Wayland Patch 8/23/11: Prosecution: Strength of Case Against Wayland Murder Suspect ‘Formidable’. Nathaniel Fujita, the man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Lauren Astley in Wayland on July 3, will remain at the State House of Corrections in Billerica, held without bail following his arraignment at Middlesex Country Superior Court Aug. 23. Fujita arrived in Courtroom 430 at about 11:15 a.m. wearing khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt. He did not appear to look at his father, seated directly behind the defendant, nor did he show any emotion. Fujita spoke only to whisper pleas of not guilty to a first-degree murder charge and several assault and battery charges in connection to the murder of Astley.
Wayland Patch 8/24/11: Prosecution’s Timeline of Events in Wayland Murder.
Wayland Town Crier 8/23/11: Fujita pleads not guilty; prosecutor provides more details of murder. After breaking up with boyfriend Nathaniel Fujita, Lauren Astley went to visit him at his Wayland home July 3 in an attempt to make him feel better, a prosecutor said in Middlesex Superior Court today. "In an act of friendship, Lauren Astley reached out and said, 'Let's get together,' " prosecutor Lisa McGovern said during Fujita's arraignment. "The defendant repaid that kindness by killing her." When Fujita, 18, entered the courtroom, he did not look at his parents, Tomo and Beth Fujita. In a voice barely above a whisper, he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.
Boston Globe 8/24/11: Texts to ex-beau preceded Wayland slaying. In the final hours of her life, Lauren Astley exchanged a flurry of text messages and phone calls with her former boyfriend, Nathaniel Fujita. She wanted to talk. They decided to meet after she finished work. "Call me when you get out," Fujita wrote. Astley drove to his house. She parked near the fence so his mother wouldn’t see. Then she texted him one word: "Here." It was the last message that she ever sent. Fujita, the 18-year-old accused of murdering his former girlfriend and then dumping her body in a marsh, pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of first-degree murder in Middlesex Superior Court. The haunting exchange of text messages between the onetime teen sweethearts emerged at the court hearing.
WCVB 8/23/11: Case Laid Out Against Accused Teen Killer (with Video) A Wayland teen accused in the death of his ex-girlfriend appeared in court Tuesday. Prosecutors outlined their case against Nathaniel Fujita, 18, during his arraignment in connection with the death of Lauren Astley.
