Double slayings case ends in mistrial

Jury can't agree; retrial promised

A Middlesex Superior Court judge declared a mistrial yesterday in the case of a New Hampshire man accused of killing the husband of his former lover and another man who apparently witnessed the slaying, after the jury reported it was deadlocked.

Sean Fitzpatrick of Freedom, N.H., is accused of shooting Michael Zammitti Jr. in March 2006 after Zammitti's wife, Michelle, ended an affair with Fitzpatrick. Authorities say the defendant then shot Chester Roberts, who worked at the Zammitti family's concrete company in Wakefield, because he had witnessed the killing.

Judge Kathe Tuttman declared the mistrial after the jury said it could not reach a decision. The jury had been deliberating since Thursday afternoon in the trial, which began early this month.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said immediately after the ruling that he will try the case again.

"Throughout this case, we have fought for justice on behalf of Chester Roberts and Michael Zammitti Jr. and their families. That fight will now continue zealously," Leone said in a statement. He said he would present the case again along with further evidence. He did not elaborate.

"We believe that we presented the best case possible against Sean Fitzpatrick, and that he alone is solely responsible for these murders," Leone said.

Randy Gioia, Fitzpatrick's Boston-based lawyer, said yesterday that the jury's lack of a decision was unfortunate.

"Mr. Fitzpatrick . . . expected the jury would find him not guilty," Gioia said.

The family of Roberts, a 54-year-old part-time driver, thanked prosecutors and investigators yesterday for pursuing the case, and thanked friends of Zammitti and Roberts for their support.

During the trial, Fitzpatrick, 46, a delivery driver for a restaurant supply store, testified that he was at home sleeping on the morning of the shootings at the Allstate Concrete Pumping Inc. office in Wakefield. He acknowledged having an affair with Zammitti's wife, and court testimony showed he had said that life would be better with the 39-year-old Zammitti out of the picture. But he denied shooting the men and said a neighbor had seen him at home that morning.

Prosecutors say Fitzpatrick wanted Zammitti out of the picture so he could continue the relationship with his wife, and shot him inside his office. They say Roberts walked in and Fitzgerald shot him, too.

Investigators matched a vehicle seen leaving the scene to one stolen from Fitzpatrick's neighborhood. Police recovered the vehicle, and found Fitzpatrick's DNA inside. He later said he was friends with the owner and had been in the vehicle before it was stolen.

Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.