“We do believe the evidence of guilt is great and we are seeking he be held without bail pending an evidentiary hearing,” Chittenden County State Attorney Sarah George said, WMUR reported.
Police say a 41-year-old New Hampshire man confessed to killing his wife, Emily Ferlazzo, while the couple were in Vermont celebrating their first-year wedding anniversary and has been charged in her grisly murder, according to a published report.
Joseph Ferlazzo admitted to shooting and dismembering his wife, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Fox News.
On Wednesday, Ferlazzo faced a judge at Vermont Superior Court in Burlington, via video conference from the state prison in St. Albans. A plea of not guilty was entered on Ferlazzo’s behalf by his defense attorney, William Kidney, the Associated Press reported.
“We do believe the evidence of guilt is great and we are seeking he be held without bail pending an evidentiary hearing,” Chittenden County State Attorney Sarah George told WMUR News.
On Wednesday, an autopsy performed by the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington positively identified Emily Ferlazzo, and determined that her cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head. The medical examiner said the manner of death was homicide, according to a press release by Vermont State Police.
Ferlazzo told investigators that he fatally shot his wife on Saturday morning inside their camper van in Bolton, Vt., and he later dismembered her body with a handsaw, police said, Fox News reported.
An affidavit said Joseph Ferlazzo told investigators that they had an argument, which included Emily Ferlazzo kicking and hitting him, the news outlet reported.
Approximately 5 to 10 minutes later, Ferlazzo said that he retrieved a handgun, “jumped on top of her,” and shot Emily twice in the head, according to an affidavit of probable cause, Fox reported.
He told investigators he began to have an anxiety attack, placed a garbage bag over Emily’s head, and moved her body to the bathroom of the camper, the affidavit reportedly said.
On Saturday morning, Ferlazzo said he took the camper from Bolton to a friend’s house in St. Albans, according to police. He reportedly told police that 12 to 15 hours after shooting his wife, he used a handsaw to dismember her body. He then told police he placed the body parts in garbage bags, which stayed in the camper, Fox reported.
On Monday, Joseph Ferlazzo returned to New Hampshire. Emily's family asked Joseph where she was, and that is when the family called the police, WRUN reported.
Police said they later found Joseph at a convenience store in St. Albans and said that he agreed to accompany troopers to the barracks. A detective who had been at the store picking up lunch recognized Ferlazzo and had brought him in, Trudeau said.
He said the couple's dog, Remington, was found at the home of a friend of Ferlazzo’s unharmed, Silverman said.
During police questioning, Ferlazzo allegedly confessed to the gruesome crime, Inside Edition previously reported.
Police said he had left the body in the van for several days and that is where it was ultimately recovered by police, WMUR reported.
When police searched the camper, they say they found eight plastic bags that contained what appeared to be human remains. They also say they found the weapon they believe was used to kill her and the saw used to dismember her, Fox reported.
Emily Ferlazzo’s family was heartbroken upon hearing the news. Emily’s mother told police that there had been a history of domestic violence in her daughter’s relationship, according to WMUR.
On Wednesday afternoon, Prudence Schwarz, Emily’s stepmother, posted the poem, “Look For Me In Rainbows,” on her Facebook, with the message, “Someday Emily we will see you again,” with a crying emoji next to it.
When Inside Edition Digital reached out to William Kidney, Ferlazzo’s defense attorney, he did not respond to our request for comment.
Ferlazzo’s next scheduled court appearance is Nov. 8, according to the Chittenden County Clerk’s office.
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