Sapry murder trial likely delayed until August

The trial in the case of State of New Hampshire v. Hassan Sapry is likely to be delayed, an attorney responsible for Sapry's defense said Wednesday afternoon.

Following a closed status conference at the Belknap County Superior Court on Wednesday, defense attorney Mark Sisti, who is representing Sapry — the man accused in the 2019 murder of Wilfred Guzman Sr. — said they’ve run into “complications,” and the scheduled April trial date would likely be delayed.

Sisti said he hoped a new date would be set for August.

“Stay tuned,” Sisti said upon leaving the courtroom. “He’s certainly not pleading guilty — I’ll tell you that.”

Court records show a motion to immediately transfer Sapry, who’s been held in custody at the Belknap County Jail since 2019 pending trial, to the care of the New Hampshire Hospital in Concord was filed Jan. 14. The case has been fraught with questions of mental competency and Sapry’s ability to stand trial.

Sisti said Wednesday he could not discuss the status of the transfer request.

Sapry didn’t appear in person in the courtroom Wednesday, but was apparently in the building — defense lawyers briefly left the private conference to speak with him.

As of this writing, a final pre-trial status conference, where all plea changes would be taken and non-evidentiary motions heard, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 3. Jury selection is scheduled for Monday, April 21, and trial is scheduled April 22 through May 9, but that timeline appears likely to change.

Sapry is facing nine charges, among them first- and second-degree murder, falsifying evidence, theft, credit card fraud and criminal trespassing.

He was charged about one week after Guzman Sr., 57, was found dead in his apartment on Blueberry Lane on April 19, 2019.

A trial began in 2022, but was stopped in August of that year after Judge Elizabeth Leonard declared a mistrial due to "unforeseen circumstances”. Reports from 2022 indicate Leonard ordered a competency evaluation for Sapry, who’s been mired in a legal swamp of uncertainty ever since.

In a supporting affidavit for an arrest warrant dated April 24, 2019, Trooper First Class Kelly Wardner said Wilfred Guzman Jr. went to the Laconia Police Department at 11:44 a.m. on April 19, 2019, to request a well-being check on his father, Guzman Sr., after noticing blood on the outside of the door to his father’s apartment.

Officers with the Laconia Police Department later forced entry into the home and found Guzman Sr. deceased. Investigators identified Sapry as a suspect after tracking down apparent attempted fraudulent charges on Guzman Sr.’s credit card that were traced back to Sapry.

During a search of Sapry’s apartment, police found three wallets which contained credit cards with Guzman Sr.’s name on them, among other items, including credit cards which were used in the fraudulent purchase attempts.