered the home "under the guise of being a friend."
"Brendan was a tough, tough kid, a strong kid,"Wood said. "It wouldn't have been easy to take him out like that."
A motive is unclear. About seven pounds of marijuana had been dumped on the bodies and $5,000 in cash was left untouched, eliminating the possibility of a botched home invasion.
Tamerlan died in April after a shootout with police. His younger brother, Dzhokhar, is currently in custody and waiting trial on the charge of using a weapon of mass destruction. Massachusetts authorities are also building a case against the surviving Tsarnaev for the alleged murder of a campus officer in April.
