Defense lawyer details avalanche of discovery unearthed in trial's final week

Double murder suspect Timothy Verrill appears in court during his aborted trial last October. (Rochester Voice file photo)

DOVER - The mistrial in a 2017 Farmington double-homicide case may have been declared on Oct. 31, but the discovery blunders that led to its demise began with a trickle eight days earlier, a trickle that turned into a raging torrent of incompetence.

In a move rarely seen a defense lawyer for accused murderer Timothy Verrill took the stand on Monday in Strafford County Superior Court to testify regarding the raft of undisclosed evidence the defense never got that they became aware of midway through his October trial.

Verrill, 37, of Dover, is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the Jan. 27, 2017, stabbing and bludgeoning deaths of Christine Sullivan, 48, of 979 Meaderboro Road, Farmington, and Jenna Pellegrini, 32, of Barrington. He faces life in prison without parole if found guilty.

Under questioning from David Rothstein of the Public Defender's Office in Concord, one of Verrill's lawyers, Meredith Lugo, detailed the frenzied final week of the trial that began with a revelation that a New Hampshire State Trooper involved in the murder investigation had received emails between a trial witness and an acquaintance of theirs.

Lugo testified the email had never been supplied to her defense team.

"We needed to know what more (the emails) sent to Trooper Stephen McAulay said," Lugo testified.

This first revelation came just as the state was ending its case, Lugo noted, making it a very difficult time for the defense. She said she and fellow defense counsel Julia Nye contemplated seeking a mistrial but quickly decided against it at that point.

She said they immediately notified presiding judge Steven Houran and the state prosecutors' office.

By the end of the day the state had turned over 14 computer discs of information, five of which they'd never seen before.

Discovery is the procedure by which the state is bound to turn over all evidence that they have gathered, so the accused can be given a fair trial.

Two days later Nye and Lugo got more new info including that a trial witness had been given a polygraph test in which he was asked if he had any part in the killing of the two women. NHSP Sgt. Steven Sloper of the MCU, who administered the polygraph, said the witness passed the polygraph test.

Later Nye and Lugo arranged for an independent polygraph expert who was sent the results of the test administered by Sloper. The independent polygraph expert said the witness had failed the test. On Monday they submitted the expert's report.

"If you had known that he had failed would you have interviewed (them)?" Rothstein asked Lugo.

"Yes and we may have changed our culprit scenario," she replied.

On Oct. 25 prosecutors again assured the defense they had all the discover evidence in the case.

When the case resumed on Monday Lugo and Nye called for a Motion to Dismiss with prejudice, which would have essentially closed the case and freed Verrill. It was denied.

Then the next day as the defense began to call its own witnesses, a surprise at the end of the day: lead prosecutor Geoff Ward offered a naked plea deal of two counts of second degree murder.

A naked plea means there is no agreement on a sentence, but with first degree there is no parole, while parole is possible with second degree.

Verrill and his team refused.

The next day more discovery issues: another recording of witness who had had a pre-polygraph interview but was never tested, the extraction of more cell phone records of witnesses never turned over and surveillance video from the Holy Rosary Credit Union in Farmington where Sullivan and Pelligrini met with two witnesses who allegedly turned over money to pay for a drug buy.

Also on that Wednesday they got the pre-polygraph interview.

Under questioning from Rothstein, Lugo described the final day of the aborted trial, though no jury was convened.

She said the state dropped off a bunch of discs, eight from HRCU surveillance cameras, several discs of phone extractions and a newfound recorded call from Dean Smoronk, owner of the house where the women were killed and a longtime drug operative, to the brother of Sullivan, one of the woman killed.

Lugo said the defense team was now

Timothy Verrill is accused of killing Christine Sullivan, left, and Jenna Pellegrini

thoroughly overwhelmed with so many late and cascading discovery issues, so they reached out for counsel with others in the public defenders office as to what was best for their client.

"I have not previously been that late in a trial and had that amount of discovery," Lugo testified.

She said they continued conferring with colleague and defense experts throughout the day, but still hadn't decided a course of action when lead prosecutor Geoff Ward called again.

"He said that he and Assistant State Attorney Peter Hinckley had gone to NHSP headquarters and they'd walked in and learned that the state police had kept separate and not provided drug investigation material," Lugo said. "I asked if they could give me an amount as to its volume," she said.

"He said, 'significant.'"

It was then that the defense team decided to agree to a mistrial, which the state also agreed to.

The hearing continues with Wednesday with the state's cross-examination of Lugo, after which the defense will likely call the former lead investigator Strong, who was removed from the position due to poor handling of the case.