Wife scheduled to be sentenced for killing elderly UConn professor is found dead

BURLINGTON, Conn. (TCN) -- State police are investigating the recent death of a 76-year-old woman who was scheduled to be sentenced for killing her husband and hiding his body in their basement.

On the morning of July 24, Connecticut State Police responded to Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi’s home to check on her after an individual was unable to reach her. Troopers attempted but failed to make contact with anyone inside the residence and eventually entered with the help of local fire personnel.

During a search of the home, state police found Kosuda-Bigazzi deceased.

Kosuda-Bigazzi pleaded guilty in March to the first-degree manslaughter of her husband, Pierluigi Bigazzi, as well as first-degree larceny. She was initially set to be sentenced on June 28, according to the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office. However, WVIT-TV reports that Kosuda-Bigazzi’s sentencing was moved to July 24, the day state police discovered her dead.

Court records reviewed by CT Insider say Kosuda-Bigazzi would have faced 13 years in prison.

In February 2018, Bigazzi’s employer, the University of Connecticut, hadn’t heard from him for several months, prompting a welfare check. Connecticut State Police responded to his home and found him dead in the basement and wrapped in trash bags. Investigators determined he had died around July 2017.

Bigazzi’s employer had deposited paychecks into his and his wife’s joint account after his death, totaling around $46,000, according to WTNH-TV.

Bigazzi reportedly worked for the University of Connecticut’s medical school for more than four decades. He was a trained internist specializing in immunology research and taught pathology and oncology to medical students.