More than eight years after a young mother from Malden, Massachusetts, was murdered in Everett, her accused killer faced a judge.
Henry Del-Rio, 27, of Chelsea pleaded not guilty at Middlesex Superior Court Thursday. Prosecutors said Del-Rio opened fire on a crowd outside of an Everett nightclub back in 2015.
One of the bullets killed 21-year-old Ashlee Berryman who police said was not the intended target.
“The last bullet penetrated the back and heart of Ashlee Berryman, age 21, killing her,” prosecutor David Solet told the judge.
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Del-Rio, an alleged associate of a Chelsea gang, was already behind bars for a drug case when investigators arrested him for this one. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced the major development last week.
“This is not one of those cases where there’s a magic forensic development. This case really represents persistence and continued work,” Ryan said.
Berryman’s family filled several rows at the court hearing. Her now 11-year-old son was sitting front row. The family said they wanted to make sure the accused killer saw exactly what they lost when he decided to pull the trigger.
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“She had just turned 21 two weeks before this happened. She didn’t even get to live,” Lenneice Jordan, the grandmother of the victim’s son said.
Del-Rio was held without bail. He is due back at Middlesex Superior Court February 7.
