29-Year-Old Karate Instructor Charged In Murder Of UNH Student

PORTSMOUTH, NH (CBS/AP) -Authorities say University New Hampshire student Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott is dead and a Dover man is facing second degree murder charges.

Marriott, 19, from Westboro, Mass., had been missing since Tuesday. She had planned to visit friends in Dover, but never showed up. Her cellphone was last used in Dover around 10 p.m. that night.

Police say Marriott's car was found in a parking lot at UNH in Durham, several miles away. At this point, her body has not been recovered.

"The search for the body is ongoing and continuing. We do not have her body at this point," Assistant Attorney General James Bara said.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe Reports

Seth Mazzaglia, 29, of Dover has been arrested and will be arraigned Monday on a second degree murder charge. Police say the two knew each other, and met while working together at a Target store in Greenland.

Mazzaglia is a UNH graduate and public records show that he used to live in the Sawyer Mill apartment complex where Marriott was supposed to be visiting on Tuesday night. He also lists the building as his home address on his web page.

According to Mazzaglia's webpage, he is karate instructor with a 4th degree black belt experienced with various weapons, an experienced Actor, Writer and Fight Choreographer. He was active in the arts, performing in dozens of plays and musicals over the last decade in southern New Hampshire. He was recently cast in a production by Garrison Players Arts Center in Rollinsford, N.H.

Seth Mazzaglia's booking photo. (Photo Credit: Dover, NH Police)

Authorities say they have credible information that Mazzaglia dumped Marriott's remains somewhere in Portsmouth, NH.

A crime scene had been set up on Peirce Island Friday night, and searchers were back on the island on Saturday morning.

"This is the worst parents nightmare, a missing child and with an unfavorable outcome," the Marriott family said in a statement released Saturday. "Please pray for the dedicated rescue professionals who continue to look for  Lizzi.  We need them to find her and bring her home."

A special fund "The Marriott Family Fund" has been established, and donations can be made to the Central One Federal Credit Union at 714 Main Street in Shrewsbury.

"We were greatly saddened to learn of Lizzi's death and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends," UNH President Mark W. Huddleston said in a statement. "Lizzi was a new member of the university community and will be missed in our classrooms. Our focus now will be on supporting our campus community during this difficult time."

A candlelight vigil was held at Westboro in honor of Marriott and her family. Hundreds of community members gathered to show their support.

"Together we created an angel, and tonight she is home in heaven," her father, Bob Marriott, said at the vigil.

UNH counseling staff will be available to students who want to speak with someone.

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