HARTFORD, Conn.– A 76-year-old Connecticut woman accused of killing her husband, hiding his body for months and collecting his paycheck pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter, a prosecutor said.
Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi was arrested in February 2018 in the death of her husband, Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi, professor of laboratory sciences and pathology at UConn Health. The 84-year-old man’s body was found in the basement of the couple’s home in Burlington, Connecticut, when police stopped by for a welfare check.
The medical examiner said that Dr. Bigazzi died of blunt force trauma to the head. Investigators said they believe he died sometime in July 2017 and that UConn Health paychecks were deposited into the couple’s joint checking account from the time of his death until February 2018.
Prosecutors pursuing a murder case against Kosuda-Bigazzi alleged that she left his body wrapped in plastic in their home for months while she continued to collect his paycheck.
Kosuda-Bigazzi had claimed self-defense in the murder.
Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott said Monday that Kosuda-Bigazzi pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
“This case has been ongoing for six years, so we are grateful that we were able to reach a resolution today,” Walcott said in a prepared news release.
The verdict is scheduled for June 28.
