A 42-year-old Foxborough man with a serious criminal past was arrested outside Boston City Hall yesterday afternoon, connected to a murder that occurred last month in Jamaica Plain, according to NBC Boston. Taylor Hurst, who previously served a prison sentence for the manslaughter of his pregnant fiancée, was taken into custody by homicide detectives and members of a fugitive unit amidst charges of another violent act.
Hurst is accused of killing Stephen Gomes, whose badly beaten body was discovered under a bed on July 6 – Gomes's vehicle was later found illegally parked after fleeing a traffic stop earlier that day, and it wasn't long before surveillance footage emerged showing a man resembling Hurst driving, however; Gomes's last cellphone activity signalled an earlier end to his physical movement across the digital sphere. Police said Hurst was wanted for murder at the time of his arrest near 1 City Hall Plaza in Boston, as reported by MassLive.
Detailed in his arraignment at the West Roxbury District Court where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Jillian Bannister conveyed the severity of Gomes’ injuries, noting "significant and multiple fractures" to his face. Furthermore, Bannister revealed Hurst's history of violence, reminding that he was convicted in 2008 of strangling his fiancée, after which he served an 18-to-20-year sentence and was released only two years prior to his latest alleged offense.
During the arrest proceedings, Hurst's defense attorney, Anne Iglehart, raised concerns about her client's current state of comprehension concerning the legal proceedings due to a medical condition that she did not further disclose the nature of feelings of loss and worry that might cloud her client's understanding of what was happening, the details of which were evidently unclear to the wider public; "concerns about Mr. Hurst's ability to appreciate ... the process that's happening right now, due to his medical condition," Iglehart expressed, although further details on her statement have not been disclosed as NBC10 Boston reached out for more information.
Hurst, now facing the weight of the justice system once again, is scheduled for further legal engagement with a probable cause hearing set for September 17. Additionally, his present predicament may compound with a probation violation for an undisclosed case of animal cruelty previously adjudicated in Wrentham District Court.
