Arizona man sentenced to natural life in prison for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive
Authorities say an Arizona man has been sentenced to natural life in prison for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive in a hand-dug grave near their home. 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. The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office says 62-year-old Pagniano also was sentenced on May 9 to a 16 ½-year prison term for kidnapping, forgery and fraud. Authorities say 39-year-old Sandra Pagniano disappeared while she was in the process of divorcing her husband in May 2017. Her body was found bound and gagged in packing tape inside a grave in a rural area north of Prescott.