Arrest made in slaying of Wayland teen

WAYLAND, Mass. -- A classmate and friend of an 18-year-old Wayland woman slain over the holiday weekend was arrested Tuesday and charged with her death.

Nathaniel Fujita, 18, is scheduled to be arraigned in Framingham District Court on a murder charge in connection with the death of Lauren Astley.

Astley's body was found by a bicyclist Monday morning in a marshy area of town, prosecutors said. She was reported missing by her father Sunday after failing to return home from her job at a clothing store at the Natick Collection mall. Her car was found several miles away at the town beach.

Fujita and Lauren had both just graduated from Wayland High School and were "close," said her father, Malcolm Astley.

"When we fall in love, we allow ourselves to become vulnerable and we lose perspective," a sobbing Malcolm Astley said.

Investigators are looking into whether they were dating or had dated in the past, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney's office said.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine a cause of death. Authorities did not disclose a motive for the slaying.

Lauren Astley, an only child, played tennis and was a member of the a cappella group in high school, her father said. She planned on studying fashion or anatomy at Elon University in North Carolina this fall, he said.

"I miss her terribly," her father said.

A message left at Fujita's home was not immediately returned. Fujita played receiver on the football team and ran track in high school.

"I share a sense of angst with his parents," Malcolm Astley said.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)