Current:Home > FinanceArizona man gets life in prison in murder of wife who "vigorously struggled" after being buried alive, prosecutors say-InfoLens
Arizona man gets life in prison in murder of wife who "vigorously struggled" after being buried alive, prosecutors say
View Date:2024-12-23 12:02:07
An Arizona man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive in a hand-dug grave near their home while their children slept, authorities said.
Seven years after the murder, David Pagniano decided to plead guilty before his trial was scheduled to start and allowed a judge to determine his sentence without a plea agreement.
Pagniano, 62, also was sentenced on May 9 to a 16 ½-year prison term for kidnapping, forgery and fraud, according to the Yavapai County Attorney's Office.
County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in a statement that his office had pursued the death penalty because of "the horrific circumstances surrounding the abduction and murder" of Sandra Pagniano.
"Sandra was kidnapped from her home while her children slept nearby, bound in packing tape, driven to a remote location and buried alive," McGrane said. "The evidence revealed she vigorously struggled while she was in the grave, and was likely conscious for up to five minutes after being buried."
Authorities said 39-year-old Sandra Pagniano disappeared while she was in the process of divorcing her husband in May 2017.
They said she and David Pagniano were separated but still living in the same home with their two young daughters.
Sandra Pagniano's body was found bound and gagged in packing tape inside a grave in a rural area north of Prescott and the county medical examiner's office confirmed she had been buried alive.
County sheriff's officials said cellphone evidence showed David Pagniano was in the gravesite area days before his wife went missing and the night of the kidnapping.
Detectives recovered two notes that were filed in the divorce case after Sandra Pagniano's disappearance, purportedly written by her.
The notes said she was leaving David Pagniano and giving him her vehicles, house and custody of their children.
But authorities said a forensic examination of the notes revealed they were written by David Pagniano.
A grand jury indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder after his wife's body was discovered in a remote area 10 miles northwest of the couple's home near Prescott in north-central Arizona.
"I hope the life sentence brings some closure to the victim's family," McGrane said.
- In:
- Arizona
- Murder
veryGood! (79116)
Related
- The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
- My Best Buy memberships get you exclusive deals and perks—learn more here
- Amazon Fresh lays off hundreds of grocery store workers, reports say
- Rihanna Showcases Baby Bump in Barbiecore Pink Style on Date With A$AP Rocky
- Hurricane-stricken Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa
- Why it's so important to figure out when a vital Atlantic Ocean current might collapse
- Apple's most expensive product? Rare sneakers with rainbow logo up for sale for $50,000
- Sarah Sjöström breaks Michael Phelps' record at World Aquatics Championship
- These Michael Kors’ Designer Handbags Are All Under $150 With an Extra 22% off for Singles’ Day
- Jonathan Taylor joins Andrew Luck, Victor Oladipo as star athletes receiving bad advice | Opinion
Ranking
- Sports are a must-have for many girls who grow up to be leaders
- Mark Zuckerberg Is All Smiles as He Takes Daughters to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Concert
- We promise this week's NPR news quiz isn't ALL about 'Barbie'
- After rebranding, X took @x from its original Twitter owner and offered him merch
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight odds will shift the longer the heavyweight bout goes
- The One-Mile Rule: Texas’ Unwritten and Arbitrary Policy Protects Big Polluters from Citizen Complaints
- Phoenix is Enduring its Hottest Month on Record, But Mitigations Could Make the City’s Heat Waves Less Unbearable
- National Chicken Wing Day 2023: Buffalo Wild Wings, Popeyes, Hooters, more have deals Saturday
Recommendation
-
California farmers enjoy pistachio boom, with much of it headed to China
-
4 dead, 2 injured in two separate aircraft accidents in Wisconsin
-
My Best Buy memberships get you exclusive deals and perks—learn more here
-
The Yellow trucking company meltdown, explained
-
Man killed by police in Minnesota was being sought in death of his pregnant wife
-
Actors take to the internet to show their residual checks, with some in the negative
-
Watch this lonesome turtle weighed down by barnacles get help from a nearby jet-skier
-
Biden administration proposes new fuel economy standards, with higher bar for trucks