Salem Man's Parole Denied For 1991 Death

NATICK — The state Parole Board described convicted killer Thomas Maimoni as a "pathological liar'' as it rejected the former Salem man's third attempt at parole for the 1991 murder of Martha Brailsford.

In a blunt rejection of the 71-year-old convict's appeal for release, the board in its March 7 decision wrote, “Mr. Maimoni has no chance of success on parole in his current state of pathologically lying,'' according to the Parole Board's decision.

At Maimoni's parole hearing last October, members noted their frustration to Maimoni's evasive answers to a simple question: What happened to Martha Brailsford?, the Eagle-Tribune reported.

Instead, Maimoni told member he suffers from “survivor’s guilt,” and that he is in treatment “to get the answers,” the Parole Board noted in its decision.

His two prior bids for parole in 2006 and 2011 were denied.

In February 1993, an Essex County Superior Court jury found Maimoni guilty of second-degree murder in the July 12, 1991 death of Brailsford, 37, who disappeared after agreeing to join Maimoni in a sail.

Maimoni, whose fourth wife was out of town that day, initially told police that he refused to sail with her for appearances sake. Then he said the weather was bad so he dropped her at Winter Island where she went ashore.

Six days after her boat ride, Brailsford's nude remains were pulled up by a lobsterman the following week in the waters off Marblehead, with a diving belt around her body and an anchor attached to a rope around her ankle.

Investigators believed Maimoni killed Brailsford, a local artist, because she rebuffed his sexual advances. Maimoni denied any sort of "tryst'' with Brailsford, who was married.

After Brailsford's remains were found, Mainmoni told police a rogue wave had hit the boat and the mast hit her in the face. She fell overboard and drowned. He claimed he "froze'' and failed to call the Coast Guard.

After his arrest, Maimoni told police that Brailsford was knocked overboard by a rogue wave. He told police he pulled the boat near her, pulled her from the water and tried to revive her.

After realizing she was dead, Maimoni said he panicked and counts cope with the idea of having her body on the boat, so he attached the weight belt and anchor to her and tossed her overboard.

He claims he "blacked out'' during the disposal of the body and through treatment he is trying "figure out what his state of mind was at the time,'' according to the decision.

Maimoni denies he killed Brailford, but takes responsibility for her death because she was on his boat.

In their March 7 decision, board members encouraged Maimoni to continue to take part in prison programs, including a sex offender treatment program he only started last year, to improve his odds at any future hearing.

“The Board believes that a longer period of positive institutional adjustment and programming would be beneficial to Mr. Maimoni’s rehabilitation,” the decision states.

The case generated a book and prompted a re-enactment of the crime in an episode Investigation Discovery channel series, “Your Worst Nightmare,” called “Water Foul.”

Maimoni can seek parole again in five years.

The Eagle-Tribune contributed to this story.