Crime Immemorial

On the evening of September 11th, 2011, three men were violently murdered in an apartment at 12 Harding Avenue in Waltham, Massachusetts. The victims—twenty-five-year-old Brendan Mess, thirty-one-year-old Erik Weissman, and thirty-seven-year-old Raphael Teken—were found the following morning by Brendan’s girlfriend in what authorities would describe as one of the most gruesome crime scenes local investigators had seen.

All three victims had their throats slashed from ear to ear with such force that they were nearly decapitated. Their bodies were found in three different rooms of the apartment, and in what appeared to be a staged or symbolic act, their bodies were covered with seven pounds of marijuana and thousands of dollars in cash. Police noted that $5,000 in cash was left at the scene, inconsistent with a simple robbery motive and suggesting the murders were targeted, not random.

Authorities also reported no signs of forced entry, indicating the victims may have let their killers into the residence, and neighbors heard nothing unusual, even with open windows.

Brendan Mess was a friend to many in the local mixed-martial-arts community and had been described by future bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev as his “best friend.” He graduated from Champlain College with a degree in professional writing and was known for his physical strength and martial arts pursuits.

Erik Weissman was an active bodybuilder and outspoken about his Jewish faith, deeply connected within his community.

Raphael Teken, a history major at Brandeis University, worked as a personal trainer and was also known locally.

All three had connections through social circles and athletic communities in the Boston area; they were neither strangers nor incidental acquaintances.

From the outset, Middlesex County officials believed the murders were not random acts of violence but rather involved individuals known to the victims or operating within a known social circle. Despite this, early investigations did not lead to arrests or publicly identified suspects, and the case gradually grew cold.

In the absence of clear forensic breakthroughs, local law enforcement continued to treat the case as an unresolved homicide, and the Middlesex District Attorney’s office has repeatedly stated the investigation remains open and active years later.

The Waltham murders captured new public interest after the April 15th, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, when Tamerlan Tsarnaev, later identified as one of the perpetrators of that terrorist attack, came under renewed scrutiny in connection with the earlier killings.

Investigators noted that Tsarnaev had trained with Brendan Mess at the same gym and had been seen with the group at Brendan’s apartment.

Several friends and acquaintances of the victims further told police post-bombing that Tsarnaev should have been questioned about the 2011 murders.

Ibragim Todashev, a friend of Tsarnaev’s and a former mixed martial artist, was later interviewed by the FBI in May 2013 regarding both the Marathon bombing and the Waltham murders. During that interview in Orlando, Florida, law enforcement allege Todashev made partial statements implicating himself and Tsarnaev in the Waltham killings before he was shot and killed by an FBI agent.

Some investigative journalists, notably Susan Zalkind, have argued in books and documentaries that Tsarnaev and Todashev were the perpetrators, suggesting a scenario involving an attempted drug robbery that turned violent. Zalkind’s work points to circumstantial evidence and interviews indicating both men’s involvement, though there has been no public indictment, conviction, or full legal confirmation in the murder case.

Other reporting on the alleged confession document suggests discrepancies between Todashev’s statements and the known crime scene details, adding complexity to the narrative and raising questions that remain unresolved.

More than a decade after the brutal deaths of Brendan Mess, Erik Weissman, and Raphael Teken, the Waltham triple murder remains unsolved. It is remembered not only for its shocking brutality but also for the way it intersected with one of the most notorious acts of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. While investigative attention has occasionally waxed and waned, the case continues to be examined for fresh leads, potential evidence, and its chilling connections to later national tragedies.