An Arizona man who buried his wife alive in a hand-dug grave near their home has been sentenced to life in prison.
Seven years after the murder, David Pagniano pleaded guilty to murdering his wife before the trial began and allowed a judge to determine his sentence without a plea deal.
The 62-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, meaning he will die in prison.
He was also sentenced May 9 to 16 1/2 years for kidnapping, forgery and fraud, according to the Yavapai County Prosecutor’s Office.
“My office sought the death penalty in this case due to the horrific circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a young mother,” County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in a statement.
Authorities said Sandra Pagniano, 39, disappeared while she was in the process of divorcing her husband in May 2017.
They said the couple was separated but still lived in the same house with their two young daughters.
Mrs. Pagniano’s body was found bound and gagged with packing tape inside a grave in a rural area north of Prescott.
The county coroner’s office confirmed that she had been buried alive.
The victim may have been conscious for up to five minutes.
Authorities said evidence showed that she struggled vigorously while in the grave and that she may have been conscious for up to five minutes.
Additionally, cell phone evidence showed that Pagniano was in the grave area days before his wife disappeared and on the night of the kidnapping.
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Forensic examination of the banknotes revealed that they were counterfeit.
Detectives recovered two notes filed in the divorce case following Ms. Pagniano’s disappearance, allegedly written by her.
The notes said that she was leaving her husband and giving him her vehicles, her house and custody of her children.
But authorities said a forensic examination of the notes revealed they were written by Pagniano.
A grand jury indicted him on first-degree murder after his wife’s body was discovered in a remote area 10 miles northwest of the family home near Prescott in north-central Arizona.
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