Dover man charged in death of missing student

A Dover man has been charged with murder in the disappearance of a UNH student. 

Seth Mazzaglia, 29, of Dover, N.H., was arraigned on murder charges in Dover district court Monday morning. Judge Stephen Morrison said that Mazzaglia is alleged to have strangled and/or suffocated UNH student Elizabeth Marriott, who had been missing since last Tuesday night. Mazzaglia was arrested on Saturday. 

Police began searching for a body in Portsmouth at Peirce Island late Friday night. It was soon revealed that the search was in connection with the disappearance of Marriott. Investigators temporarily called off the search on Sunday due to dangerous waters, but it was resumed again on Monday. 

Mazzaglia is a 2006 UNH alum with a degree in theater. He was active in community theater in Dover and was also a martial arts instructor. Police said that Marriott and Mazzaglia were familiar with one another, but did not divulge any more details about their relationship.

According to CBS Boston, Marriot's tan 2011 Mazda Tribute was found on the UNH campus, several miles away from Dover.

Marriott, 19, had been missing since Tuesday evening after leaving a class at UNH. Officials have not confirmed that they have found anything on the island as of Saturday morning, but said that they expect to recover a body. 

Marriott was last heard from Tuesday night at approximately 10 p.m. when she told a friend in a text message that she was going to Dover, N.H. She did not show up to her morning shift at her job at Target on Wednesday and did not attend any of her classes on Wednesday or Thursday. UNH had Friday classes off for fall break.

Marriott commutes to UNH from Chester, N.H. and is a native of Westborough, Mass., where she graduated from high school in 2011

The Federal Bureau of Investigators were taking part in the search at the island, in addition to police from UNH, Portsmouth, Dover, Chester and Westborough, Mass. A search party from Westborough has been assisting in the search for Marriott. Her parents had distributed fliers that offered a $10,000 reward for information regarding her whereabouts. 

Marriott is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. Anyone with information regarding Marriott’s death should call state police at 603-271-3636.