WASHINGTON, October 12 (RIA Novosti) – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev knew that his older brother Tamerlan was involved in a triple murder in 2011, Fox News has reported.
Dzhokhar's defense team has disclosed this information hoping to gain access to discovery evidence for the marathon bombing case.
The prosecutors on the case were not willing to disclose the evidence they had and stated that the murders were of no importance to the marathon bombing case because Tamerlan would not be on trial. However, they noted that it would be relevant if Dzhokhar knew about the murders.
The triple murder took place in Waltham, Massachusetts, in September 2011. Brendan Mess, Erik Weissman, and Raphael Teken were murdered in Mess' apartment. Tamerlan Tsarnaev is reported to have been friends with Brendan Mess.
Three people were killed and over 260 wounded after two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, ethnic Chechens, were identified as suspects in the blasts.
Tamerlan was killed during the shootout and Dzhokhar was arrested on April 19. Dzhokhar faces 30 charges, half of which are punishable by death.
