A suspect in the murder of a woman whose body was found burned near train tracks in Massachusetts has been arrested in the Dominican Republic.
The body of Ashley Bortner, a 29-year-old mother from Paulsboro, New Jersey, was discovered bound and burned in Bridgewater on Nov. 3, 2015.
Thursday, authorities announced that Fernando Owens, formerly of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, had been arrested in the Dominican Republic and transferred back to the U.S. He is being held in a jail awaiting transfer to Massachusetts.
"For the past four months, investigators have followed the evidence that has led them from Bridgewater to Brockton to Dorchester to New Hampshire and, most recently, to the Dominican Republic," said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
U.S. Marshals tracked down Owens, 43, in Santo Domingo in connection what authorities say may have been a revenge killing.
Owens was the fourth person to be arrested in connection to the case, and the third to be charged with Bortner's murder.
Back in December, authorities charged Ovi Cruz of Randolph with misleading the investigation.
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Tuesday, a New Hampshire couple was indicted on charges of murder and aggravated kidnapping. Julian and Shannon Squires were accused of helping Owens kill Bortner and dispose of her body.
Owens was indicted for the same charges that day, even though he had not yet been captured.
"As a Christian woman, I have forgiven these people, but justice still needs to be served for what they did," Bortner's mother said in a statement. "We are so glad they are behind bars."
U.S. Marshals allege that Owens fled to the Dominican Republic shortly after the murder.
It was not immediately clear whether Owens had an attorney.
