Inset: Jake Bigoni (Plano Police Department). Background: The Plano, Texas, apartment complex where Bigoni is accused of killing his estranged wife (Google Maps).
A Texas man has been jailed after police say he killed his estranged wife when she arrived to pick up their two young children for school.
Jake O’Brien Bigoni, 37, is facing charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of 34-year-old Eliana Alexandra Bigoni, the Plano Police Department said.
The case began on Aug. 12, after a witness contacted authorities with concerns about Eliana Bigoni’s safety, citing the couple’s pending divorce and the fact that relatives and friends suddenly could not reach her, according to an arrest probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Police said Eliana Bigoni had gone to her estranged husband’s apartment that morning to collect their children and take them to school.
“The process should have taken 10-15 minutes, but Eliana Bigoni was not reachable by phone,” the charging document states.
According to police, both the witness and Eliana Bigoni’s mother had access to her shared cellphone location. After Eliana missed an 8:30 a.m. breakfast meetup, the witness checked the location and saw that her phone remained at the apartment complex.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., officers went to The Parker Apartments on Charles Place, where they questioned Jake Bigoni about his missing estranged wife, the affidavit says.
“Jake Bigoni advised that she had been there earlier in the day but that he didn’t know where she was currently,” the charging document goes on. “Jake Bigoni advised they were going through a divorce, and she came by to pickup a kid but the kid wasn’t feeling well.”
As the defendant initially spoke with police, two officers “observed a large apparent wet spot on Jake Bigoni’s shirt,” the affidavit says.
Minutes later, officers knocked on the door and spoke with the defendant again, this time about the woman’s car and whether she drove there that morning. After looking in the garage and finding a white Hyundai Genesis, officers asked about the wet spot on his shirt.
“He advised he had been cleaning the house and again confirmed he saw Eliana Bigoni this morning and then closed the garage door,” the charging document continues.
Back in their squad car by 10:44 a.m., the officers took stock of “updated notes to the call,” according to the affidavit.
“I believe someone has been harmed killed,” one note read, the document says. Another note read: “son said she is dead.”
The officers then contacted a second witness, identified as Jake Bigoni’s mother, and spoke with her, according to the affidavit.
The woman said she spoke with her son on the phone at roughly 10:15 a.m. that morning and he said, “I have something to tell you. She’s dead” and “we got in a fight and she’s dead,” police allege.
At 10:46 a.m., the officers knocked on Jake Bigoni’s door for a third time and then placed him in handcuffs, the affidavit says.
“You’re detained. Is your wife in there? You’re not under arrest, is she in there?” one officer said, according to the charging document. Jake Bigoni allegedly replied: “Why are you doing this?”
The affidavit goes on:
Officers continued to ask where his wife was and he stated, “I have no idea.” Officers asked why he would tell his mother she died and Jake Bigoni replied, “How would you know this kind of stuff?”
As the discussion progressed, police noticed the larger wet spot on the defendant’s shirt “appeared to have dried” into a “darker spot” and “reddish-brown stain,” according to the charging document. At that point, the officers decided “it was reasonable for them to conduct an exigent sweep of the apartment to check on Eliana Bigoni and whether she needed any life saving measures,” police said.
Inside the garage, in the trunk of the Hyundai Genesis, police found the victim, according to the charging document. Officers described her as “not breathing, unresponsive and in an unnatural position.” The apartment was secured, and the children were removed.
The victim and apartment were covered in blood, police claim.
“Eliana was wearing a small amount of clothing that appeared damaged and covered in a reddish substance that is believed to be blood. Eliana appeared to have significant damage to her face and head. There was a decent amount of dried blood on the face of Eliana and in her hair,” the charging document goes on. “There was a large amount of blood and blood spatter seen inside of the location.”
Jake Bigoni was originally arrested and booked on the abuse of a corpse charge. The murder charge came later, authorities said.
The defendant is being detained without bond in the Collin County Jail.
The post ‘I have something to tell you’: Man killed estranged wife when she came to pick up their children for school, police say first appeared on Law & Crime.
