DOVER — The local man accused of murdering 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott has waived his right to a probable cause hearing.

Seth Mazzaglia, 29, of 1 Mill St., Apt. 341, was scheduled to appear in Dover District Court today for the hearing, but waived it through his attorneys late last week.

The case will now be bound over to Strafford County Superior Court for indictment.

Mazzaglia was arraigned on a charge of second-degree murder on Oct. 13, five days after police allege he strangled and/or suffocated Marriott in his Sawyer Mills apartment.

Police have been using boats, helicopters, divers and cadaver dogs in their three-week search for her body off Peirce Island in Portsmouth. All they have said publicly is that they have “credible information” that led them to the island to look for Marriott's body.

The Attorney General's Office has not indicated an end date for the search effort.

Representatives from the Attorney General's Office planned to be in court today to argue against motions filed by news organizations to have the supporting affidavits leading to Mazzaglia's arrest unsealed.

Last week, the state filed a nine-page objection to motions filed by the New Hampshire Union Leader, Foster's Daily Democrat and the Portsmouth Herald.

The state argues that if the affidavits are unsealed, there is a “substantial chance” that potential witness testimony may be tainted and the ongoing investigation would be compromised.

The state is interviewing one or more witnesses who have information about the alleged homicide, according to the objection.

Assistant District Attorney James C. Vara is arguing that release of the information would compromise the investigation because the affidavits in particular reveal the “nature, scope and direction” of the investigation.

“These documents reveal facts that are truly known to only a few individuals, and release of this information to the general public prior to the completion of the grand jury process and prior to indictment would provide the target(s) of this investigation with an opportunity to coordinate testimony with potential witnesses,” Vara wrote in the objection. A hearing on the motions is scheduled for today in Dover District Court.

gmacalaster@newstote.com