Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott Murderer Denied New Trial

WESTBOROUGH, MA — The man convicted of sexually assaulting and strangling to death college student Elizabeth "Lizzi" Marriott of Westborough has been denied a new trial. Seth Mazzaglia, who was found guilty of murder and sentenced in 2014, requested through his attorneys a new trial, arguing that court decisions affected the ability to give a proper defense, reports WMUR.

Mazzaglia appealed his life sentence based on his defense team not being allowed to introduce the sexual history of Marriott into the trial.

After appeals from attorneys for convicted murderer Mazzaglia, the New Hampshire Supreme Court in September ruled that details from the murder victim's are inadmissible.

Mazzaglia, of Dover, was convicted of strangling Marriott, 19, a UNH marine biology student from Westborough, MA, to death in October 2012. Hundreds gathered on Bay State Commons in Westborough in the days after her disappearance for a vigil.

According to the prosecution, Mazzaglia’s girlfriend, Kathryn "Kat" McDonough, lured Marriott to their apartment where he raped her. After strangling the teen, the pair stuffed her in a suitcase and threw it off a cliff on Pierce Island in Portsmouth. Marriott’s body was never recovered. Both Mazzaglia and McDonough were convicted in the case.

The program 48 Hours aired a segment on the murder in February 2015.

Mazzaglia's attorneys during his appeals argued that Marriott's sexual history should be made public because Mazzaglia, who is serving a life sentence, maintains that Marriott's death was an accidental suffocation.

The state's rape shield law originally prevented any history from being entered as evidence, but defense attorneys for Mazzaglia questioned whether the law applied to appeals, as well, reports The Republic.

The rape shield law has been passed in almost all states, intended to "protect victims from the emotional trauma of being questioned about their sexual history on the witness stand," according to U.S. Legal. "The fear of being humiliated has discouraged victims from reporting and pursuing charges."

Originally, the court voted to unseal the documents, but the attorney general's office asked for a hearing, reports the Union Leader. The hearing was granted, and the lower court's ruling was overturned.

In an eight-page decision published on Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Supreme Court ruled against Mazzaglia's claim that a "misimpression" was made about Marriott regarding bondage-related sexual activities, reports Fosters.

Mazzaglia's ex-girlfriend, McDonough, 22, formerly of Dover, was released after serving the maximum three-year sentence for her part in the incident. She was the primary witness in the case.

Credit: WHDH-TV, Channel 7 News