Seth Mazzaglia Expected To Plead Guilty To Jail Escape Attempt
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for the rape and slaying of a University of New Hampshire student is expected to plead guilty to attempted escape from a county jail, court staff said Wednesday.
Seth Mazzaglia was charged with plotting to escape from the Strafford County House of Correction while awaiting trial on rape and murder charges.
He was scheduled to go on trial Nov. 3 on the attempted escape charge, but court officials said the 32-year-old man is expected to plead guilty Friday.
Prosecutor Peter Hinckley said he could not comment on sentencing recommendations because Mazzaglia has yet to enter a plea and could change his mind. Mazzaglia's lawyer did not immediately return calls Wednesday seeking comment.
A former cellmate of Mazzaglia's has said that Mazzaglia asked him to obtain a gun, two cars and disguises to use in a jailbreak planned for a date he was scheduled to go to court for a hearing in the slaying case. Mazzaglia's plan allegedly included hiring someone to hurt or kill two witnesses in the murder case.
Mazzaglia was convicted June 27 and is serving a sentence of life without parole for the Oct. 9, 2012, death of 19-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott of Westborough, Massachusetts.
Prosecutors say he choked Marriott at his Dover apartment Oct. 9, 2012, after she rebuffed his sexual advances.
At his trial, his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn McDonough, testified she witnessed the crimes.
She said that after he strangled Marriott, he raped her motionless body. She said they used Marriott's car to take her body to Peirce Island in Portsmouth and dump it into a river that flows into the ocean. Her body has never been found.
McDonough pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution and is serving 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON
