PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A Prescott man was given a life sentence in prison this month after he pleaded guilty to burying his wife alive in 2017.
David M. Pagniano, 62, will spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole after he pleaded guilty shortly before the start of his criminal trial for the death of his wife, Sandra Pagniano.
The 39-year-old woman was reported missing in May 2017 before her body was found bound and gagged in packing tape in a hand-dug grave north of Prescott. The medical examiner confirmed Sandra 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," Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in a statement.
The defendant and victim were in the process of a contentious divorce at the time Sandra Pagniano disappeared.
Cell phone data placed David Pagniano at the site of the grave on the night Sandra Pagniano went missing, officials said.
Investigators also recovered two handwritten notes David Pagniano forged to sound like his wife wrote them, which stated the wife was leaving and granting custody of the kids to David Pagniano.
*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast*
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.