- Brendan Mess had throat slit alongside two other men in unsolved murder
- Boston bomb suspect didn’t attend funeral despite them being best friends
- Former associates at the gym where he trained now believe it is a clue
Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have murdered his ‘only American friend’ in an unsolved triple killing two years ago, it emerged today.
Brendan Mess had his ‘throat slit’ alongside two other men in a Massachusetts apartment in 2011 in what police described as a ‘very graphic crime scene’.
Former associates of the Chechan immigrant didn’t initially suspect him of carrying out the gruesome attack, but thought it was strange he didn’t attend his friend’s funeral.
Now one man who knew Tamerlan through the gym where they trained said some of their social circle ‘without even speaking about it beforehand have all been thinking’ he could be involved.
In the frame: Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev (left) is now suspected by his former friends of murdering his ‘only American friend Brendan Mess (right) in a brutal triple killing in 2011
The friend, who gave his name only as Ray, told BuzzFeed Politics: ‘At the time, none of us would have thought it was Tam.
‘It was just so emotional and we thought we had someone else who had done it.’
But since Tamerlan was identified as the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured 180, Ray believes his sudden disappearance after Mess’s death may be a clue.
‘Tam wasn’t there at the memorial service, he wasn’t at the funeral, he wasn’t around at all,’ Ray said.
‘And he was really close with Brendan. That’s why it’s so weird.’
Ray said he met Tsarnaev in 2010 when they were part of a a social circle that centered on the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts gym in Allston, Massachusetts, where Tsarnaev trained as a boxer and had a shared interest in the Boston hip-hop group FlyRidaz.
He said they had a friendly, but not particularly close relationship and described Tsarnaev as a ‘normal guy who wore regular American-ish clothes’.
But contact stopped when Mess and two other men – Raphael Teken and Erik Weissman – were murdered on September 12, 2011.
Dark past: Tamerlan, pictured in the gym in 2009, was arrested that year on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend (not pictured)
Tamerlan was an avid boxer and spent a lot of time training for competitions, according to Johannes Hirn, who posted a photo essay entitled ‘Will Box for Passport’
Their bodies were found covered in marijuana in an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts, and had their throats slit with a knife or ice pick and around $5,000 was left at the scene.
Mess’s girlfriend discovered the bodies, she ran from the house screaming.
Initially police said two other people had been there on the day and they were looking to question them, although no one has ever been charged.
Ray said there had been no forced entry, so police believe the killer was known the victim and was let into the apartment.
Investigators at the time said the murders were ‘targeted and not a random act of violence.’
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone issued a statement soon after the murders saying, ‘based on the present state of the investigation, it is believed that the victims knew the assailant or assailants, and the attacks were not random.’
When asked if Tamerlan’s implication in the Boston marathon bombings would make them reopen the case, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s office was guarded.
‘The 2011 triple homicide is an extremely important case for us and remains an active and open investigation.’
‘Any information that comes forward as a result of the investigation into Tamerlan Tsnaraev and the Boston bombings will be immediately reviewed and pursued.’
Neighbors described Mess and his two roommates as quiet, nice people who were a welcome change of pace from previous residents who often had loud parties late into the evening.
Raphael Teken (left with friend) was one of three people along with Erik Weissman (right) and Brendan Mess who were murdered in a Boston apartment in September 2011
In Sept. 2011, Mess and two other men were found murdered in his Waltham, Mass. apartment. Each had been stabbed to death in the neck and their bodies were covered in marijuana
Almost two years after the triple murder at 12 Harding Ave., investigators say they are still actively investigating the case and pursuing leads – but are no closer to finding the killer
Indeed, at the time of the killing, police and Mess’ friends suspected his girlfriend, an immigrant from Somalia that Ray describes as a ‘transient’ who ‘latched onto Brendan’.
Ray described her as having a good relationship with Tsarnaev and that they would have ‘conversations about religious things and lifestyles.’
In 2008, Weissman was charged with marijuana possession and intent to distribute, according to a report. Police pulled Weissman over for failing to yield and smelled marijuana smoke in the vehicle. When asked about it, Weissman said, ‘I knew you would smell it,’ and handed the officer a brown paper bag filled with bags of marijuana, police said.
A year earlier, Tamerlan claimed to have just one American friend despite spending much of his life in the U.S.
Indeed, Tamerlan introduced Mess as his best friend to the owner of the gym.
The 26-year-old, who appears to have become increasingly radicalized over the last few years, was killed in a shoot-out with police on Thursday night.
His younger brother and accomplice, Dzhokhar, escaped during the running gun battle in the Boston suburb of Watertown, but was captured hours later after hiding in a boat in a backyard.
Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center owner John Allan said Tsarnaev and Mess used to work out at his gym together but Tsarnaev stopped coming after Mess was murdered.
Band of brothers: Tamerlan Tsarnaev, fifth from left, top row, poses with his team at 2010 New England Golden Gloves Championship in Lowell, Mass.
Champ: In this Feb. 17, 2010, photo, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, left, accepts the trophy for winning the 2010 New England Golden Gloves Championship from Dr. Joseph Downes, rightThe event clearly still haunted Tsarnaev as recently as last week when he suddenly returned to his old gym and started acting unusually.The business owner who was traveling in Thailand at the time said he received an e-mail saying Tsarnaev had been in, but acted rudely and disrespectfully to other gym-users.
‘It was a clear indication that something was up,’ Allan told the Boston Globe. ‘He was becoming a complete [expletive].’
Family members reported that Tamerlan seemed to become more devout from 2009.
Aunt Maret Tsarnaeva said her nephew went from praying no more than once a day to praying five times a day.
Man of many talents: Besides boxing, Tamerlan (right) studied accounting, wanted to become an engineer and played the piano and violin
National identity: Tamerlan said in an article that unless Chechnya becomes independent, he would rather compete for the US than for Russia
![American dream: Representing New England in 2010 National Golden Gloves competition in Utah, Tsarnaev said he wanted to be 'selected for the US Olympic team and be [a] naturalized American'](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/19/article-2311686-19639790000005DC-721_634x419.jpg)
American dream: Representing New England in 2010 National Golden Gloves competition in Utah, Tsarnaev said he wanted to be ‘selected for the US Olympic team and be [a] naturalized American’A neighbor reported he started changing his dress while his uncle said he lectured him on religion in 2009.
‘There certainly were mentors,’ Ruslan Tsarni said. ‘I was shocked when I heard his words, his phrases, when every other word he starts sticking in words of God.
‘I question what he’s doing for work, (and) he claimed he would just put everything in the will of God. It was a big concern to me. He called me ‘confused’ when I started explaining to him, make yourself useful to yourself and to your family and maybe you’ll have extra to share with everybody else.
‘It wasn’t devotion, it was something, as it’s called, being radicalized. Not understanding what he is talking (about). He is just using words for the sake of the words and not understanding the meaning of it.’
It was in recent months however that he appeared to become radicalized, posting about terrorism online from around five months ago.
‘I used to warn Dzhokhar that Tamerlan was up to no good,’ Zaur Tsarnaev, 26, the suspects cousin from Makhachkala, Russia, said.
‘[Tamerlan] was always getting in trouble. He was never happy, never cheering, never smiling. He used to strike his girlfriend. . . . He was not a nice man.’
In fighting form: Tamerlan Tsamaev (R) and Lamar Fenner (L) stand during a decision in the 201-pound division boxing match during the 2009 Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions May 4, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Quiet guy: Tamerlan’s (left) former coach described him as a subdued, nice young man who kept to himselfHowever, Tamerlan wasn’t always so unsettled in his adoptive country.He had once dreamed of representing the U.S. in the Olympics as a boxer
He also had a child, three-year-old Zahara, with a 24-year-old college graduate, Katherine Russell, who converted to Islam.
He had a channel on YouTube opened in August 2012 and five months ago created a playlist dedicated to terrorism.
Named simply ‘Terrorists’, the playlist included two videos which are now no longer available.
Although most of the clips in the channel are ordinary music videos, Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s YouTube channel shows signs that he had been drawn to radical Islamism.
Brute force: One former team member said that Tsarnaev was aggressive in bouts but showed little skill
Loner: Those who knew the 26-year-old from his boxing days said he would never spend time with his team members and at times had a bad attitudeAmong the songs on his playlists was one called ‘I will dedicate my life to Jihad.’ He also featured videos recorded by recent converts to Islam.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an avid boxer and spent a lot of time training for competitions, according to Johannes Hirn, who posted a photo essay entitled ‘Will Box for Passport’ on his page on Photoshelter.com.
Representing New England in 2010 National Golden Gloves competition in Utah, Tamerlan Tsarnaev dreamed of being ‘selected for the US Olympic team and be [a] naturalised American.’
‘Unless his native Chechnya becomes independent, Tamerlan says he would rather compete for the United States than for Russia,’ reads the caption to one of the pictures that shows Tamerlan during his workout.
Islamist: Five months ago, Tamerlan created a playlist on his YouTube page dedicated to terrorism
Fighter: Counterterrorism officials believe Tamerlan and his brother had some military training
Pugilist: Tamerlan trained at this Waikru Mixed Martial Arts boxing gym in MassachusettsThe photo essay also reveals that Tsarnaev had a half-Italian, half-Portuguese girlfriend who had converted to Islam, that he drove a Mercedes and loved the movie ‘Borat.’Tamerlan, who was affiliated with a Team Lowell club, won the Rocky Marciano Trophy as New England Golden Gloves heavyweight champion in 2010.
Tsarnaev boxed in a 2004 tournament as part of the Golden Gloves tournament, telling The Lowell Sun newspaper at the time, ‘I like the USA.’
He said that his first love was music, and that he played the piano and violin.
According to TMZ, Tamerlan was a major hip-hop enthusiast and even belonged to a fan website called Real-hiphop.com.
Messages posted on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Twitter account reveal that he too liked that genre of music, even quoting lyrics by Jay-Z.
Wanted: This combination of photos provided by the FBI, left, and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, right, shows a suspect that officials have identified as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Carnage: Three people were killed and over 170 were injured when two bombs exploded on 15 April 2013 at the finish line of the Boston MarathonRead more: Mail Online
Leave a reply