Husband Accused Of Killing Wife With Flashlight

CANDIA, N.H. (CBS/AP) -- Court documents released Wednesday show an Auburn, N.H. man allegedly beat his wife to death with a flashlight earlier this week.

37-year-old Christopher Smeltzer was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Candia District Court on a second degree murder charge.  He entered no plea and did not speak other than to answer yes when asked if he accepted his court appointed lawyer.

Smeltzer was arrested late Tuesday, a day after his wife, 39-year-old Mara Pappalardo, was found dead in their home along with the body of their 4-year-old son Mason.

He has not been charged in the death of his son.

An autopsy found that Pappalardo was strangled and died of head injuries. Mason was also strangled.

The bodies were found Monday in their rented home in Auburn, a town of about 5,000 residents east of Manchester.

It's still not clear what led police to the home.

Smeltzer and his 7-year-old daughter Mercey were treated at the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Arrest warrants and affidavits in the case were sealed; Public Defender John Newman argued that he should be able to see them so he could prepare for Smeltzer's next court appearance, expected later this month. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young objected, and several minutes after they approached Judge David LeFrancois, he ruled to keep the documents sealed.

Young later said authorities were still investigating the circumstances of Mason's death.

"The house is still being searched, interviews are being conducted, and that will continue over the next several days, if not several weeks," Young said. "We are trying to protect the integrity of the investigation to make sure we can get all the evidence to determine what happened in that residence."

In September, Pappalardo asked a Salem family court judge to give her custody of the children.

Pappalardo told the court she was homeless and living with her mother-in-law. There is no indication the petition was ever served on her husband.

In court Wednesday, several of Smeltzer's supporters yelled encouraging words at him as he left the courtroom. Others spoke after the arraignment saying he was an excellent father who would do anything for his children.

Pappalardo's cousin Jarrod Pappalardo was in court Wednesday waiting for Smeltzer to appear.

He described his cousin as "a sweetheart" who was a stay at-home-mother

 WBZ News Radio's Carl Stevens talked to Jarrod Pappalardo Wednesday morning.

Mara Smeltzer's sister, Michele Harris, read a statement.

Harris said the family's focus is on 7-year-old Mercey Smeltzer and ensuring she is cared for, and said the loss of Mason at such a young age was unbearable.

"His chubby little cheeks and his big smiles will remain in our hearts forever," she said.

Harris described her sister as a devoted mother.

"We will miss her beautiful smile, the sound of her laugh and her shiny black hair," she said.

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