Photo: Aldrich, Beatrice (uploader)
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A New Hampshire man was found guilty Thursday for his role in the 2015 murder of a woman found dead and burned in Bridgewater.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced that Julian Squires, 48, of Manchester, N.H. was convicted of one count each of Murder and Kidnapping after a 10-day trial. A jury deliberated for seven hours before reaching a verdict.
On November 3, 2015, Bridgewater Police responded to a 911 call of a fire burning beside MBTA train tracks. Police determined it to be a human body on fire, later identified as Ashley Bortner, 29, of New Jersey.
Bortner had been burned over 70 percent of her body, gagged by clothing, and her face was wrapped with a towel. Her hands and feet were also bound behind her.
Massachusetts State Police investigators determined Squires’ co-defendant, Fernando Owens, 50, knew the victim and believed Bortner played a role in the murder of his son in Suffolk County.
Owens was captured by authorities in 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 assisted Owens in killing and disposing of Bortner's body.
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