Kaitlyn Coogan
News Editor
A UNH student was murdered over the weekend after being missing for days, according to a message to the UNH community by the director of UNH Media Relations.
Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott, 19, was a sophomore studying marine biology. On Oct. 9, Marriott said she was going to meet a friend in Dover, but did not show up and she last used her cell phone in Dover, according to the Huffington Post.
The Chester, N.H. Police Department arrested a UNH alumnus, Seth Mazzaglia, 29, for the alleged murder of Marriott. Mazzaglia was charged with second degree murder in connection to Marriott’s death, according to the Portsmouth Herald. According to New Hampshire state law, a suspect is guilty of second degree murder if he or she had “knowingly” caused the death of the victim or “recklessly” caused the death with “indifference to the value of human life,” according to the Portsmouth Herald. Mazzaglia studied theatre at UNH and works as a martial arts instructor. Marriott was allegedly strangled or was suffocated in an encounter in Mazzaglia’s apartment, according to the Portsmouth Herald.
Police still have not uncovered Marriott’s body and currently are searching the waters off Peirce Island in Portsmouth, according to the Boston Herald. Mazzaglia is being held at Strafford County Jail without bail and will return to court on Oct. 29. Marriott’s friend described her as a “fun-loving and goofy” person who had a lot of friends, according to the Huffington Post. UNH President, Mark W. Huddleston, expresses the depth of the school’s sympathy for her family, friends, and everyone whose life she touched, according to a UNH community message.
Kaitlyn Coogan can be contacted at kcoogan@keene-equinox.com.