Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Daniel Tejeda (age 29), of Providence, was found guilty of first degree murder for the March 31, 2015 murder of Ashley Masi. The Superior Court jury returned the verdict after eight hours of deliberations following an eight-day trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause.
During the trial, the State proved that Tejeda murdered 24-year-old mother of three Ashley Masi after an encounter set up through the adult services website backpage.com.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 31, 2015, members of the Providence Police and Providence Fire Departments were dispatched to 216 River Avenue for a report of a female strangled. When Police and Fire entered the residence, they found Ashley Masi in her bedroom with a zip tie secured on her neck and no vital signs. She was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. The Rhode Island Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be a homicide by asphyxiation.
During the investigation, Providence Police learned that the victim had posted an ad offering escort services on backpage.com. A search warrant of the victim's cell phone records revealed numerous incoming and outgoing calls in response to the ad, including a phone identified as belonging to Daniel Tejeda.
A subsequent search warrant of the defendant's phone revealed numerous texts between he and the victim arranging a time for the two to meet, including texts indicating his arrival at the residence and instructions to the third floor.
DNA evidence from the scene, including on the zip tie found around the victim's neck, was determined to be from the defendant. Executing a search warrant on the defendant's residence, police found a bag of the same type of zip ties, with one missing, on which his DNA was found.
"Despite repeated violent crimes, including murder, perpetrated on women by men who find their prey on backpage.com, the company refuses to acknowledge its role in these horrific crimes and refuses to stop allowing such ads. It is reckless and will no doubt lead to another tragedy such as this," said Attorney General Kilmartin.
Providence Police Detective Michael Otrando led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo and Special Assistant Attorney General Katelyn Revens prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.