A man from Arizona Burying his wife aliveAuthorities announced.
David PagnanoPagnano, 62, suddenly pleaded guilty on May 9, just before his trial was set to begin, according to Yavapai County Attorney David McGrane. He did not accept a plea deal and simply placed his fate in the hands of the judge.
McGrane's office had sought the death penalty in the case, in which Pagnano was charged with first-degree murder. Murder of estranged wife Sandra2017.
“Hopefully a life sentence will bring some closure to the victim's family.” McGrane said in a statement Friday..
Sandra Pagnano was 39 years old at the time of her disappearance. In May 2017, she and David were in the midst of contentious divorce proceedings at the time but still lived together in a home in Prescott, about 80 miles north of Phoenix.
Searcher Her body was discovered He was buried in a shallow, hand-dug grave in a remote area about 10 miles north of Prescott.
“Sandra was abducted from her home, bound with duct tape, while her children were asleep nearby. Driven to a remote location and buried alive“The evidence revealed that she struggled violently in the grave and was likely conscious for around five minutes after burial,” Mr McGrane said.
The mobile phone data David Pagnano was near the cemetery. Prosecutors say these acts took place in the days before her death and on the night she disappeared.
Police also found two notes purportedly written by Sandra Pagnano that gave her husband custody of her assets and the couple's two children. The note was a forgery written by David Pagnano.He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, forgery and fraud and was sentenced to 16 1/2 years in prison for those charges.
