Mass. inmate's name change bid denied by judge

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) -- The convicted killer of a 10-year-old Cambridge boy has lost a bid to change his name.

Charles Jaynes, who is serving a life sentence in prison, had sought to change his name to Manasseh-Invictus Auric Thutmose V, in line with his constitutional right to practice the Wiccan religion.

The Brockton Enterprise reported that Plymouth County Probate and Family Court Judge Catherine Sabaitis turned down the request, calling it "inconsistent with public interests."

Prosecutors said Jaynes and another man smothered Jeffrey Curley in 1997 with a gasoline-soaked rag when he resisted their sexual advances. The boy's body was found in a weighed-down plastic container in a Maine river several days later.

The boy's father, Robert Curley, opposed the name change and called Wednesday's ruling "very good news."