Man charged with 2004 murder of Malden woman whose body was found in Charles River

A dental hygienist from Dorchester today pleaded not guilty to charges that he murdered his girlfriend in 2004 during a jealous rage and then dumped her body, wrapped in plastic, into the Charles River, where it was found a month later.

[fragment number=0]Shabazz Augustine is accused of murdering Julaine Jules, 26, of Malden, on Aug. 25, 2004, when they argued inside his apartment on Sydney Street, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee said during his arraignment today.

Augustine, 32, stayed out of public view during the brief proceeding in Dorchester Municipal Court, frustrating efforts by the victim’s mother, Germain Jules, and relatives to see the man who is accused of luring the woman to her death.

The prosecutor said that in 2004, Augustine had a cousin convince Jules to leave work in downtown Boston and travel to Shabazz’s residence in Dorchester.

The prosecutor said Augustine believed Jules was dating another man who lived outside of Boston and wanted to question her about it. The conversation allegedly escalated into an act of fatal violence when Augustine strangled Jules.

After the killing, Augustine allegedly wrapped her body in plastic bags and added objects to the package to weigh down the woman’s remains. He then drove to the Charles River and dumped her body into it, authorities allege. That same day, Augustine allegedly drove Jules’s car to a parking lot in Revere, where he set the vehicle on fire, authorities allege.

Jules’s body landed on the banks of the Charles in September, about a month after she disappeared.

In court today, Augustine’s defense attorney, Steven J. Sack, said his client has strong family ties to Trinidad, but has stayed in the Boston area since 2004 even though he knew he was considered a suspect by police for the past several years.

Sack said Augustine has worked as a licensed dental hygienist for the same company in Dorchester for the past five years. He also said that a woman the lawyer described as Augustine’s “partner’’ is pregnant with his child and expected to give birth within a few weeks.

Augustine was ordered held without bail and is due back in court Aug. 1.