<p>Such a tragedy....</p>
<p>Wayland man, 18, charged with murdering Wayland woman, 18</p>
<p>By Vivian Yee, Globe Correspondent and John R. Ellement Globe Staff</p>
<p>An 18-year old Wayland man was arrested today and charged with murdering Lauren Astley, a recent Wayland high school graduate whose body was found Monday in a wooded area in the small western suburb.</p>
<p>Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Wayland Police Chief Robert Irving, in a joint statement, identified the suspect as Nathaniel Fujita, 18, of Wayland. Authorities did not disclose a motive for the murder of Lauren Astley.
Lauren Astley</p>
<p>Fujita is expected to be arraigned today at Framingham District Court. A cause of death has not been disclosed.</p>
<p>Fujita is the son of Tomohisa Fujita, known as Tomo, an assistant professor of guitar at Berklee College of Music who specializes in blues and funk music.</p>
<p>According to his Berklee biography, the elder Fujita counts Eric Krasno of the jazz trio Soulive and pop star John Mayer among his former students.</p>
<p>A Kyoto native, Fujita immigrated from Japan before earning a Berklee degree; he has taught at the college since 1993.</p>
<p>He is also a professional guitarist, playing a guitar solo version of The Star-Spangled Banner before a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in October 2009.</p>
<p>The younger Fujita and his teammates on the Wayland High School track team were named All-Stars by the Boston Globe in March 2010. Nathaniel Fujita was also a member of the high school football team last fall.</p>
<p>The body of Astley, 18, was found in a marsh. She had been missing since Sunday night. Her father, Wayland School Committee member Malcolm Astley, spoke with the Globe about his daughter Monday.</p>
<p>With graduation cards spread out over the living room table, Astley spoke of his daughters impending departure in the fall for Elon University in North Carolina, where she was planning to study business. He recalled Lauren as a popular teenager - a singer, an athlete, an aspiring fashion designer, and a passionate volunteer who made three trips to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.</p>
<p>Speaking at the home on Boston Post Road where Lauren grew up, Astley said his daughter disappeared around 8 p.m. Sunday after working the closing shift at Shop344 at the Natick Collection shopping center. She was believed to have gone to the Wayland town beach after work, he said. But Lauren never called home to check in, and her father began reaching out to her friends to see if they knew where she was.</p>
<p>The more time went on, the more worried I became, he said.</p>
<p>Malcolm Astley declined to speculate about what might have happened to his daughter. Asked if she had a boyfriend, he said she had no current boyfriend, but had dated in the past. There was nothing. Nothing I could predict, he said.</p>
<p>The death stunned this small western suburb, which had not had a homicide since the 1985 slaying of 9-year-old Sarah Pryor, said Linda Segal, a former selectwoman who has lived in Wayland for about 35 years.</p>
<p>Susan Pope, vice chairwoman of the Wayland Board of Selectmen, said she has known Malcolm Astley for many years. When informed of the news, she had to stop and sit down.</p>
<p>Im speechless, Pope said. I dont know what to say. This doesnt normally happen in Wayland. Wayland doesnt have much crime anyway, thank the good Lord, but a murder?</p>
<p>Her father said the last time he saw his daughter was Sunday afternoon, for lunch at a local restaurant before she went to work.</p>
<p>Astley said his daughter, who had no siblings, was bright and musically gifted. She was a onetime captain of the high school tennis team, but quit the team this past year to take a part-time job at the clothing boutique because she wanted to have a career in fashion.</p>
<p>At dusk yesterday, family and friends gathered at First Parish in Wayland Unitarian Universalist church for a private vigil. Cars filled the parking lot and spilled over into nearby lots. Just after 8 p.m. flickering candles could be seen through the windows of the darkened church. Afterward, a procession of people streamed out the door, hugging and crying.</p>
<p>Nour Sayeh, 13, leaving the vigil with her mother, said her sister had been friends with Lauren since elementary school. She was always so sweet.</p>
<p>She was very vivacious, very energetic, said Mary Backman, 17, who said she too had known Lauren since elementary school.</p>
<p>People who are not from a small town dont understand, said Backman. We are all so tight here. . . . Stuff like this doesnt happen here.</p>
<p>Lauren was passionate about fixing up the world, her father said. She was also active in her schools a cappella group, which had recently released a CD.</p>
<p>So often when someone leaves, we miss their voice, he said. But luckily we have that.</p>