Press Release  Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Swampscott Mom

Salem, Massachusetts — A former Lynn man pleaded guilty today to killing a 25-year old Swampscott mother. 

Jason Fleury, 39, pleaded guilty to the lesser included charge of voluntary manslaughter for Jaimee Mendez’s homicide. 

Judge Thomas Dreschler adopted the joint recommendation a 17 years to 17 years + one day state prison sentence.

Had the case gone to trial, Essex Assistant District Attorneys John Brennan and Susan Dolhun would have introduced the following evidence: that on November 6, 2014, Jaimee Mendez was seen in Jason Fleury’s van leaving the Rite Aid parking lot on Lewis Street in Lynn.  Mendez phoned a friend to say she was with the defendant and feels “nervous.”  Mendez never returned home and is reported missing the following day.  Forensic tests found a droplet of blood matching Mendez’s DNA profile on the passenger door panel and rug that came from the defendant’s van and were found in a dumpster behind a CVS in Lynn.  Detectives also found a droplet of her blood on the ceiling above the passenger side of the defendant’s van and on a mattress found in another van owned by the defendant. 

Her remains washed up on King’s Beach in Swampscott on January 28, 2015.  Her remains were entangled in gill netting and lobster traps that were later identified as belonging to a former employer of the defendant.  The Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by violence of unknown causation.

“The loss of Jaimee Mendez cannot be measured.  Her son is left without his mother and her family and many friends are left with questions that cannot be answered,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. “I recognize that there is no justice today for Jaimee’s friends and family.  There is no term of years or specific outcome that can bring her back or restore their tremendous loss. Given the strengths and weaknesses of our case, this plea represents a fair result.”

Maureen Wilson Leal was the victim advocate.  The lead investigator was Trooper Michael Murphy.  Fleury was represented by Attorney Michael Phelan. 

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