Edwin Alemany pleads not guilty in murder of Amy Lord - Western Mass News - WGGB/WSHM

The man accused of killing Wilbraham native Amy Lord pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and to charges related to other assaults in a Boston courtroom.

Edwin Alemany, 28, of Boston, was indicted for murder in a packed Suffolk Superior Court where Lord's family filled row after row.

It was an emotional day for them, as many cried during and after the hearing.

Tom Duseo is a family friend of the Lords. He was in court to show support for them.

"I knew she was missing and feared the worst and unfortunately that came to light," said Duseo.

Prosecutors said Alemany is the one who killed Lord this past July after forcing her to withdraw hundreds of dollars from several ATMs.

They continued to say it was the money they believed he used to buy lottery tickets and a cell phone.

"This crime shocked our city in a way that few do. Amy Lord was a true innocent young woman," said Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley.

Alemany is also accused of attacking three other women, one of whom was 10 months prior to Lord's murder.

Alemany's lawyer, Jeffrey Denner, argued his client's long history of mental illness is the big part of the story.

"He's a very sick individual, what happened here was so sad. Unfortunately it would be very avoidable. Here's someone who should have been in a mental institution far before that, being in a lot more constant treatment. He should have not been released the different times that he had been," said Denner.

Alemany also pleaded not guilty in three nonfatal attacks on other women. Two of those happened during the week Lord was killed. The other assault allegation is from last year.

A trial date was set for Dec. 8, 2014. Alemany will have another pretrial hearing on Feb. 6.

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