Jury pool of 200-250 eyed in murder case

LACONIA — As many as 250 county residents will be called as potential jurors in the murder case of Hassan Sapry who is accused of killing Wilfred Guzman three years ago.

Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard said the plan is to have a pool of between 200 and 250 people from which to select the jury which will decide the fate of Sapry, accused of first-degree murder and other charges related to Guzman’s death.

Sapry, 24, intends to plead guilty by reason of insanity, according to court records.

In a final pretrial hearing Thursday, Leonard said jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 8, with testimony scheduled to begin a week later on Aug. 15. Testimony is expected to last for two weeks, which would make it the longest criminal trial in Belknap Superior Court in recent memory.

The prosecution could call as many as three dozen witnesses to testify, according to its witness list filed with the court. The defense has so far not submitted a list of its potential witnesses.

Guzman, 57, died on April 18, 2019, after a violent struggle during which he received a fractured skull and multiple wounds, according to an affidavit filed in connection with the case. Police found Guzman’s body in his Blueberry Lane apartment the following day when his son, Wilfred Guzman Jr. asked Laconia police to check the apartment after he was unable to reach his father. Guzman Jr. had arrived with his family for a pre-arranged weekend visit.

In addition to first-degree murder, Sapry is also charged with second-degree murder for allegedly causing Guzman’s death recklessly “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life," and also for falsifying physical evidence, theft by unauthorized taking, and four counts of credit card fraud.

Both the prosecution and defense have agreed to a unified trial, meaning that the issues of Sapry’s guilt or innocence as well as the question of his sanity will be decided in the same proceeding.

Sapry was insane at the time of the death due to emotional trauma he suffered after seeing horrors as a child in Iraq, and as a result “suffers and did suffer from a major mental illness,” his attorney Mark Sisti has said in court filings.

Both the prosecution’s and defense’s psychiatrists agree that Sapry has been severely mentally ill for years. However, they disagree whether Sapry’s mental illness was the direct cause of his actions that led to Guzman’s death.

Sisti told the judge during Thursday’s teleconference hearing that because the defense has the burden of proving that Sapry was insane at the time of Guzman’s murder, it, rather than the prosecution, should be allowed to present the first opening argument at the start of the trail and the final closing argument at the end.

Associate Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, objected, arguing that even in an insanity case the prosecution still carries the heavier burden because it still must prove Sapry’s guilt. Moreover, he argued, the deadline for attorneys to file motions in the case had passed.

As a rule the prosecution gets the first and last word in a trial because it needs to prove a defendants’ guilt, while the defendant is presumed innocent, and so the defense has the benefit of the doubt.

Sisti’s colleague, Wade Harwood, said he would submit a written pleading with the court stating the defense’s position by Monday. The prosecution will then have the opportunity to file a written objection.

Leonard said she might not rule on the issue until the week of jury selection next month.

The judge also said she plans to send each potential juror a letter explaining how the jury selection process will work in this case which hinges on an insanity defense.