Malcolm Astley read a brief statement on behalf of himself and Lauren Astley’s mother, Mary Dunne, following the Aug. 23 arraignment of Nathaniel Fujita, the man accused of killing their daughter on July 3 in Wayland.

As he has consistently done throughout the seven weeks since his daughter was murdered, Astley asserted his hope that Lauren’s death could serve as a means to preventing such tragedy from happening in the future.

“Our hearts are with the many who continue to feel the shock and pain of the tragedy and to understand it as best we can,” Astley read from a prepared statement this afternoon while standing outside the main entrance of the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn.

Astley’s statement continued to say that he and Dunne hope for justice to be served and the community to be protected from future events of this nature, but that they also hope positive steps can be taken in the aftermath.

“Our hope continues … that we can also learn from them [these events] how better to serve our youth in the future, to promote wellness and healthy relationships and to make the effective meeting of human needs more the agenda of our daily conversations and lives.”

In addition to being a frequent topic in statements made by Astley and Dunne, this goal is also reflected in the mission of the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund, which was started, in part, to promote dynamic educational programs in the development of healthy teen relationships.

The fund is housed at Village Bank in Wayland.

Editor's Note: An error in grammar in the original post has been corrected. Thank you loyal readers for pointing out this oversight.