The man accused of murdering a Lawrence, Massachusetts, woman, after being previously arrested on a lesser charge in the case, appeared in court Wednesday for a brief hearing.
No new details were revealed on Carol Flaz-Burgos' death — in fact, the Lawrence District Court judge allowed an Essex County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Fleet's request that a police report containing details that haven't been released to the public be impounded, or held from release, amid an ongoing investigation.
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Cristian Montero was held without bail after his lawyer a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Montero is due back in court Oct. 16.
Flaz-Burgos "was a beloved mother, daughter, co-worker, and member of the community, and I join them in mourning her loss," District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said in a statement after Wednesday's hearing.
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Prosecutors have said at a previous hearing, when Montero was in court to face a charge of charged with witness intimidation, that his physical location matched up with location data from Carol Flaz-Burgos' cell phone, but this was after she disappeared. That's when investigators started to connect some concerning dots.
Montero was Flaz-Burgos' neighbor but beyond that, it's unclear what relationship they had.
Flaz-Burgos was last seen on surveillance camera days earlier while entering Montero's apartment in the building where she lived with her children and mother, prosecutors previously said in court.
She made "the sign of the cross when she entered," Fleet said in court last week, but was never seen exiting.
Montero, 35, allegedly misled investigators about where he was in the time frame of Flaz-Burgos' disappearance.
Prosecutors said that, in two different interviews, he said he drove to a barbershop, parking on Trenton Street, but never went in because he was feeling sick. But city cameras showed he didn't park on Trenton Street at the time, and data from his cellphone allegedly shows him in Haverhill when he said he was parked in Lawrence.
Flaz-Burgos was found dead in the Kenoza Lake Conservation Area a week ago.
More on Carol Flaz-Burgos' death
Her family and neighbors had been searching for Flaz-Burgos for days. Even with Montero behind bars right now, they are still looking over their shoulders.
"I don't feel safe at all. It's scary because you think you know your neighbor but truly you really don't know what's going on within your own building, and to hear all the stories about the cameras and the security here, like what's the point?" said Darlysha Ortega, victim's neighbor.
