Trial date set for Peabody man accused of murder

SALEM – The trial of a former Peabody man charged with strangling his live-in girlfriend in their Oak Street apartment and then going out to dinner is set for early April.In Salem Superior Court Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Kate B. MacDougall and defense lawyer Aviva E. Jeruchim reported to Judge John T. Lu that they are prepared to go to trial on the Ashley Fernandes case and asked him to schedule a trial date of April 2.MacDougall said she expects the trial to last five to eight days.Fernandes, 34, who worked at the time for Bostik, is facing a charge of first-degree premeditated murder in the strangulation slaying of his live-in girlfriend, Jessica Herrera.He is also charged with attempted murder and assault and battery in connection with another attack on Herrera three months prior, during which she allegedly sustained a significant bruise under her left eye and bruises on her right upper leg.Herrera, 25, a mother of two, was found by authorities on the morning of April 6, 2008 at their 7 Oak St., #9 apartment in Peabody, wrapped in a blanket hidden under a pile of construction material and tied with a rope in a back bedroom.A conviction on the murder in the first degree carries a life sentence in state prison with no chance of being paroled.Fernandes, who has pleaded innocent to all the charges, remains held at the Middleton Jail without bail pending the outcome of his case.