State: Lizzi Marriott Murder Suspect Tried to Frame Others

A Dover man charged with murdering a University of New Hampshire student and then disposing her body in the Piscataqua River last year has agreed to let letters he wrote from jail about the case be admitted as evidence.

Seth Mazzaglia, 30, of Dover, who remains incarcerated at the Strafford County Jail in Dover awaiting trial for the murder of Elizabeth Marriott, 21, assented to state prosecutors' motion to provide them with handwriting samples that could show he authored several jail house letters to his ex-girlfriend Kathryn McDonough, 19, of Portsmouth about the case.


According to court documents, Mazzaglia wrote McDonough several letters where he provided her with false details about the case he wanted her to memorize. He also wrote letters where he indicated he wanted to frame Paul Hicock and Roberta Gerkin for Marriott's murder and for disposing Marriott's body and key evidence on the night of Marriott's murder on Oct. 9, 2012.

Court documents indicate that Mazzaglia also wrote McDonough that he wanted to flee prosecution by going to a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

McDonough is currently serving a 1 1/2 to 3-year State Prison sentence after she was sentenced for her role in Marriott's murder in July.

Judge Kenneth Brown did approve a defense motion to allow Mazzaglia's public defender Attorney Joaquim Barth of Dover to conduct a two-hour deposition of State Police Sgt. Joseph Ebert, the lead interrogator who interviewed Mazzaglia on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13.

Mazzaglia's trial date has also been pushed back from March to May 2014, according to court documents.