Gambling Addict Sentenced to Life in Prison for Wife’s New Hampshire Murder

Posted on: December 9, 2021, 09:17h. 

Last updated on: December 9, 2021, 10:11h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

William Argie is going to spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted this week in New Hampshire for murdering his wife and faking her suicide. The 49-year-old state resident was found guilty of first-degree murder and falsification of criminal evidence in connection with the 2019 crime in Londonderry.

Londonderry New Hampshire Argie Murder Home
Police vehicles parked at the Londonderry, N.H., house where Maureen Argie was murdered in 2019, prosecutors said. Her husband, William Argie, was convicted in the case this week. (Image: Amanda Sabga/Eagle-Tribune)

On Tuesday, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Marguerite Wageling missed the sentence on Tuesday.

However, not before scolding Argie on his actions.

Your selfish, narcissistic, and possibly addicted-fueled behavior led to the devastation of your family,” Wageling told Argie, Law & Crime, a legal publication, reported.

Relatives of the victim, Maureen Argie, pleaded with the judge before sentencing.

Apprehended at Foxwoods

William Argie was located at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Casino on April 5 following the murder, according to WMUR, a local TV station. He unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide, news reports revealed.

Two months later, he was indicted by a grand jury and later arrested. He entered a not guilty plea in the strangling and/or smothering case against him. He claimed his wife committed suicide.

But jurors eventually found him guilty of the charges. The murder took place while the couple’s children, a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old, were asleep in the house.

Beyond the life sentence, he was also given one and a half to three years in prison for the falsifying evidence charge, WMUR said. The trial was repeatedly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faced Debt, Bankruptcy

Prosecutors claim Argie was in debt and close to bankruptcy because of his gambling addiction, according to published reports. His family had tried to conduct an intervention with him with the hope of addressing his behavior, news media reported.

Maureen Argie was attempting to divorce him at the time of the homicide. She was also seeking custody of the children and felt threatened by her husband.

William Argie’s fellow gambler, James Timbas, claimed that Argie tried to hire him to kill Maureen Argie. It was to appear like a suicide, he said. In return, Timbas would receive part of her $400,000 life insurance policy under the alleged scheme. Timbas refused to take part in the plot.

At one point in the trial, William Argie asked the judge to declare the case a mistrial. But he chose not to fire his defense attorneys. The judge refused his request.

Argie will not be eligible for parole under the sentence. At one time, he worked as a physician’s assistant.