'Brutal attack' or fall guy?: Verrill double murder trial in jury's hands

DOVER — The jury heard closing arguments Wednesday in the Timothy Verrill double murder trial, and weather is playing a role in deliberations.

Jury deliberations were scheduled to resume Friday after they were called of Thursday due to the snow, sleet, rain mix hitting the region.

Deliberations began just before 3 p.m. and lasted for about an hour Wednesday after very lengthy closing arguments by both the state and the defense. Judge Mark Howard gave the jury instructions on the charges and the deliberation process they must use.

Verrill faces two felony charges of first-degree murder, with two alternative charges of second-degree murder in the 2017 deaths of two women at a home in Farmington. Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pellegrini were both bludgeoned and stabbed to death on Jan. 27, 2017, This is the second trial, with the first ending in a mistrial in 2019.

Verrill also faces five felony counts of falsifying physical evidence. Prosecutors allege he made efforts to hide the two women's bodies and to clean up the scene of the crime.

Prosecution describes 'brutal attack'

Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley talked to the jury about the difference between first- and second-degree murder charges, noting the jury could find him guilty of one, or the other, first degree being the stronger of the charges, carrying a potential of life in prison. He said the state is asking for a first-degree conviction.

"In first-degree the perpetrator must act purposefully, with premeditation and a conscious purpose to end lives," said Hinckley "Second-degree is an act done recklessly with extreme lack of care for the value of life."

Hinckley said the evidence shows Verrill planned to spy on the women, believing at least one was a drug informant, that he returned to the house, murdered the women, cleaning the scene, and moved the bodies.

"He used multiple weapons, in a brutal attack," said Hinckley. "He made a conscious decision to kill them so hold him responsible."

Defense says Verrill was blamed for killings he didn't commit

The defense painted a very different picture, portraying Verrill as the scapegoat, a fall guy for the people who really killed Sullivan and Pellegrini.

Public defender Julia Nye worked hard to raise reasonable doubt. She focused heavily on DNA found under the fingernails of the victims that did not match Verrill, and on broken rings belonging to Sullivan, also excluding Verrill from a DNA match.

"The investigation sought male DNA from that ring," said Nye. "They selected a lab specializing in male DNA extraction. Christine fought her attacker so hard the stone in her ring flew off. They swabbed the outside of the ring and Jennifer Sears testified Tim Verrill is excluded, It was not Tim. Tim did not murder Jenna Pellegrini or his friend Christine Sullivan."

Nye said the investigation into the murders focused only on Verrill, to the exclusion of testing anyone else involved. She suggested Dean Smoronk, boyfriend of Sullivan and owner of the Meaderboro home where the murders took place, and business associate Josh Colwell were more likely suspects; Smoronk because trial testimony showed he hated Sullivan and wanted her gone, and Colwell as an up-and-coming member and enforcer of Smoronk's drug business.

"This is about the state’s failure to keep an open mind," said Nye. "There was a disorganized police investigation that led to the arrest but other evidence was glossed over."

The state called Verrill a cold-blooded killer and said the preponderance of evidence proved it beyond any doubt.

Hinckley built his closing on the difference between what he called facts and evidence vs. rumor, innuendo and confusion.

"We know the how, when, where, and why," said Hinckley. "Our only burden of proof is the who. From evidence in this trial you know he (Verrill) was and is the killer. Jenna was brutally ambushed in bed. A large pool of blood marked where she was attacked. Christine Sullivan was brutally attacked in her porch area. When she ultimately fell and died, you know the killer used tarps to drag their bodies. The killer dumped victims where they were found. He was sloppy and left behind blood-stained paper towels, the hat, his hat, worn on the morning of the murders. It was one of his many mistakes."

Hinckley said the killer is the one and only person last seen with them alive, Verrill.

"This is not a whodunit," Hinckley said. "Timothy Verrill bludgeoned and stabbed Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pellegrini to death on Jan. 27, 2017. It was not Dean, who was in Florida, not a hired person, not a mystery person. The killer was and only ever has been one person."

Hinckley responded to Nye's comments that the first trial was flawed because the state withheld evidence.

"The judge will give you instructions that include the mistrial, the one they refer to as mismanagement," Hinckley said. "Have no doubt, no evidence was intentionally withheld from you, and the mistake that was made is not reasonable doubt."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Timothy Verrill double murder trial goes to jury