Man sentenced to life in prison for burying wife alive in hand-dug grave

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) - An Arizona man learned how long he’ll spend in prison for burying his wife alive several years ago.

Officials announced that 62-year-old David Pagniano was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of his wife.

Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane said his office pursued the death penalty due to the horrific crime, but Pagniano decided to plead guilty and allow a judge to decide his sentence the night before the trial.

The investigation began in 2017 when Sandra Pagniano, who was 39 at the time, mysteriously disappeared as she and David Pagniano were going through a divorce.

A massive manhunt ensued, and authorities discovered her body bound and gagged in packing tape inside a hand-dug grave in a rural area north of Prescott.

Authorities discovered David Pagniano abducted his wife as her children slept and bound her in the packing tape.

He then drove to a remote area and buried her alive.

According to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, evidence showed Sandra Pagniano “vigorously struggled while she was in the grave” and she may have been conscious for up to five minutes.

Cellphone evidence showed David Pagniano was in the gravesite area days before Sandra Pagniano went missing and the night of the kidnapping.

Detectives also found notes Sandra Pagniano supposedly wrote to her husband, stating that she was leaving and giving him her vehicles, house and custody of their kids. However, these notes were actually written by David Pagniano, authorities said.

In addition to the life sentence, David Pagniano was given another 16.5 years in prison for kidnapping, forgery and fraud schemes.

“I hope the life sentence brings some closure to the victim’s family. 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,” McGrane said in a written statement.

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