OSSIPEE, N.H. — Anthony Papile pleaded guilty this morning to second-degree murder in the killing of a Portland woman last year.
Papile received a sentence of 50 years to life, with possibility of suspending a total of 7.5 years, in the death of Krista Dittmeyer, whose disappearance sparked national media attention. He will be eligible for parole after 42.5 years if he completes drug and alcohol treamtment and earns his associate and bachelor’s degrees.
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Papile, 29, told the court that he was not seeking forgiveness because what he did was unforgivable.
Police recovered Dittmeyer’s body in April 2011 from a pond at the Cranmore Mountain Resort in Conway, N.H., four days after her car was found idling nearby with her infant daughter inside. The child was unharmed.
Investigators said Papile hit Dittmeyer on the head with a rubber club in a scheme to steal drugs and money from her. Papile was charged with second-degree murder, while the other defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
In court documents filed in May 2011, state police said another man, Michael Petelis, sent Dittmeyer a text message at 9:43 p.m. on April 22, 2011, and told her to send him a text when she arrived at his apartment on Route 16 in Ossipee.
As Dittmeyer climbed the stairs to Petelis’ second-floor apartment, Papile allegedly hit her on the head three times with a rubber club.
The court documents said Papile then bound Dittmeyer with duct tape, allegedly with Petelis’ help, and put her in the trunk of her car before Papile drove the car to the ski area.
Dittmeyer’s daughter, who was 14-months-old at the time, was in the back seat of her Nissan Sentra.
Papile removed Dittmeyer from the trunk and disposed of her bound body in the ski area’s snowmaking pond several hundred yards away.
The prosecutor, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, said today that Dittmeyer died of “prolonged cold-water submersion.” She also said that Papile, who was trained as a lifeguard, said he checked for a pulse and didn’t find one before he threw her body in the pond.
Her body was discovered four days later.
Dittmeyer’s family and friends, some of them wearing badges with her photos, filled two rows in the courtroom.
Dittmeyer’s mother, LaNell Shackley, told the court during the hearing that Krista’s daughter, now 2 years old, still asks her, “Where’s mama?”
After the proceeding, Young declined to comment on the case further. Petelis and another man, Trevor Ferguson, 23, of Tamworth, N.H., were arrested last year in the case but have not been indicted.
9:25 a.m.
By Dennis Hoeydhoey@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
One of the three men charged in the killing of a Maine woman last year is expected to plead guilty and be sentenced today in a New Hampshire courtroom.
Anthony Papile, 28, of Ossipee, N.H., is scheduled to appear in Carroll County Superior Court at 9 a.m., said the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors expect Papile to enter a plea and avoid a long and emotional trial.
“(Papile) is going to enter a plea of guilty, but I can’t say to what charge,” said Associate Attorney General Jane Young.
Papile was arrested just over a year ago along with Trevor Ferguson, 23, of Tamworth, N.H., and Michael Petelis, 28, of Ossipee in the death of Krista Dittmeyer, a 20-year-old waitress who lived in Portland. The case drew national media attention.
Police recovered Dittmeyer’s body in April 2011 from a pond at the Cranmore Mountain Resort in Conway, N.H., four days after her car was found idling nearby with her infant daughter inside. The child was unharmed.
Investigators said Papile hit Dittmeyer on the head with a rubber club in a scheme to steal drugs and money from her. Papile was charged with second-degree murder, while the other defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Papile could face life in prison.
“It is our expectation that he will be sentenced today,” Young said.
In court documents filed in May 2011, state police said Petelis sent Dittmeyer a text message at 9:43 p.m. on April 22, 2011, and told her to send him a text when she arrived at his apartment on Route 16 in Ossipee.
As Dittmeyer climbed the stairs to Petelis’ second-floor apartment, Papile allegedly hit her on the head three times with a rubber club.
Papile and Petelis then bound Dittmeyer with duct tape and put her in the trunk of her car before Papile drove the car to the ski area.
Police documents made no mention of Dittmeyer’s 14-month-old daughter, who was apparently in the back seat of her Nissan Sentra at the time.
Papile allegedly removed Dittmeyer from the trunk and disposed of her bound body in the ski area’s snowmaking pond several hundred yards away. Her body was discovered four days later.
The criminal complaint says Papile caused Dittmeyer’s death by “suffocating and/or drowning.” Officials would not say whether Dittmeyer died during the 18-mile car ride to Cranmore or after she was thrown into the pond.
“She was ambushed. She was struck in the head. … Her body was then submerged in what we call the snow,” Young told the Portland Press Herald during the men’s initial court appearance last year.
According to court documents, Papile gave Petelis some drugs and money that were taken from Dittmeyer. Young said Papile gave Ferguson $20 for gas and a small amount of drugs for giving him a ride home from the ski area.
Papile had worked at Cranmore Mountain Resort as recently as 2007.
Dittmeyer’s mother, LaNell Shackley, could not be reached Wednesday at her home in Bridgton, but Deisneiges Shackley of Bangor, her sister-in-law, said the family has been made aware of today’s hearing. She said Dittmeyer’s mother, sister, and aunts and uncles plan to attend.
“Most of the family who live in the Bridgton area will be going (to New Hampshire),” Shackley said. “Everyone is doing as good as can be expected.”
The high-profile case slipped out of the spotlight for a few months, but Young said her office wanted to let the public know that it remains a top priority.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
This story was updated at 9:25 a.m. May 24 to correct the timeframe in which Dittmeyer’s body was discovered.
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