Mendez' Mother: Grateful Suspect Caught, but 'There'll Never Be Justice' for Killing Somebody

Photo credit and reporting by Adam Swift; Article by Brooklyn Lowery

Jason Fleury, 37, was arraigned Thursday on charges he murdered 25-year-old Jaimee Mendez of Swampscott.

Mendez was last seen on Nov. 6, 2014, a day Fleury had admitted to investigators that he saw her, but also said he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

Mendez’ remains washed ashore on Swampscott’s King’s Beach in January and last week a grand jury secretly handed down an indictment charging Fleury with her murder. He was arrested Tuesday in Virginia. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday at Salem Superior Court, according to WCVB.

Following Fleury’s arraignment Thursday, Jaimee Mendez’ mother, Michelle Murray-Mendez, told reporters that she was pleased to see a suspect would be tried for her daughter’s murder, but that didn’t equate to justice.

“I appreciate all their work so much but to say justice might be served or justice is being served, there’s no justice for killing somebody,” Murray-Mendez said, adding that she didn’t really know what to feel. “There’ll never be justice; you can’t get justice for stealing somebody’s life. So, you know, it is what it is.

“They have him and its good. He’s not going to do it to somebody else.”

Murray-Mendez has said in the past that just knowing what happened to her daughter helped ease her suffering. After Mendez’ remains were recovered, Murray-Mendez posted on the Justice for Jaimee Mendez Facebook page that she felt that her daughter knew “I couldn’t handle much more” not knowing what had happened to Mednez and “I know she made herself known so she could help ease my pain.”

On Thursday, Murray-Mendez echoed that sentiment, saying she was glad she ”didn’t have to suffer like those people who suffer not knowing where their kid is.”