Crime & Safety
Witness: Mazzaglia Strangled Marriott with a Rope
Kathryn McDonough returns to the witness stand June 4 to testify against accused murderer Seth Mazzaglia.
DOVER, N.H. – Seth Mazzaglia's ex-girlfriend says he killed Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott by strangling her with a rope and raped her as she died.
"I was there," Kathryn "Kat" McDonough testified June 3, as the murder trial plunged into some grotesque and graphic evidence in the case.
McDonough, now 20 and incarcerated at the state women's prison in Goffstown, recounted how Mazzaglia pursued her as a love interest when she was a troubled high school senior in Portsmouth.
Prosecuting and defense attorneys read several graphic Facebook and text messages between McDonough and Mazzaglia, including each spelling out dominant and submissive sexual roles for themselves during "BDSM," which stands for bondage, discipline and sadomasochism.
McDonough said Mazzaglia was always the dominant partner. She said that he urged her to recruit a young woman to join them in their role playing, and that he grew angry with her when she could not find a person. Then, the two conspired to lure Marriott, a 19-year-old student at the University of New Hampshire, into their relationship.
"He said she was a strong potential," McDonough said.
McDonough is scheduled to return to the witness stand June 4 at Strafford County Superior Court in Dover, N.H.
The trial began a week ago, with jurors viewing crime scenes, including the spot on Peirce Island in Portsmouth where Mazzaglia and McDonough dumped Marriott's body on Oct. 9, 2012, according to court documents.
Her body has never been found.
The defense has maintained that Marriott died during a consensual act of sex at Mazzaglia's apartment – and the death came at the hands of McDonough. McDonough testified June 3 that it was not in any way consensual.
She testified about Mazzaglia's "darkness," and how he could be controlling, including insisting that she call or text him daily when she was away at theater camp.
McDonough came to tears when describing one particularly rough bondage act upon returning from camp. They kept a box of ropes beneath their bed, she said. She also said she was "scared" of Mazzaglia, and tried to stay on his good side.
McDonough also described how she met Marriott. They worked together at Target in Greenland, N.H.
"She was a beautiful person," McDonough said, growing emotional. "She was so happy."
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