OSSIPEE, N.H. (AP) – A murder indictment has been returned in the case of a stabbed body found in a burning restaurant.

The indictment charges Anthony Balliro, manager of the Moose Tracks Restaurant in Bartlett before it burned down, with first-degree murder in the July 5 stabbing death of Steven Hayes, 45, a friend and restaurant cook.

Balliro, also 45, was previously charged with arson in the restaurant fire and a fire set at a nearby home where he had been living.

A Carroll County grand jury returned arson and murder indictments this week.

Indictments are formal charges.

After his arrest, friends and acquaintances said Balliro was deeply in debt and depressed over splitting up with his longtime girlfriend and business partner.

Balliro was arrested while driving Hayes’ car after having asked someone to drive him to a bus station, prosecutors said.

Balliro’s public defender said in July that he did not start the fire and did not kill Hayes. He has not entered pleas.

The restaurant had been closed for several days when it caught fire. Balliro was seen in the parking lot about 90 minutes before the fire began.

According to residents and court records, Balliro and the girlfriend opened the restaurant in 2004, but the business faltered after she left town in April.

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Information from: The Conway Daily Sun, http://www.mountwashingtonvalley.com

AP-ES-10-18-06 1335EDT