BRENTWOOD — It took a Rockingham County Jury only two hours to find Kristin Ruggiero guilty of framing her ex-husband by claiming he sent her threatening text messages.
She was immediately ordered held without bail by Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh.
"The jury's verdict has confirmed my belief, after hearing eight days of this case, that the defendant is a pathological liar," McHugh said. "She will do and say anything in order to distort facts so as to avoid responsibility for her actions."
The East Kingston mother was found guilty yesterday morning of 12 felony counts of falsifying physical evidence and one count of giving a false report to police.
Ruggiero, 34, made it appear her ex-husband, Jeffrey Ruggiero, used a pay-per-minute cell phone to send a dozen hateful and threatening messages to her on May 4, 2008, days after Jeffrey Ruggiero was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of harassing her.
Jeffrey Ruggiero was free on bail pending sentencing in Exeter District Court on those earlier charges. Those charges have since been vacated.
Prosecutors said Kristin Ruggiero devised the plan because she was infuriated her ex-husband wasn't jailed immediately after the trial. She also was bitter about Jeffrey Ruggiero moving on with his life, and wanted to gain an edge in family court, assistant county attorney Jerome Blanchard said.
Initially, her plan worked. After she filed a complaint with police that her ex-husband had sent the threatening messages, Jeffrey Ruggiero was arrested and jailed for more than a week because the new charges violated his bail conditions. His incarceration also put his career as a petty officer in the Coast Guard in jeopardy.
But further investigation cast doubt as to whether Jeffrey Ruggiero was responsible for the threatening messages.
Phone records showed the cell phone used to send the texts was previously used to make calls to Jeffrey Ruggiero in March 2008. Those calls were made from Tennessee and California. Jeffrey Ruggiero was in South Carolina when those calls were made, but Kristin Ruggiero was in both those states, staying just miles away from the cell phone towers that picked up the calls.
Defense attorney Chuck Keefe argued the calls made from Tennessee and California were made to appear as though Kristin Ruggiero made them, all part of a plot orchestrated by Jeffrey Ruggiero.
Prosecutors called that theory "crazy."
Following the verdict, Blanchard said the jury's decision was a victory for people who have been in abusive relationships.
"It's a great day for the real victims of domestic violence," Blanchard said.
But Kristin Ruggiero's convictions do not mark the end of the investigation, deputy county attorney Tom Reid said yesterday.
In her defense, Kristin Ruggiero presented documents and photographs as evidence. Now the state wants to take a closer look at the authenticity of that evidence. More charges could result.
"The origin or validity of certain pieces of evidence were questioned," Reid said. "We'll continue to look into that."
Among the evidence is a photograph Kristin Ruggiero said was taken in the spring of 2008, but the trees have foliage, unlikely for that time of year. Also presented as evidence was a Lawrence District Court document that had the date changed on it.
"This case is about the system being manipulated," Reid said.
The trial lasted eight days. It concluded late Thursday afternoon, and the jury began deliberating at 9 a.m. yesterday. They returned just before 11 a.m.
Following a guilty verdict, defense and prosecution usually argue over bail terms, but McHugh said he felt that was not necessary in this case. He ordered Ruggiero held without bail and set sentencing for July 1.
"She has shown the ability to fly around the country; she is computer savvy," McHugh said, "and there is no doubt in my mind that if she were allowed to leave this building today, she would find some way to avoid appearance on July 1."
Each of the 13 charges carries a potential sentence of 3 1/2 to seven years in jail.
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