TEWKSBURY – The trial of the two suspects in connection with the October 2016 death of Tewksbury Memorial High School student Ethan Costello faces further delay.
Joseph Zagarella, 21, is charged with manslaughter and Thomas Ogden, 54, is charged with providing alcohol to minors and allowing minors to consume alcohol on his property.
Zagarella and Ogden were originally scheduled to go to trial in November 2018, but after several delays and continuations, the latest extension granted by Lowell Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall will postpone the trial until the end of 2022.
The victim, Ethan Costello, 15, was fatally injured while attending a party at Ogden’s Belvidere residence in Lowell.
The party took place on October 28, 2016 and was allegedly hosted by Ogden’s daughter and attended by large numbers of underage teenagers.
According to witnesses, Costello was drunk and accidentally bumped into Zagarella, who allegedly responded by hitting Costello on the back of the neck, causing Costello to hit his head on the concrete floor.
Costello later died of his injuries on October 31, 2016 at Tufts Floating Hospital in Boston.
According to court documents issued by the Hon. Joshua Wall on May 26, 2021, the Pretrial Conference postpones this extension to November 15, 2022.
Court documents also state that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many elements of the process could not be completed within their original deadlines, including the elements of discovery and completion of testimony. New deadlines for completing the discoveries and deposits have been set for mid-2022.
The Town Crier has reached out to Middlesex prosecutors for comment but received no response at the time of this article going to press.
Comments are closed.