Horrific Murder! Prescott Husband Sentenced to Life for Burying Wife Alive in 2017
A Prescott, Arizona, man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release after pleading guilty to murdering his wife and burying her alive in 2017.
According to Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane, 62-year-old David Michael Pagniano was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, then-39-year-old Sandra Pagniano, who was buried alive in a hand-dug grave near their house.
“My office pursued the death penalty in this case because of the horrific circumstances surrounding the abduction and murder of a young mother,” McGrane stated. Sandra Pagniano disappeared while divorcing her husband in May 2017, according to officials. Although they were separated, they shared a home with their two young girls.
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The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into Sandra Pagniano’s mysterious disappearance, which sparked a large manhunt.
Sandra Pagniano’s body was discovered bound and gagged with packing tape in a hand-dug grave in a secluded region near Prescott.
The medical examiner determined that she had been buried alive. “The evidence revealed she vigorously struggled while she was in the grave and was likely conscious for up to five minutes after being buried,” McGrane stated.
Detectives conducting the inquiry discovered two notes that Sandra Pagniano allegedly wrote and filed in the divorce court after her disappearance. According to the letters, Sandra Pagniano was leaving and giving David Pagniano the vehicles, home, and custody of their children.
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Sandra Pagniano wrote the letters, according to forensic specialists who analyzed them. Additional evidence provided included cellphone data indicating that David Pagniano was near the cemetery site where his wife was discovered just days before her death, as well as on the night she disappeared.
According to McGrane, Pagniano pleaded guilty to murder the night before his trial was scheduled to begin, leaving the sentence option up to the court.
David Pagniano was sentenced to life in prison for murder, with an extra 16 ½ years for kidnapping, forgery, and fraud. “I hope the life sentence brings some closure to the victim’s family,” McGrane stated. “I want to be clear that my office will vigorously prosecute anyone who commits a violent crime in Yavapai County, and we will continue to pursue the death penalty in appropriate cases.”