East Boston Teen Charged with Murder, Held Without Bail

Boston, MA - Jose Alejandro Hernandez, arrested in connection with the murder of an East Boston teen, was held without bail Monday and arraigned on charges of murder.

Although only 16, Hernandez will be tried as an adult. He was taken into custody on Marion Street Sunday without incident. Under Massachusetts law, all juveniles over the age of 14 accused of murder are charged as adults.

Construction workers found 18-year-old Blanca Lainez' body on a pile of 2x4 boards in an East Boston garage last month, beaten and stabbed, according to a Suffolk County District Attorney's office press release. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the prosecution, her phone shows "excessive contact" between Lainez and Hernandez in the weeks leading up to her murder, and he had previously threatened to kill her.

Video evidence shows a hooded male figure leaving Hernandez' residence around the time that Lainez' phone went dark, and shows the same figure running back after, prosecutors said. A hoodie found in Hernandez' home matches the one seen in the video, and a bloody palm-print recovered near the scene matches his, according to the prosecution.

The investigation into what Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley called "a crime of brutal violence" remains "very active."

"We urge anyone with additional information to share it with police and prosecutors. Every tip, however small, brings us closer to finding justice for Blanca and her loved ones," he said in a press release following the arrest on Sunday.

The case returns to court July 20.