The Murders Before the Marathon

This documentary has a clear and easy-to-follow timeline, which really helps keep you engaged, even as the story branches into different events, people, and timelines. What drew me in immediately was the fact that I was already familiar with the Boston Marathon bombing - as many people are - but I had no idea about the triple homicide that occurred two years earlier, and how deeply connected it may have been to everything that followed.

The way the documentary unpacks the investigation is compelling and often frustrating in the best possible way - because it highlights missed opportunities and failures within the system that might have prevented future tragedies. The journalist at the center of the story adds a strong, personal drive to uncover the truth, which makes it more than just a retelling of facts; it becomes an emotional and moral pursuit. It raises important questions about law enforcement, radicalization, and how seemingly disconnected events can be part of a much larger and darker picture.

...have unfortunately pushed our reality into this "what if" scenario.

This three part documentary series that focuses on the puzzling and devastating 2011 murders of three young men in Waltham: Brendan Mess, Erik Weissman and Raphael Teken. The case is still open.

These men also knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the two Boston Marathon bombers.

We follow freelance reporter Susan Zalkind as she explains the web of information she's passionately woven over the years and presented to the press and law enforcement. A spotlight is shone on Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the bomber whose life was cut short before he could be captured. Many of these details point to possible motives in the Waltham triple homicide and paint more of a picture of what lead Tsarnaev to his actions, giving way to a more than surface level study of the frame of mind and politics Tsarnaev became to believe in.

Zalkind and the production take the time to question if the homicide more thoroughly and competently (I was absolutely shocked at a certain event that took place out of state - just watch and see) would we have been spared the horror and devastation of the Boston Marathon, an event that changed so many lives forever?

If you get a chance, catch this well-made documentary on the murders surrounding the 2011 Boston Marathon. At times, it is fascinating viewing. At other times, it is a bit predictable; ;especially the way the Waitham police handle the entire matter. There is a glaring weakness in the professionalism that surrounds good police work in this (and most likely several other) Massachusetts towns. A professional journalist investigates the murders in a far more professional manner than the police ever did. Maybe the journalist should be in charge of homicide. This incident shows that if you or a member of your family are a victim of a violent crime in this area, you will most likely have to solve the crime yourself.

The victims of the waltham triple murder in 2011 boston area. Its an extremely complicated mixture of investigating methods and data collecting that may bevilder more than signify the facts of this case. Its radical islam, its neonazism, neo stoner-age , drugs and imigration and high governmental secrecy, and a great bunch of poor police investigation in the waltham casethat made a row of dominobricks fall and many innocent people where killed. How , why and what i shall not tell, the documentarymaker tells her battle very meticoulously like a digging journalist should do.

A recommend if you have the clear head which i seemingly didnt while binging, but after all im just a grumpy old man.