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Wife accused of killing UConn professor and hiding his body pleads guilty to manslaughter
A Connecticut woman who was accused of killing her husband, hiding his body for months and collecting his paychecks pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday, a state prosecutor said.
Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi, now 76, was arrested in February 2018 in the death of her husband, Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi, a professor of laboratory science and pathology at UConn Health. The body of the 84-year-old man was found in the basement of the couple’s home in Burlington, Connecticut, when police came over for a wellness check because his employer who had not heard from him for several months.
Patrick Raycraft/Hartford Courant via AP, Pool
The medical examiner said Dr. Bigazzi died of blunt 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 claimed she left his body wrapped in plastic in their home for months while she continued to collect his salary.
Kosuda-Bigazzi had claimed self-defense in the killing.
After she was charged in 2018, Bigazzi’s ex-wife, Anna Bigazzi, told CBS affiliate WFSB that police have requested copies of her back alimony checks, suspecting the signatures may have been forged.
Neighbors who wanted to remain anonymous told the station that Kosuda-Bigazzi was “confrontational,” and that parents had called the police at least twice after she allegedly showed anger toward neighborhood children.
Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott said Monday that Kosuda-Bigazzi pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and first-degree larceny.
“This case has been pending for six years so we are thankful we were able to reach a resolution today,” Walcott said in a statement.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 28.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.