Police Probe Old Homicide with Connection to Alleged Boston Bombers

Friend of Tamerlin Tsaernev one of three victims

Waltham police have stepped up their investigation of a 2011 triple homicide where a friend of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was brutally murdered, according to a relative of one of the victims who was interviewed by the Globe.

The relative said Sunday that police have renewed the investigation at the request of victims' relatives who believe Tamerlan, and perhaps his younger brother, Dzhokhar, played a role in the homicides. Authorities have said the victims all had their throats slit.

Stephanie Guyotte, a spokeman for the Middlesex district attorney's office, said, "We're eager to pursue any new leads of information. It has been reported he knew one of the deceased victims. It remains an open and active investigation."