Police Hunting for Bridgewater Murder Suspect

Police on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for a Dorchester man charged with killing a woman then dumping her body in Bridegwater earlier this month.

Fernando Owens, 43, is considered armed and dangerous. He’s 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds. He has several tattoos on both shoulders.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call police immediately.

Owens is accused of murdering Ashley Bortner, 29, of Paulsboro, N.J. She was found bound, gagged, and burned found near MBTA tracks in Bridgewater on Nov. 3.

Police said they linked him to the murder after finding a bath towel and electrical cord in his apartment that matched the items used to tie up Bortner.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said Owens knew Bortner and believed she was involved in the recent death of his son, Domenic.

A New Hampshire couple was also charged in connection with the case. Julian and Shannon Squires, of Manchester, were arrested and charged with helping cover up Bortner’s murder. The couple, who are 40 years old and 39, respectively, was with Bortner in the hours leading up to her death—and they lied about their whereabouts after, police said.

The couple was in custody on high bail.

Bortner was a single mother with a 13-year-old son.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful person with a loving heart,” her mother told the Boston Herald.

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