Lynn man pleads not guilty to murder

BOSTON – Just more than a year after a homeless city woman was found dead in an East Boston parking garage, a judge ordered her “stalker-like” boyfriend held without bail for murder.”(The defendant) was described as having a dating relationship with (the deceased) by family members and friends who described this relationship as possessive, controlling and at times aggressive,” Boston Police Officer Vance C. Mills wrote in a report.Chhoeut Chin, 42, of Lynn, pleaded not guilty in East Boston Municipal Court Monday to a charge of murder in connection with the August 2013 death of Sherry Leigh Bradley.Members of a cleaning crew found Bradley, 32, and also of Lynn, dead on the floor of a Border Street parking garage on the morning of Aug. 1, 2013. The death was not ruled a homicide until April, however, when the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Bradley was strangled to death.But homicide detectives investigating the incident learned Bradley had been in a relationship with Chin marked by reports of “stalker-like behavior” and documented threats to kill, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee told the court Monday.Lee said that Chin drove a distinctive blue Honda into the garage at approximately 9 a.m. Aug. 1, 2013 and left Bradley’s body, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a press release Monday afternoon. It allegedly took Chin about 15 minutes to drop the body, look around and leave the scene, and Conley said during this time no other vehicles were in the area.A cleaning crew who had been in the area at 8:30 a.m. that morning allegedly returned and found the body less than 10 minutes after Chin left.Police said Chin denied knowing Bradley or being in the area of East Boston in an interview.But police cited witness statements, surveillance video and text messages as connecting Chin’s vehicle to the scene. Chin and Bradley were also reportedly seen in the defendant’s car the day before she was killed.Lee requested that Chin be held without bail. Judge John E. McDonald accepted the request and scheduled Chin to return to court Sept. 17. Chin’s attorney could not be reached for comment Monday evening.