Harrison Thorp 11:10 a.m.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 11:16 am
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DOVER - A Superior Court judge on Monday ruled that the Dover man accused in the slaying of two women at a Farmington residence last January will remain held without bail.
Judge Steven M Houran called the state's evidence of guilt "strong, clear and convincing," in his nine-page ruling that will keep Tim Verrilll, 35, behind bars while awaiting trial.
Verrill has been charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 27 killing of Christine Sullivan, 48, who was the girlfriend of the home's owner, alleged drug trafficker Dean Smoronk; and Jenna Pellegrini, 32, of Barrington.
Much of Houran's ruling was based on testimony during the two-day bail hearing by State Police Investigator Brian Strong, who on Wednesday testified that a fellow inmate of Verrill's contacted police on Aug. 11 to tell them that Verrill confided in him about the murders.
"He informed them that Mr. Verrill told him, while they were both being held at the Carroll County jail, that he had murdered two women by stabbing them multiple times, ..., that his clothing had gotten bloody and he had tried to hide it ... and that he had put the women's bodies in tarps," the judge noted in his ruling.
"Mr. Verrill told (the inmate) that he planned to blame (Smoronk), in part because Ms. Sullivan had made statements to others that Smoronk would be the person responsible if she was ever found dead," the ruling continued.
Houran noted that the inmate saying Verrill mentioned that Sullivan had said Smoronk would be the one responsible for her death had never been made public until last Wednesday's hearing, which placed high credibility in the inmate's statements.
In addition, Verrill's actions early Friday morning prior to when the killings took place also played into the no-bail ruling.
Among other things, Verrill is said to have gone to a friend's house where he grew increasing angry at his notion that Pelligrini was an informant and later taped over the lens of one of two surveillance cameras installed inside the house at 979 Meaderboro Road.
Later in the day after the alleged killings, Verrill went back to the friend's house and asked for pants and a shot of whiskey and later bought cleaning products at the local Walmart and Lowe's that were identified as being used at the Meaderboro Road residence to clean up evidence of the alleged crime, testimony on Friday also revealed.
Strong testified during the August bail hearing that Sullivan and Pellegrini's bodies were found outside under a tarp, and that Sullivan had a fractured skull and was stabbed in the neck and lungs, while Pellegrini had been stabbed in the neck, torso and back 43 times. He said Sullivan also had defensive wounds, while Pellegrini did not.