Murder victim died in violent, bloody struggle, affidavit states

LACONIA — Wilfred Guzman Sr., who was allegedly murdered by Hassan Sapry two years ago, died in a violent and bloody struggle with his alleged killer, according to an affidavit filed in connection with the case.

The sworn affidavit given by State Trooper 1 Class Kelly Wardner details Guzman’s last known movements in the hours prior to his death, the damage inside Guzman’s Blueberry Lane apartment, and Guzman’s personal belongings found in a search of Guzman’s room, along with blood-stained clothing.

The affidavit was filed at the time of Sapry’s arrest but remained sealed until a grand jury last week indicted him for first-degree and second-degree murder, and other lesser charges.

Laconia police went to Guzman’s apartment shortly after noon on Friday, April 19, 2019, after Guzman’s son, Wilfred Guzman Jr. came to the police station asking that they check on his father who was expecting his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren who had come up to visit him for Easter, two days hence.

When the Guzmans arrived at the elder Guzman’s apartment shortly after midnight Thursday he did not answer the door. The family then got a room at a nearby hotel. When the son returned several hours later, there was again no answer. It was then he noticed blood on the door.

The elder Guzman was last known to be alive at 10:19 p.m. on April 17, when he sent an emoji on Facebook Messenger to a friend indicating he was going to bed.

When police went into the apartment on April 19 they found the elder Guzman’s severely wounded body and evidence that he had died as the result of a vicious attack.

Guzman had been dead for some time, according to the observations of the assistant medical examiner, who was called to the scene.

The apartment had been ransacked. A chair was broken. The glass on the oven door was shattered. Contents of several drawers were strewn on the floor. There were several pieces of bloody silverware on the floor. There was a smashed box-style television with a wine bottle inside it. In addition, police found a broken samurai-like sword, the possible murder weapon, according to the affidavit.

Guzman had a fractured skull, multiple wounds, and had suffered a significant loss of blood, the affidavit states.

Among the wounds was a “penetrating wound from the right side of (Guzman’s) face into his neck.” That wound likely severed Guzman’s jugular vein, the affidavit states, citing an observation by Associate Medical Examiner Christine James. “The wound to the neck is consistent with the samurai sword,” the affidavit reads.

The medical examiner concluded that “multiple weapons” were used during the attack.

According to the affidavit, Guzman’s death was not the result of a random killing.

“Hassan Sapry is known to this investigation as a close friend” of Guzman’s daughter.” According to her, Hassan Sapry “had a close relationship with the victim.”

On the same day Guzman’s body was discovered, two of his credit cards were used in an attempt to purchase Sony Playstation products. Those purchases were rejected because they triggered a fraud alert at the credit card company. After obtaining a subpoena for information about the attempted purchases police traced the credit card activity to a Playstation account belonging to Sapry.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Playstation and Guzman‘s credit cards. With the warrant in hand they went to 411 Pleasant St., a house belonging to Sapry’s parents and where Sapry lived.

The parents declined to be interviewed by police, but Sapry’s sister said she had seen her brother on April 21 (Easter Sunday) playing video games in his room. She said his hands were bandaged and he told her got the injuries in the garage and that his mother had taken him to an emergency room to get treated.

In searching Sapry’s room police found a blue paper bag containing three wallets, along with credit cards, a driver’s license, and passport, all belonging to Guzman. They also found several items of clothing with dried blood stains, as a well as a broken knife which was similar to knives they found in Guzman’s apartment. They also found paperwork showing that on April 18, 2019, Guzman was treated in New London for a tendon injury.

In the driveway of the house they found a Jeep Compass registered to Sapry. There were blood spatters in the interior, according to the affidavit.