Reports: Tsarnaev Friend Admitted Role in 2011 Murders

One intriguing detail has emerged regarding the death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's friend during FBI questioning. Various outlets including CNN, CBS, and NBC are reporting that while Ibragim Todashev appeared to have had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon bombing, he did admit to helping Tamerlan kill three men during a botched robbery in 2011. Todashev was about to sign a confession when he lunged with a knife at an FBI agent, sources tell NBC. The agent then shot him to death.

The triple homicide has gone unsolved for two years, but investigators gave it renewed scrutiny when it emerged after the bombing that Tamerlan knew one of the victims well. As the sources in the news stories tell it, the 27-year-old Todashev said he and Tamerlan went there to rob the trio during a drug deal and decided to kill them as well so they couldn't be identified. (More Ibragim Todashev stories.)