According to papers filed by federal prosecutors, Tamerlan Tsarnaev took part in a 2011 triple homicide in Massachusetts. Tamerlan, deceased, and his brother Dzokhar are alleged to have detonated homemade pressure cooker bombs at the 2012 Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 264.
Newly filed papers reveal that Ibrahim Todashev, a Chechnen immigrant and acquaintance of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, informed investigators that Tamerlan participated in three stabbing murders in Waltham, Massachusetts. Todashev was killed earlier this year when he “suddenly turned violent” during an FBI interrogation. Authorities believe the Waltham murders were drug related.
Lawyers for the younger Tsarnaev have argued that information about the investigation of his older brother’s possible role in the Waltham murders might be a mitigating factor in the government’s case against Dzhokhar. But prosecutors said disclosure of the materials sought by his defense could jeopardize the continuing investigation into the triple homicide.
Dzokhar Tsarnaev plead not guilty to to charges related to the Boston Marathon Bombing.