OSSIPEE, N.H. — The man charged with murder in the death of Krista Dittmeyer hit her in the head with a rubber club as part of a scheme to steal drugs and money from her, authorities said in court documents.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the death of Dittmeyer, the 20-year-old Portland woman whose body was found at a Conway ski resort two weeks ago.

Anthony Papile, 28, of Ossipee is charged with second-degree murder. Trevor Ferguson, 23, of Tamworth, and Michael Petelis, 28, of Ossipee, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The three men were being arraigned in Ossipee District Court this aftenoon.

According to court documents, Papile struck Dittmeyer in the head as she walked up the stairs to his apartment on April 22 – the day before her car was found idling with her infant daughter inside at Cranmore Mountain Resort in Conway.

Papile and Petelis bound Dittmeyer with duct tape and put her in the trunk of the car before Papile drove the car to the ski area, the documents state. Papile then allegedly removed her from the trunk and disposed of her bound body in the snowmaking pond where it was discovered.

Advertisement

The criminal complaint charging Papile states that Papile caused Dittmeyer’s death by “suffocating and/or drowning.”

Papile had worked at Cranmore Mountain Resort/ Kathy Bennett, a spokeswoman for the resort, said he was last employed in 2007 as a seasonal worker. She said there was no record of Petelis or Ferguson working there.

Dittmeyer’s car was found in a parking lot near the resort’s fitness center around 6:30 a.m.. Her body was found in a snowmaking pond behind the maintenance facility.

Papile gave Petelis drugs and money taken from Dittmeyer and also gave Ferguson money and drugs for giving him a ride home from the ski area, according to court papers. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said in the courtroom that Papile gave Ferguson $20 for gas money and a small amount of drugs.

Young did not say what type of drugs were involved. But Kyle Acker, the father of Dittmeyer’s child, was arrested last year after police found 15 grams of cocaine and more than 2 ounces of marijuana in the South Portland apartment he shared with Dittmeyer. Acker, now serving a two-year sentence in Maine for drug trafficking initially told police the drugs belonged to Dittmeyer before claiming them as his own.

The court documents at Ossipee District Court make no mention of Dittmeyer’s daughter, who was found unharmed in the back seat of Dittmeyer’s Nissan Sentra.

Advertisement

According to Young, Papile and Petelis discussed a plan to steal money and drugs from Dittmeyer. Young said they called her at 9:23 p.m. on April 22 and told her to send them a text message when she arrived at Papile’s apartment at 1880 White Mountain Highway.

Young said Petelis was Dittmeyer’s friend and had told people he would protect her while her boyfriend was in jail.

Papile was ordered held without bail. Petelis and Ferguson were each ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Probation records from the Department of Corrections indicate that Papile and Petelis both have criminal records in New Hampshire.

Papile is now on a two-year probation for receiving stolen property. He had also been on probation for criminal threatening. Petelis was on probation once for theft by unauthorized taking and another time for burglary and receiving stolen property.

Acker, whose family is from the Conway area, has been on probation once in New Hampshire for fraudulent use of a credit card. A court document from 2009 indicated that he and Dittmeyer were living together in Conway at the time.

The Department of Corrections had no probation records for Dittmeyer.
 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.