A Wayland man who was convicted in 2013 of strangling and stabbing his former high school sweetheart just weeks after graduation has been ordered by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to be resentenced from life without parole to life with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Nathaniel Fujita, a former high school football player, was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Astley, in 2011. The two were both 18 at the time of the murder. Astley’s body was found in a marsh, where she was strangled to death with a bungee cord and her throat slashed.
Prosecutors said that the motive behind the murder was rage following their break-up.
Two years later, Fujita was convicted at 20 years old. He was sentenced to life.
However, in Massachusetts, because Fujita was under 21, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court says that he must at least have the chance of parole after 15 years.
In September 2025, Fujita’s legal team sought a new trial after a Middlesex Superior Court judge denied his request for a retrial in 2023.
The Supreme Judicial Court denied Fujita’s request for a retrial, upholding his conviction.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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