Sapry sentenced to life in prison without parole

LACONIA — Most of an hour on Tuesday afternoon is all it took to send Hassan Sapry, the man convicted of the 2019 murder of Wilfred Guzman Sr., to prison for the rest of his life.

Sapry, 27, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole for first-degree murder, concurrent with 12-month sentences on six misdemeanor charges, including theft, trespassing and attempted fraudulent use of a credit card.

In handing down the sentence, Superior Court Justice Elizabeth Leonard described Sapry’s actions as “absolutely senseless and completely depraved.” 

He’s also directed to pay $8,738 in restitution. As he has no immediate income-earning prospects, Leonard said Tuesday each meager monthly payment will serve as a reminder of his crimes. 

Sapry was convicted on first-degree murder charges in September, and jurors rejected a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. 

The 12-person jury found Sapry guilty in just under five hours following a long trial. It was his second time on trial, the first ended in a mistrial for undisclosed reasons.

Officers arrested Sapry outside his family’s home on Pleasant Street on April 26, 2019, one week after police found Guzman Sr., then 58, dead on the floor of his Blueberry Lane apartment. 

Prosecutors say Sapry drove to Guzman Sr.'s apartment around 10:30 p.m. on April 18, 2019, and the pair — who were by all accounts family friends — watched television and discussed historical topics together into the late-night hours. After midnight, early on April 19, Sapry attacked Guzman Sr. for between 10 and 12 minutes, causing 140 injuries and leading to Guzman Sr.'s death.

On April 24, 2019, police obtained a warrant for Sapry’s arrest. 

He evaded detection for about a week, seeking medical attention at two hospitals out of town for injuries sustained in the attack, before his eventual capture.

On Tuesday afternoon, court officers led Sapry, shackled at the waist and ankles and flanked by defense attorneys Mark Sisti and Amy Ashworth of Sisti Law Offices, into the courtroom.

“This has been a long day coming for your family,” Leonard said following the reading of victim impact statements. “A long time.

“I know that your loss has been immense and that you’ve suffered immensely from Mr. Sapry’s actions.”

Guzman Sr.’s daughter Natashia, who attended the hearing over a virtual connection, described her father as the person who gave her guidance, and said she wished he was still with her. 

“I have been robbed of the father I so, so desperately need,” she wrote in a prepared statement.

“My father was a loving, kind and hardworking man,” Wilfred Guzman Jr. said. “His absence has left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.”

Guzman Jr. read from a statement prepared by his 10-year old son, as well. 

Sapry sat stone-faced throughout the reading of the statements. 

“Thank you, your honor, but I have nothing to say,” Sapry told Leonard when offered a chance to speak. 

“This whole process has affected our family dramatically,” Guzman Sr.’s sister-in-law Karen Vaillancourt said in her statement. 

She said throughout the entirety of the court proceedings, which lasted about six years from arrest to conviction, she wanted to ask Sapry lingering questions about the night she described as a “nightmare.

“I have no need for questions anymore,” she said regarding the “selfish acts that stole Wilfred’s life.” 

In grappling with her grief, she turned to scholarship on Islam — one theory of the murder pointed to perceived or actual slights against Sapry’s religion as a motive for the killing, though Guzman Jr. disputes that strongly — and, in quoting the Quran, Vaillancourt told Sapry that by killing an innocent man, “you have indeed killed the whole world.

“He was a brother to me and to many others,” she said.

She also described Guzman Sr. as forgiving, and noted he’d likely ask her to forgive Sapry, too.

“I, myself, cannot forgive you,” she said. “I choose to wish for you to suffer as we have — it’s now your turn to live our nightmare.”

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery A. Strelzin and Assistant Attorney General Alex Kellermann prosecuted the case.

“Today’s sentence delivers justice for Wilfred Guzman Sr., and his loved ones, who have endured years of pain since his tragic and senseless murder. While nothing can undo the harm caused, we hope this outcome brings some measure of peace to those who continue to mourn his loss,” Attorney General John Formella wrote in a release Tuesday afternoon. “I want to thank our trial team, the investigators, and the members of the New Hampshire State Police and Laconia Police Department for their tireless work and unwavering commitment to securing justice in this case.”