2011 Waltham triple murder

On or near the evening of September 11, 2011, Brendan Mess (25), Erik Weissman (31), and Raphael Teken (37) were killed in Mess's apartment at 12 Harding Avenue in Waltham, Massachusetts. Their bodies were discovered the following day, September 12, by Mess's ex-girlfriend. Autopsies found that all three had died from deep wounds to the throat. Their bodies, found in three separate rooms, were covered with roughly seven pounds of marijuana and about $5,000 in cash, which investigators described as a symbolic gesture; the presence of the money led police to conclude robbery was not the motive.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said the evidence indicated the victims knew their killer or killers, and that two unidentified men had been seen at the apartment before the murders. There was no sign of forced entry, and neighbors reported hearing nothing unusual. Cell phone records indicated a call was placed from Weissman's phone to a Watertown restaurant, Gerry's Italian Kitchen, at 8:54 p.m. on September 11 to order dinner; when a delivery driver arrived at 9:14 p.m., there was no answer, leading investigators to place the time of the killings that evening, though the initial investigation had described the deaths as occurring on September 12.

All three victims were reported by multiple sources to be Jewish; Weissman was described as an active, outspoken member of his synagogue, and Teken, a Brandeis University history graduate, was buried in Israel. All three were described as physically strong: Mess was a mixed martial arts fighter and instructor, Teken worked as a personal trainer, and Weissman was a bodybuilder. Weissman had previously been charged with marijuana possession and intent to distribute after a 2008 traffic stop, and neighbors believed Teken sold drugs from his home.

The case drew renewed national attention after the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The Boston Globe first reported a possible link between the bombing suspects and the Waltham murders on April 22, 2013. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died during the manhunt following the bombing, had described victim Brendan Mess as his best friend and had trained with him as a boxer, though acquaintances noted friction between the two over Mess's lifestyle. Investigators said forensic evidence and cell phone records placed Tamerlan Tsarnaev near the crime scene, though further DNA testing was said to be necessary before any indictment could be considered.

In May 2013, Ibragim Todashev, a Chechen immigrant and former mixed martial arts fighter who knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was interviewed by law-enforcement officers in Orlando, Florida, about the Waltham murders and the bombing. The FBI said that during the interview Todashev implicated himself and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in the killings, describing the incident as a drug robbery that turned into murder to avoid identification. Officers said Todashev then attacked an FBI agent and was shot and killed; later reports indicated Todashev himself was unarmed at the time, and an FBI review team was established to examine the shooting. No one has been charged in the Waltham triple murder.