BOSTON, Dec. 11, 2013—The South Boston man charged with murdering 24-year-old Amy Lord and violently attacking three other women will continue to be held without bail after his Superior Court arraignment today, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

EDWIN ALEMANY (D.O.B. 9/2/84) was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed carjacking, two counts of armed robbery, two counts of armed robbery while masked, armed assault with intent to rape, stealing by confining, arson of a motor vehicle, and assault and battery, all in connection with Lord’s July 23 homicide.  He was also charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and battery, armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and unarmed robbery stemming from three additional attacks that occurred in Mission Hill and South Boston before and after Lord’s July 23 homicide.

At the request of Assistant District Attorney John Pappas, the DA’s chief trial counsel, Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson ordered that Alemany continue to be held without bail as he has been since his August arraignment in West Roxbury District Court on charges connected to Lord’s murder.

Pappas told the court that Alemany was charged in four violent attacks, each one committed against a lone woman in the late night or early morning hours.

At about 6:00 am on July 23, Pappas said, Lord stepped out of her Dorchester Street apartment building. Alemany, who was walking in the area, forced her back inside and assaulted her.  He then allegedly forced her at knifepoint into her Jeep Cherokee.  Over the next hour, Pappas said, Alemany drove Lord to multiple ATMs and forced her to make cash withdrawals, attempting to conceal his face during at least two of the transactions.  After additional attempts to make withdrawals failed, investigators believe, Alemany drove Lord to Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park, assaulted her, and stabbed her to death.

After the murder, Pappas said, Alemany drove to a gas station and purchased a quantity of gasoline before driving back to South Boston and setting Lord’s stolen jeep on fire. He later spent some of the money he’d robbed from Lord on scratch tickets and a new cell phone.

The attack on Lord followed an aborted attack on another lone woman about an hour earlier. In that case, Pappas said, Alemany is accused of attacking a 22-year-old woman on Old Colony Avenue just before 5:00 a.m.  Prosecutors say he struck her in the face and threatened to kill her as he dragged by her legs into a parking lot, prosecutors said.  He allegedly choked the woman as she fought to escape but then released her and fled the scene.

Alemany committed another violent assault shortly after midnight on July 24 – this time stabbing a 21-year-old woman in the torso, face, and neck, as she approached her Gate Street home, prosecutors said.  Neighbors called 911 and Alemany fled.

During the assault, Pappas said, Alemany cut his own hand with the knife he used to stab the victim.  He admitted himself to Tufts Medical Center – the same hospital where paramedics transported the victim.  Those paramedics spotted Alemany at the hospital, recognized him from the description provided by the victim, and notified Boston Police who had responded to the hospital.  Alemany was arrested that morning.

For the first time, Alemany was formally charged today with a fourth attack, this one targeting a 20-year-old woman at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2012. Alemany allegedly attacked her from behind and choked her as she walked along Parker Hill Avenue. The woman was able to grab Alemany’s wallet before she lost consciousness.  In addition to the wallet, Pappas said, investigators also recovered from the scene a baseball cap.  A DNA profile lifted from the hat was consistent with Alemany’s, prosecutors said.

Alemany is represented by attorney Jeffrey Denner.  He will return to court on February 6.

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 All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.