Peabody murder hearing postponed

PEABODY-Friday?s probable cause hearing for Ashley Fernandes, the man accused of murdering 25-year old Peabody resident Jessica Herrera, has been postponed to Friday, May 30 at 9 a.m.Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall requested the date change to allow more time for the department to further investigate the incident. She intends to present the findings to a grand jury in the next few weeks. The request was presumably more of an effort to bring forth an indictment and move the case along to Superior Court.Fernandes, 28, has been held without bail since he was arraigned in Peabody District Court on April 7 for the murder of Herrera, his then live-in girlfriend. He has maintained his innocence.Peabody police, working off a tip from Beverly police, found Herrera?s body on Sunday, April 6, in her Oak Street apartment wrapped in a blanket and tied with rope in a room located off the master bedroom. Fernandes later admitted to Peabody officers during questioning that he murdered Herrera the night before.Kenneth Morse contacted Beverly police early Sunday morning after having a brief and strange encounter with Fernandes at a Beverly Indian restaurant Saturday night. Morse said Fernandes told him he would be “reading about him in the newspaper” within the next 15 days. Fernandes allegedly told Morse he had killed his girlfriend, retracted his statement, saying that he was “just kidding,” then later said his “girlfriend was dead in his apartment.”Prior to leaving the restaurant, Morse said Fernandes had scribbled several notes on a piece of paper that included his parents? address and phone number in his native India. Morse, concerned over what he has just been told, turned over the note to Beverly police, and the investigation began immediately after.The alleged murder isn?t the first violent incident involving the couple. Fernandes had a pending court case on charges of domestic assault and battery and intimidation of a witness, stemming from a Jan. 4 episode. He allegedly punched and strangled Herrera, causing her to black out twice.Herrera had a restraining order against Fernandes for nearly a month before having it dropped on Valentine?s Day after reportedly feeling safe again.If Fernandes is found guilty of first-degree murder, he could face life in prison without parole.