Search for Marriott expands

NEWINGTON — The search for the body of a University of New Hampshire student who disappeared Oct. 9 has expanded to a new section of the Piscataqua River.


The New Hampshire Marine Patrol has been searching the waters around Fox Point in Newington for the body of 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott of Westborough, Mass. That is up the river in tidal waters northwest of where they had been looking, near Peirce Island in Portsmouth.


On Thursday, the attorney general’s office objected the release of documents related to the case that had been filed by several newspapers.


After a 29-year-old UNH graduate was arrested Oct. 13 and charged with killing Marriott, the case files, including the arrest warrant, search warrant and affidavits were sealed.


“If the affidavits are unsealed, there is substantial chance that potential witnesses’ testimony may be tainted by the disclosure of information contained within,” Assistant Attorney General James Vara wrote in a nine page response to the motions filed. “These documents reveal facts that are truly known to only a few individuals, and release of this information to the general public prior to the completion of the grand jury process and prior to indictment would provide the target(s) of this investigation with an opportunity to coordinate testimony with potential witnesses.


“Secrecy is a critical part of the grand jury process. In fact, intense media scrutiny can thwart the grand jury’s ability to investigate criminal activity.”

Seth Mazzaglia of Dover was arrested the day after police searched his Dover apartment and a trash receptacle. He is charged with second-degree murder.