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Sunday, Oct 14, 2012 7:15 AM UTC

Suspect charged in death of missing UNH student

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Suspect charged in death of missing UNH student(L-R) Meghan Hoyt of Westboro, Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott's best friend, and Sue Gendron, also of Westboro, attended an emotional candlelight vigil on Saturday night, Oct. 13, 2012, at the Bay State Commons, for "Lizzi" Marriott of Westboro, a University of New Hampshire student, who disappeared earlier in the week, is dead, and a man has been charged with second-degree murder. (AP Photo/Steve Lanava, Worcester Telegram & Gazette)(Credit: (steve Lanava/t&g Staff Photo))

DOVER, N.H. (AP) — An actor and martial arts instructor is charged in the death of a 19-year-old University of New Hampshire student who disappeared last week, and the girl’s family is pleading for her to be brought home.

Law enforcement officials believe Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott, a marine biology major who volunteered at the New England Aquarium, is dead. The search for her body is continuing, Assistant Attorney General James Vara said Saturday.

Seth Mazzaglia, 29, of Dover, has been charged with second-degree murder.

“This is the worst parents nightmare, a missing child and with an unfavorable outcome,’ Marriott’s family said in a statement Saturday. The family asked for prayers for rescue personnel who are looking for their daughter, saying they need to “bring her home.”

At a vigil for Marriott in her hometown of Westborough, Mass., on Saturday night, her father, Robert, choked back tears while speaking to the hundreds who had gathered.

“Together we created an angel,” he said, “and tonight she is home in heaven.”

Vara said Mazzaglia knew Marriott, but declined to say how or what led to the arrest. He said said police had “credible” information leading them to believe Marriott is dead, though he wouldn’t elaborate. Mazzaglia is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

A family friend, Dawn Downey of Westborough, Mass., described Marriott as an attractive young woman who was active in chorus in high school and was prom queen during her junior year. Marriott was helping to put herself through college by working at Target.

“She was just a good girl. That’s probably what got her in trouble. She was too trusting and she was beautiful. Those two things will kill you,” Downey said.

Marriott had attended a class Tuesday night and made plans to visit friends in Dover. Her cellphone was last used in Dover that night, according to fliers that family members posted around town. Her car was later found in a parking lot on campus in Durham.

“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.”

The university was making counselors available to students. A moment of silence was planned in Marriott’s honor at the school’s hockey game Saturday night.

Marriott was a 2011 graduate of Westborough High School in Massachusetts. She lived with an aunt in Chester and commuted to the Durham campus. A message seeking comment was left with her parents.

Downey’s daughter Nicole, who was Marriott’s best friend, described Marriott as a “fun-loving and goofy” young woman who got along easily with others and had a wide circle of friends. She also was a good student who loved animals and science and volunteered at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Nicole Downey said.

“It was a shock to me when I found out she was missing. That was not like her at all,” she said. “She was just all around a great person. I don’t know why anyone would want to hurt her.”

Mazzaglia, who graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in theater, was active in the arts, performing in several dozen plays and musicals over the last decade in southern New Hampshire.

He also was a martial arts instructor who described himself on websites as having a black belt in karate and being familiar with several forms of martial arts and weapons. And he described other interests including juggling.

Robert Modee, a friend of Mazzaglia’s and a martial arts instructor in Kittery, Maine, said he was struggling to comprehend how his friend could be charged with murder.

“I don’t understand what’s going on right now,” he told the Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H. “I’m completely floored with all this.”

A working telephone number for Mazzaglia could not immediately be located. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer yet.

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