A Massachusetts woman is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder charges in the death of her ex-boyfriend.
Authorities have charged 21-year-old Julia Enright with the murder of 20-year-old Brandon Chicklis, whose body was found along a New Hampshire roadside over the summer. She was indicted last month on the charges.
Enright entered a not guilty plea Thursday when she was arraigned.
Investigators said Enright killed 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 in July. "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.
Old friends of Enright who spoke to NBC10 Boston over the summer described her as "eccentric." Authorities have yet to reveal a motive for the murder.
Chicklis 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.
His 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.
Rindge is located just over the New Hampshire border, about 20 minutes away from Westminster and over an hour from Windham.
Enright is due back in court next month.
