Dorchester man convicted of killing woman, leaving flaming body near train tracks

A Dorchester man was convicted of murdering a New Jersey woman and leaving her body near a set of MBTA train tracks in 2015.

Fernando Owens, 51, was found guilty of first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office. A jury deliberated for 10 hours following a seven-day trial.

Bridgewater Police received a 911 call just before midnight on Nov. 3, 2015 regarding a report of a fire near train tracks, according to Cruz’s office. Police found that the body of 29-year-old Ashley Bortner was on fire.

More than 70% of Bortner’s body had been burned, Cruz’s office said. She had been gagged and a towel had been wrapped around her face. Her hands and feet were bound behind her.

Massachusetts State Police investigators determined that Owens knew Bortner and believed she “somehow played a role in the Suffolk County murder of Owens’s son,” according to Cruz’s office.

Owens’s 21-year-old son, Dominic, was shot and killed in what appeared to be a targeted killing earlier on Nov. 3, The Boston Globe previously reported.

As family gathered at the scene of the crime, Owens was seen visibly agitated and making calls on a cellphone. Owens and Bortner spoke 13 times on the phone that day, according to the Globe.

An electrical cord and a cotton towel were seized from Owens’s home, officials said. These items linked him to the murder.

Authorities say Owens fled to the Dominican Republican shortly after killing Bortner. He was captured by police there.

Two co-defendants, 48-year-old Julian Squires and 46-year-old Shannon Squires have also been charged for their alleged roles in the murder of Bortner. They were in Bridgewater around the time of the murder, according to Cruz’s office. They allegedly helped Owens kill Bortner and dispose of her body, officials said.

Julian Squires was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder. Shannon Squires is scheduled to appear in court next month.

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