Delay in Sapry trial continues for second day

LACONIA — The delay in the murder-insanity trial of Hassan Sapry continued for a second day Tuesday.

The trial was abruptly halted Monday after a closed hearing and the jury was sent home before the morning court session was due to get underway in Belknap Superior Court.

On Tuesday the jury was notified far enough in advance that the trial was being canceled for a second day that the jurors never came to the courthouse.

The Belknap Superior Court Clerk’s Office would only confirm that the trial had been canceled for the day. It offered no explanation for the interruption but indicated without elaborating that it was planning for the trial to resume Wednesday.

Prosecution and defense attorneys refused to comment on the matter Monday.

Court records show that Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard, who is presiding over the trial, issued an order Monday in connection with the case. That order is sealed which means it is removed from public view.

The delay occurred just as the defense was scheduled to begin presenting its case.

Sapry has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the death of Wilfred Guzman Sr. on April 18, 2019. He has been charged with first- and second degree murder, and other crimes related to the death.

The defense’s witness list includes Dr. Eric Drogin, a psychiatrist, and three members of Sapry’s family.

The prosecution’s expert psychiatric witness, Dr. Albert Drukteinis, did not testify prior to it resting the main part of its case last Thursday. However, court protocol does allow for witnesses to be called after the defense rests its case, as rebuttal witnesses.

Both prosecution and defense psychiatrists have found that Sapry suffers from severe mental illness. But they disagree over whether Sapry was legally insane at the time he allegedly murdered Guzman in his Blueberry Lane apartment, according to court documents.

There is also the likelihood that Sapry’s parents could testify at some point as prosecution witnesses.

Court records state that Sapry suffers from episodes of depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and PTSD, the latter stemming from being exposed to extreme violence and the kidnapping of his father while a child growing up in Baghdad, Iraq.