Pair wanted to sacrifice child, police say

The mother came to church in her pajamas, police said, and made a gruesome request: She wanted to sacrifice one of her children.

On Wednesday afternoon, Nicole Mancini, 29, and her boyfriend, John Thurber, 35, walked into Saint Mary Church in Rochester, N.H., with her three children with the intention of sacrificing one of them on the altar, police said.

Authorities have released few details about the case, and it is unclear how serious the couple were. But prosecutors say they believe Mancini and Thurber were serious enough that they are seeking to charge the pair with attempted murder.

Yesterday, the couple pleaded not guilty in Rochester District Court to three counts of child endangerment. They are being held on $25,000 cash bail.

When they came to the church, Mancini and Thurber were met by two employees, who called police after hearing their request, said Rochester police Lieutenant Paul Callaghan.

"This is a very bizarre case,' said Callaghan, adding that there is evidence the pair had stopped at a church in Farmington, N.H., which was locked, before heading to Saint Mary. "The kids -- boys ages 9, 7, and 1 -- were very shaken up."

The three children are in the custody of the state's Division for Children, Youth and Families.

"The children are in emergency foster care and are safe. They are getting the medical attention they need," said Joseph Arcidiacono, deputy director of the agency.

Arcidiacono would not say whether the agency had dealt with the family before.

Mancini and Thurber were arrested at the church. They were taken to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester for evaluation and then transported to the Strafford County House of Corrections in Dover, N.H.

Each charge of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Thurber has also been charged with possession of marijuana.

An attorney for Strafford County, Janice Rundles, said her office is exploring the possibility of charging the couple with attempted murder, a felony that would move the case to Superior Court and possibly carry a life sentence if they are found guilty.

"It appears that they wanted to kill one of the children," Rundles said. "That is a felony and belongs in Superior Court."

Mancini and Thurber live in the Peaceful Pines Mobile Home Park in Farmington. According to Ivon Preble, whose mobile home abuts the couple's, Mancini and Thurber have had problems with neighbors, including one who put up a stockade fence to separate their yards. Police said that the couple's 7-year-old son has severe medical problems, but they would not elaborate. Preble said neighbors wondered whether the incident in the church spoke to the couple's exasperation at his condition.

Callaghan declined to say whether Mancini and Thurber have prior records, but he said that officers in his department are familiar with the family.

Susan Ware can be reached at ware@globe.com.