Murder Victim's Family To Judge: 'You Made A Deal With The Devil'
SALEM (CBS) -- Family members of a mother whose body washed onto a Swampscott beach say the judge in the case "made a deal with the devil" by accepting the "murderer's" plea agreement.
Jason Fleury, 39, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter for Jaimee Mendez's homicide and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The plea deal outraged the Mendez family saying they wanted the case to go to trial to find out more about how the murder happened, and hoping for a stiffer sentence.
"You'll never get forgiveness from me," said Michelle Mendez, Jaimee's mother, during impact statements in Salem Superior Court. "If you don't feel her yet you will and she'll torture you."
Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors laid out the evidence they have in the case. Mendez got into Fleury's van in Lynn the night of November 6, 2014, and the 25-year-old called friends saying he was acting "weird." That was the last anyone saw of her.
Prosecutors now say blood evidence was found in the van on a rug and on a passenger door panel. Detectives also found a droplet of her blood on the ceiling above the passenger seat and on a mattress found in another van owned by the defendant.
Her remains washed up on King's Beach in Swampscott nearly three months later on January 28, 2015. They were entangled in gill netting and lobster traps that were later identified as belonging to a former employer of Fleury.
"This dirt bag used the best method to cover up his crime so he could get away with it and walk around like nothing happened," said Jaimee's aunt Beatrice Mendez.
The death was ruled a homicide by violent tendencies. Sources tell WBZ-TV that given the condition of the body and lack of other evidence it's difficult to determine exactly how Jaimee Mendez died.
The family says it's left them without closure.
"Why didn't my sister get a deal? The hate in my heart is still crippling," said Alyssa Mendez before adding "Judge you made a deal with the devil."
Outside court Melissa Mendez told reporters "murderers shouldn't get a second chance at life."
