In a rare and significant federal ruling, a New Hampshire man has been sentenced to death for the horrific murders of a young girl and her mother, a case that has sent shockwaves through a state that abolished its own capital punishment decades ago.
John 'Sal' DeRosa, 62, was convicted on federal charges for the 2019 killings of Eleanor 'Lee' Lipski, 65, and her daughter, Elizabeth 'Lizzi' Marriott, 19, a university student. The sentence was handed down by US District Judge Samantha Elliott in Concord.
A Chilling and Premeditated Crime
The court heard harrowing details of how DeRosa, a former fishing boat captain, strangled Lipski and dismembered her body. He then used the mother's phone to lure Marriott to his apartment, where he also strangled her. Prosecutors stated he discarded Marriott's remains at sea off the coast of New Hampshire.
DeRosa was convicted on two counts of murder while committing a kidnapping, a federal capital offence. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty after less than two hours of deliberation, a recommendation the judge upheld.
Landmark Sentence in an Abolitionist State
This case is highly unusual as New Hampshire repealed its state death penalty in 2019, the same year the murders occurred. However, DeRosa was tried and sentenced under federal law, which still permits capital punishment for certain crimes.
This marks the first time a federal death sentence has been imposed in New England since the execution of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in 2021. It is the first federal death sentence in New Hampshire itself.
A Voice for the Victims
The sentencing brings a painful measure of closure to the victims' families, who have endured years of anguish. Teresa Marriott, Elizabeth's aunt, addressed the court, stating, "He is the worst of the worst, and he deserves the worst of the worst – which is the death penalty."
With this verdict, John DeRosa now awaits his fate on federal death row, a stark consequence for crimes described by the judge as "heinous, cruel and depraved."
