Missing murdered UNH student, 19, 'had sex with her S&M enthusiast killer before he strangled her'



Police have announced that University of New Hampshire student Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott is dead and have arrested 29-year-old Seth Mazzaglia for her murder

Source said a sexual encounter between the victim and suspect played a role in the murder



Mazzaglia is an aspiring actor, model and trained martial arts expert who is thought to have known Marriott

Mazzaglia had several accounts on bondage sites under the user name DarKaiser



Divers equipped with sonar and underwater cameras are scouring the ocean







Police investigating the murder of University of New Hampshire student Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Marriott believe the 19-year-old victim had a sexual encounter with the 29-year-old man who they say later strangled her to death and disposed of her body, according to a source close to the case.

The law enforcement source , speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive investigation, confirmed that a sexual encounter between Marriott and Seth Mazzaglia is believed to have been a factor in the murder.

On Sunday, investigators charged the 29-year-old Mazzaglia, an aspiring actor and martial arts instructor, with second-degree murder.

University of New Hampshire student Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott vanished on her way to visit a friend on Tuesday - police now believe she is dead and have called off the search

Seth Mazzaglia (left and right) of Dover, who is a struggling actor has been arrested and charged with the murder of missing student Lizzi Marriott

The Portsmouth Herald source has revealed that police expect to make additional arrests in the case.

According to the Herald, Mazzaglia had several accounts on online dating sites, including OKCupid.com, where his user name was listed as DarKaiser.

Another account of a 29-year-old DarKaiser was found on an S&M website described as 'the world's largest largest BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism) community and the most exciting bondage and fetish Web site.'

The user by the name DarKaiser wrote in his profile that he is 'a master seeking a slave.' On another bondage website described as a Facebook 'run by kinksters,' a 29-year-old DarKaiser from New Hampshire wrote that he was looking for 'a lifetime relationship, a relationship; a play partner' princess by day, slut by night' and a sub.'

By all accounts, however, the 19-year-old student was not the kind of girl to willingly participate in deviant sexual practices.

Marriott's aunt said Lizzie loved marine biology, volunteered at the New England Aquarium in Boston and enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings trilogy with her 16-year-old brother, Robert.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Tuesday afternoon that she could not comment on the details surrounding Marriott's death, but confirmed numerous media outlets were calling her asking for confirmation about a possible sex-related tie to the case.

Meanwhile, a neighbor of the 19-year-old student revealed on Tuesday that she heard a terrifying scream the night the young woman was killed.

Silent: Seth Mazzaglia, bottom center, is seen during his video arraignment from the Strafford County jail in Dover, N.H. to the district court in Dover for the murder of Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott

'It's been emotional wondering, "Was it her?"' said the woman, who has lived in the Sawyer Mill Apartments complex in Dover since August.

The neighbor, who declined to give her name, told the Boston Herald, 'The thought of being so close to a violent crime and not realizing what it was, I just feel for that young girl's family and I hope they find her soon so they can get some closure.'

The woman said she did not call police immediately after hearing the scream but came forward with the information on Sunday after investigators charged Mazzaglia in Marriott’s death.

‘When I realized what was going on, I felt I had a duty to tell,’ she said. ‘I’m a mom. I have girls. Just the thought of it, it’s a shocking thing.’

Marriott's body has not been recovered so far. Over the weekend, divers equipped with sonar and underwater cameras began scouring the ocean for the 19-year-old.

'We truly believe she’s in the ocean, and we’re just waiting for her to come back to shore,' said Dawn Downey of Westboro, a family friend.

Though the search was briefly called off, authorities have no focused their efforts on the waters around Peirce Island in nearby Portsmouth. On Tuesday, officials brought a cadaver-sniffing dog named Xena to aid in the search, Attorney General Young said.



Young told reporters that 'credible information' led authorities to the 27-acre island that separates the city from the Piscataqua River.

Mystery: A Portsmouth fire boat searches the Piscataqua River in New Hampshire for the body of student Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott. No body was ever found Strangled: Lizzi's body has still not been found but police have called off the search. They will not say what led to her arrest but simply it was due to evidence collected

Grief-stricken: Lizzi's father Robert Marriott is consoled by former co-worker Paul Campaniello at a candlelight vigil last night at the Bay State Commons



Though marine patrol officials have sonar and underwater imaging systems, the river's currents and eddies have slowed their efforts. 'The search in that area may last several more days,' Young said. 'We have not discussed an end date. We have discussed continuing this until we find her.' Authorities in Maine and Massachusetts have also been asked to watch their shorelines in case Marriott's body washes up.

Aspiring actor and model Seth Mazzaglia, 29, of Dover, was ordered to be held without bail on Monday on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of 19-year-old Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott of Westborough, Massachusetts. Officials announced charges against him on Saturday, after family and friends spent several days searching for her. Mazzaglia was arraigned by video feed and did not speak. His next hearing is set for October 29. Authorities will not say what led to the arrest but simply it was due to evidence collected.

On Saturday night, hundreds of friends and family members attended an emotional candlelit vigil for Lizzi at the Bay State Commons. Her devastated father Robert Marriott and best friend Meghan Hoyt were among those pictured at the solemn evening held in tribute to the young student. During a press conference to announce Mazzaglia's arrest, Assistant Attorney General James Vara said that the Dover Police Department have gathered enough credible information to believe that Marriott is dead - although they have not located her body.

Together with Portsmouth and state police, authorities in Denver have been searching the area around Prescott Park and Pierce Island since around 7.30pm on Saturday. But by Sunday afternoon, the crime scene tape had been removed, and where the shoreline had been off-limits, people could be seen walking their dogs. The assistant attorney general also announced that Marriott's car, a 2001 tan-colored Mazda tribute had been located and in addition Vera confirmed that there were no threats in existence to other students at the University of New Hampshire. 'I want to confirm there are no threats to the other students at UNH,' he said. 'This is unrelated other than the fact she's a student at the university.' Claiming that the ongoing investigation precluded him from discussing details, Vera admitted that Marriott and Mazzaglia knew each other.

Heartfelt tribute: Meghan Hoyt, Lizzi Marriott's best friend (left), and Sue Gendron, both of Westboro, shed tears at last night's candlelight vigil

United in grief: A young woman cries for Lizzi Marriott, who is believed to be dead

'This is still an active and ongoing investigation,' said Vara.



'We will continue with any and all resources available to us.'

The announcement of the arrest and declaration that Marriott was in all probability dead came at 1pm yesterday, and family members were informed they should 'stand down' their search for their loved one.



Marriott's aunt, Rebecca Tyning, confirmed that authorities told them to stop their search before the afternoon announcement.



In a phone interview with Foster's Daily Democrat , Tyning called the announcement of her niece's death 'surreal'.



Marriott was a marine biology major who lived with her aunt in Chester. She was a 2011 graduate of Westborough High School in Massachusetts.



She had attended a class at the university on Tuesday night and made plans to visit a friend in Dover. Police tracked down the friends, who said Lizzi never arrived that evening.

Hunt: New Hampshire Associate Attorney General Jane Young holds a 'missing' flyer of Lizzi on Friday

Authorities have also analyzed her cell phone records - and those of her friends - and discovered she texted a friend at 10.11pm on Tuesday, saying she was on her way to Dover.



But that was the last activity on her phone and her bank accounts have not been accessed since.



The suspect, Seth J. Mazzaglia is listed as living at apartment 341 in the complex of 1 Mill Street in Dover.



His website indicates that he is an 'experienced actor, writer and fight choreographer' who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds.



He claims that his 'special skills and talents' include a third degree black belt in Okinawan karate and that he is proficient with a samurai sword, butterfly swords and other hand held weapons.



Robert Modee, who is a Kittery, Maine, martial arts instructor, confirmed that Mazzaglia is an expert in karate and that he trained with the suspect for almost 20-years.



'He's been with me, training with me, since he was probably 10 or 12 years old,' Modee said.



Indeed, just before his arrest, Mazzaglia had been giving martial arts lessons to children at the Kittery Community Center said Modee.



'I don't understand what's going on right now,' Modee said. 'I'm completely floored with all this. I don't even know what to think.'

Scene: She was last seen at an evening class at the University of New Hampshire before driving to Dover

As well as his expertise in hand-to-hand combat, Mazzaglia claimed to have performed in 17 theater productions between 2000 and 2010.



In 2005, Mazzaglia played the role of Richie Valens in a July performance of The Buddy Holly Story, at Seacoast Repertory Theater.



One former cast member, Brett Wulfson said she remembered Mazzaglia as a pleasant man, 'very involved with self-defense'.



In addition, Mazzaglia claims to have a 750 hour certification in massage therapy awarded by McIntosh College in 2007.



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, Robert and Melissa Marriott of Westborough, Mass.

Plea: A missing poster describes Lizzi and her car, before Seth Lazzaglia was charged with her murder today

Before today's tragic news Lizzi's grandmother, Susan Marriott, had been desperately tending the phone's at the Chester home where her granddaughter lived while other family members were out handing out fliers and searching for her.



'She is a good student and she's hard-working,' her grandmother said. 'She is a person that doesn't have a multitude of friends but she has good friends, a small group of good friends.'