By Maddie Hanna
Concord Monitor
CONCORD, N.H. — A state prison inmate and a recently released inmate have been indicted on attempted murder charges for allegedly kicking another prisoner in the head last July, beating him so severely that he suffered a traumatic brain injury and is still on a feeding tube, according to his mother.
William Edic and Thomas Milton, both 28, were indicted last month by a Merrimack County grand jury on charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, assault by a prisoner, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit assault by a prisoner.
The charges allege Edic and Milton repeatedly kicked 43-year-old Anthony Renzzulla in the head while he was unconscious, “with a purpose to cause the death” of Renzzulla.
Assistant County Attorney Wayne Coull, who is prosecuting the three men, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Court files contain no information as to why prosecutors believe the men attacked Renzzulla, who was found beaten and unresponsive outside his medium-security housing unit last July.
He was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, where he was hospitalized for weeks before being granted medical parole in August. Prison officials terminated his sentence in March because of his condition.
Ten months since the beating, Renzzulla is still hospitalized, hooked up to a feeding tube and being cared for by nurses 24 hours a day, his mother said yesterday.
“My son is the same,” Theresa Gilman said, describing Renzzulla’s progress since the beating. “He can’t talk. He can’t eat. He doesn’t see you. So I just go there and talk to him as much as I can, pray with him as much as I can.”
It’s been devastating for Gilman to see her son in his condition, she said. “Regardless of what he has done in the past, no one should have to go through something like this,” she said.
Renzzulla was serving three to six years for forgery and drug possession at the time of the beating, as well as a 3[1/2]- to seven- year sentence for identity fraud, according to prison officials. His maximum release date was 2013.
As for the men accused of beating him, Edic is serving one to three years for unlawful interference with a fire alarm and was eligible for parole in January. He was on parole from a one- to eight-year criminal mischief sentence when he committed the interference offense, prison officials said.
Milton was serving 2[1/2] to five years for arson at the time of the beating, but he maxed out his sentence Friday. He was arraigned the same day on the attempted murder and assault charges, and a Merrimack County judge set bail at $140,000 cash, with a bail hearing reserved for a later date.
Milton’s lawyer, Mark Osborne, did not return a call for comment late yesterday afternoon. Edic, who has not yet been arraigned, does not have a lawyer listed in court filings.
A third inmate, Randall Chapman, 34, was indicted last month on lesser felony charges of falsifying evidence and hindering prosecution. The charges allege he cleaned blood from the prison floor last July, acting “with a purpose to conceal or destroy physical evidence that might have aided in the discovery, apprehension, or conviction of William Edic and others,” according to the hindering prosecution indictment.
Chapman also has not yet been arraigned and does not have a lawyer listed in court filings. Prison officials said he is serving 2[1/2] to seven years for robbery, and his maximum release date is in 2015.
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