Report Concludes Mistakes Made in Remy Case

Written By Ryan Grannan-Doll 

An independent review of the of the assault case against Jared Remy prior to him allegedly murdering his girlfriend has concluded the matter “could have been pursued more aggressively,” according to a statement from the Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office.

On Aug. 14, Remy, who has a long history of violence, was released on the assault case no bail and personal recognizance. On Aug. 15, he allegedly killed his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel, in their Waltham apartment. 

Martel, was a Framingham State university student, working towards a degree in education and wanted to become an elementary school teacher.

The report details several mistakes made.

• "The review revealed that there was information about the defendant that could have been pursued more aggressively and assessed more thoroughly prior to arraignment," the report reads.
• The report also says that assistant district attorneys at the Waltham District Court could have had better supervision from their superiors making recommendations for bail on alleged criminals. That change, which the DA's statement said has already been made, comes after prosecutors did not seek to extend a prior restraining order Martel had filed against Remy. Ryan has said Martel herself asked for the order not to be extended. 
• "Specifically, we found that Remy's domestic violence criminal history, the facts in the Aug. 13 police report of the assault) and the fact that there was a young child in the home were not given sufficient weight, while the victim's decision not to come to court to extend the emergency restraining order or to request conditions of release was given excessive consideration in the evaluation," the executive summary of the report reads. 

OTHER EFFORTS

Since the murder of Martel, Ryan has been advocating for several measures to strengthen domestic violence laws, according to the DA's office. One proposed law would make strangulation a crime punishable by a prison term, while a pair of proposed laws would allow for longer jail sentences for repeat domestic batterers or violent criminals. Another proposed law would prohibit an abuse victim and batterer from agreeing to dismiss the case. Lastly, a proposed bill would require better probation records (which prosecutors use in part to make a bail recommendation) to detail whether a defendant was deemed dangerous in the past.