Jun. 9—A Manchester man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday for his role in the 2015 murder of a woman found dead and burned in Bridgewater, Mass., prosecutors announced.
Julian Squires, 48, of Manchester was convicted of one count each of murder and kidnapping following a 10-day trial, Plymouth (Mass.) District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said in a news release. A jury deliberated for seven hours before a verdict was reached.
On Wednesday, Plymouth Superior Court Judge Brian Davis sentenced Squires to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For the kidnapping charge, Judge Davis ruled Squires serve 9 1/2 to 10 years in prison to run concurrent.
"The murder of Miss Bortner was particularly gruesome and cruel," Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in statement Wednesday. "I am pleased that the jury saw the facts of this case and found Julian Squires guilty for his role in this heinous crime."
According to prosecutors, Bridgewater police received a 911 call around 11:40 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2015, and responded to a fire burning on the west side of the MBTA train tracks, after a resident nearby reported seeing three people in a dark-colored SUV shining its headlights along the tracks. Officers quickly determined the blaze was actually a human body burning, later identified as Ashley Bortner, 29, of New Jersey.
Police say Bortner had burns over 70% of her body and had been gagged by her own clothing, her face wrapped in a towel. Bortner was found in a comforter, with her hands and feet bound behind her and an electrical cord wrapped around her neck.
Squires' co-defendant, Fernando Owens, 50, knew the victim and believed Bortner played a role in the murder of his son, Domenic Owens, in Massachusetts' Suffolk County.
Police seized items from Fernando Owens' home at 65 Lonsdale St. in Dorchester, Mass., that they claim link him to the murder, including Egyptian cotton bath towels similar to the one wrapped around the victim's face, and an electrical cord police say is identical to the one found around Bortner's neck.
Owens was captured by authorities in the Dominican Republic after he fled the United States following the murder. Owens awaits trial on one count each of murder and aggravated kidnapping.
At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Squires was in Bridgewater around the time of the 911 call, and helped Owens in killing and disposing of Bortner's body.
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