( CNN ) -- The evolution of Tamerlan Tsarnaev from aspiring Olympic boxer to apparent radical jihadist may have been influenced by a friend in Cambridge , Massachusetts . `` This person just took his brain . He just brainwashed him completely , '' Tsarnaev 's uncle , Ruslan Tsarni , told CNN from his home in Maryland , describing the friend as an Armenian convert to Islam . While Tsarni did not give the friend 's name , The Associated Press reported that other members of Tsarnaev 's family said the friend goes by the name `` Misha . '' Asked about those reports , Elmirza Khozhgov , a former brother-in-law of Tsarnaev , told CNN Tsarnaev once introduced him to someone by that name who was an Armenian convert . He said he was not told Misha 's full name . `` It seemed to me that Misha had influence on Tamerlan , '' apparently encouraging him to give up boxing because it `` is violent , '' Khozhgov told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer . `` Tamerlan told me that he quit boxing and music because Misha was teaching that it 's not good in Islam to do those things . '' `` Misha '' taught Tsarnaev `` things that would make Tamerlan go away from the people and go more into the religion , '' Khozhgov said , but `` I did n't witness him making him radical . '' Khozhgov added that he has not spoken with Tsarnaev or with the younger suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings , Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , since 2010 . And even then , `` We did n't talk for a long time . '' Tamerlan Tsarnaev `` seemed normal '' at the time , he added . `` He only told me he goes to the mosque often and he 's doing community work at the mosque . '' Officials have not responded to requests for comment on someone named `` Misha . '' Lawmakers briefed Tuesday on the investigation told CNN they had not heard of anyone by that name . The Islamic Society of Boston told CNN Wednesday that so far no one in its network reported knowing a `` Misha '' who fit that description . `` We are looking for him , '' said spokeswoman Nichole Mossalam . Uncle called a friend to investigate . Tsarni , Tsarnaev 's uncle , told CNN he was so concerned about someone brainwashing his nephew that he called a family friend in the Cambridge area to investigate . `` I said , 'Listen , do you know what is going on with that family ? With my brother 's family ? ' Then he says ... there is a person , some new convert into Islam of Armenian descent , '' Tsarni told CNN 's Shannon Travis . `` Armenians , I have no intention to say anything about Armenians . It 's a neighboring region with North Caucasus , '' the same area where the Tsarnaev family also hails from . `` It started ( in ) 2009 . And it started right there , in Cambridge , '' Tsarni said of the friendship . Aunt reveals clue to older brother 's trip to Russia . Tsarnaev 's mindset leading up to the bombings at the Boston Marathon may never be fully known . He was killed after a shootout with police last week . His brother , Dzhokhar , remains hospitalized with an array of gunshot wounds . He has been charged with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death , as well as one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been communicating with investigators in a limited fashion . He has indicated that his older brother , not any international terrorist group , conceived the deadly attack , a U.S. government source said . The preliminary interviews with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev suggest the two brothers fit the classification of self-radicalized jihadists , the source said . But the official noted that information from the preliminary interviews needed to be scrutinized . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has also cited the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as motivating factors behind last week 's blasts that killed three and wounded hundreds more , a U.S. government official said . Suspect 's widow is distraught . The suspects ' uncle said Tamerlan Tsarnaev was clearly the leader between the two brothers . `` Dzhokhar is being used by his older brother . ( Tamerlan ) used him as his -- not even accomplice -- as some kind of instrument , '' Tsarni said . At 26 , Tamerlan Tsarnaev was seven years older than Dzhokhar . Friends say Dzhokhar followed his big brother around like a puppy . And as their father is in Russia , the older brother may have become a father figure to the 19-year-old these past few months . At 6-foot-3 , Tamerlan Tsarnaev was , by many accounts , an intimidating presence with increasingly strong convictions about society and religion in recent years . Tsarni said he was shocked by the explosions and how his nephews may be involved . `` Tamerlan is off now , '' the uncle said . `` There is no obedience and respect to his own father . That concerns me big time . '' CNN 's Shannon Travis , Jake Tapper , Brian Todd and Wayne Drash contributed to this report .
NEW : CNN has not found a `` Misha '' by that description so far . The suspects ' former brother-in-law tells CNN he met `` . '' The suspects ' uncle did not name the friend , but said he began influencing Islam in Wednesday . Source : Interviews with Nichole Mossalam suggest the brothers are self-radicalized jihadists .