Arizona man sentenced to natural life in prison for the 2017 death of his wife, who was buried alive

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — 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.