What to Know
- Prosecutors say an arrest has been made in the slaying of a Massachusetts man found near a New Hampshire road earlier this month
- Twenty-year-old Brandon Chicklis was last seen on June 26 as he left his Westminster home to visit his father in Windham, New Hampshire
- His body was discovered by a jogger on July 10 off Route 119 in Rindge, New Hampshire
Prosecutors say a woman has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Massachusetts man whose remains were found in New Hampshire earlier this month.
Twenty-one-year-old Julia Enright was arrested by state police on Monday night in Ashburnham, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said. She was arraigned Tuesday and ordered held without bail. She is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 29.
Investigators said Enright killed 20-year-old Westminster resident Brandon Chicklis by a treehouse near her home in Ashburnham, which police were able to trace from the victim's cell phone records. Chicklis' blood was found on the stairs to the treehouse, inside it and under it.
"It was apparent that the treehouse had recently been cleaned and a new rug had been placed on the floor," Assistant Worcester District Attorney Terry McLaughlin said in court Tuesday. "When the rug had been removed, it had appeared the blood had seeped through the floorboards of the treehouse down underneath."
Investigators said they believe Enright then moved Chicklis' body to New Hampshire.
A family member of Chicklis told NBC10 Boston Enright and Chicklis once dated and that they remained friends after breaking up some time ago. Prosecutors said the two had been classmates at Montachusett Regional Vocational High School in Fitchburg.
Westminster Police Chief Michael McDonald called Enright's arrest "a step in the direction toward closure," while adding that "it's still going to be a tough one for everybody."
Chicklis, who would have turned 21 this week, was last seen on June 26 as he was leaving to visit his father in Windham, New Hampshire, for a belated Father's Day celebration. Family members reported him missing the next day when he didn't show up.
"He was one of the most kindest, lovingest person ever," said Chicklis' grandmother, Louise Rocka last week. "If you called him he was there. If you needed him for anything he was there for everybody."
Chicklis' body was found by a jogger on July 10 off Route 119 in Rindge, New Hampshire, about 20 to 40 feet from the roadside. His car was found in a supermarket parking lot in another part of town.
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Rindge is located just over the New Hampshire border, about 20 minutes away from Westminster and over an hour from Windham.
"Something happened, and that's what we don't know. We just need to find out who did this to my son, who didn't deserve this horrific end to his short life," Paul Chicklis, Brandon's father, said after his son's body was found.
Authorities searched Enright's property in Ashburnham last week in connection with the ongoing investigation.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover Chicklis' funeral expenses.
