Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was implicated in a 2011 triple murder, according to a filing by federal prosecutors on Monday.
In the filing, investigators explained that Ibragim Todashev, who was an acquaintance of Tamerlan’s, told them that the suspected Boston Marathon bomber participated in the murders of three men, who were found stabbed to death in an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Todashev, also a Chechen immigrant, was questioned by the FBI before they killed him earlier this year , reports Reuters . The FBI shot and killed the 27-year-old when he turned violent while being questioned about Tsarnaev.
Tamerlan and his still-living brother, Dzhokhar, are believed to be responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264 others at the finish line of the April marathon. The two siblings, who are ethnic Chechens, allegedly carried the attack out using two pressure cooker bombs.
ABC News notes that Todashev reportedly participated in the triple homicide as well, but attacked officers right before he signed a statement admitting his role in the crime.
One of the men killed, Brendan Mess, was once a roommate and martial arts colleague of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s. The 23-page brief filed on Monday was made in response to a motion by lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is in custody on charges related to the Boston Marathon bombings.
The 20-year-old’s lawyers want the government to share with defense attorneys the investigative materials that pertain to Tamerlan. They argued that the information about Dzhokhar’s brother’s possible role in the Waltham murders could be a factor in the government’s case against the living sibling.
However, prosecutors disagree, saying that disclosure of the materials could jeopardize their continuing investigation. The triple homicide is an active investigation, according to state investigators overseeing the case. Before Todashev’s death, law enforcement officials reportedly stated that both Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may have been involved in the triple murder.
