DNA Hearing, Other Court Dates Scheduled in Wayland Murder Case

A pre-trial conference at on Wednesday, Oct. 12, yielded a tentative schedule of upcoming dates in the case of the Commonwealth vs. Nathaniel Fujita, the Wayland man accused of killing Lauren Astley, 18, in July.

Fujita's attorneys, Bill Sullivan and co-counsel Sabrina Bonanno, met with prosecutor Lisa McGovern to discuss potential hearings and court dates in the case, though they did not speak .

Thursday, a day after the conference, a motion hearing for a buccal, or cheek, swab was scheduled for Nov. 1. According to a DA spokesperson, Fujita did not voluntarily provide investigators with a DNA sample, so a court order is necessary to obtain one.

After the Nov. 1 buccal swab hearing, the next court date is scheduled to be a Jan. 12 motion to dismiss hearing, though its being scheduled does not necessarily mean that Fujita's defense will file that motion.

Scheduled court dates are as follows:

• Nov. 1; 2 p.m. - Motion hearing for a buccal swab.
• Jan. 12, 2012; 2 p.m. - Motion to dismiss hearing.
• March 22, 2012 - Pre-trial hearing.
• May 30, 2012 - Evidentiary suppression hearing.
• Oct. 3, 2012 - Final pre-trial conference.
• Oct. 29, 2012 - Trial date.

All of the dates are tentative and could change at any time.