A Prescott, Arizona man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murdering his wife by burying her alive in 2017.
Yavapai County Prosecutor Dennis McGrane said David Michael Pagniano, 62, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of his wife, Sandra Pagniano, then 39, who buried alive in a hand-dug hole. falls near their homes.
“My office pursued the death penalty in this case because of the horrific circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of a young mother,” McGrane said.
Sandra Pagniano disappeared while in the process of divorcing her husband in May 2017, authorities said.
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David Pagniano of Prescott, Arizona, pleaded guilty to burying his wife alive and murdering her.
While the two were separated, they lived in the same house with their two young daughters.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office began investigating the circumstances surrounding the suspicious disappearance of Sandra Pagniano, resulting in a massive manhunt.
Sandra Pagniano's body was found bound and gagged with duct tape in a hand-dug grave in a remote area near Prescott.
According to the medical examiner, she was buried alive.
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A Yavapai County Sheriff's Office vehicle (KSAZ)
“The evidence revealed that she struggled vigorously while in the grave and was likely conscious for up to five minutes after being buried,” McGrane said.
Detectives who led the investigation discovered two notes filed as part of the divorce proceedings after Sandra Pagniano's disappearance that she allegedly wrote.
The letters stated that Sandra Pagniano was leaving and turning over the vehicles, home and custody of their children to David Pagniano.
Forensic scientists examined the letters and they were eventually found to have been written by Sandra Pagniano.
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Additional evidence presented included cellphone data showing that David Pagniano was near the grave where his wife was found just days before her death, as well as the night she disappeared.
McGrane said Pagniano pleaded guilty to murder the night before his trial was scheduled to begin, putting the sentencing decision in the judge's hands.
David Pagniano was sentenced to life in prison for murder and an additional 16 1/2 years for kidnapping, forgery and fraud.
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“I hope the life sentence provides some closure for the victim's family,” McGrane said. “I want to be clear that my office will vigorously pursue anyone who commits a violent crime in Yavapai County, and that we will continue to pursue the death penalty in appropriate cases.”