Wayland man convicted of brutally murdering his former high school sweetheart seeks new trial
A Wayland man convicted in 2013 of strangling and stabbing his former high school sweetheart just weeks after graduation is seeking a new murder trial.
Attorneys for Nathaniel Fujita, who was 20 when he was found guilty in the July 2011 killing of Lauren Astley, appeared before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday after a Middlesex Superior Court judge denied his request for a retrial in 2023.
Fujita’s attorney appealed the 2023 ruling in June, claiming the judge was negligent and applied faulty reasoning to her ruling.
Lauren Astley, Nathaniel Fujita
Both Fujita and Astley were 18 years old at the time of the murder.
During his trial, prosecutors said Fujita was angry because Astley had broken up with him, and carefully planned the killing.
Investigators said he lured her to his home when he knew his parents would not be there, had her park her car out of sight, strangled and stabbed her, then left her body in a marsh.
He then carefully tried to cover his tracks, cleaning up the blood and hiding his bloody clothes.
When police searched Fujita’s home the day after authorities say he murdered Astley, they found bloody and wet clothing hidden in his room.
Fujita is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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