A Sellersville man who killed his wife and dismembered her body was sentenced Tuesday to 22 to 44 years in state prison.
Stephen Capaldi, 57, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and related crimes in the death of Elizabeth Capaldi. Capaldi negotiated with prosecutors to avoid a first-degree murder charge by leading them to his wife’s remains in a makeshift grave near Philadelphia International Airport in exchange for a lesser sentence.
But Bucks County Judge Charissa J. Liller partially rejected that offer. During Tuesday’s hearing, she sentenced Capaldi to consecutive terms on two of the counts against him, increasing his time behind bars by two years, and she chastised him for holding his wife’s remains “hostage.”
“It is appalling to me that after committing such a heinous act, you continued to terrorize Beth Capaldi,” Liller said.
Capaldi apologized to the dozens of friends and family members gathered in Liller’s courtroom, saying his wife didn’t deserve the violent end she had met at his hands.
“I know I’m guilty,” Capaldi said, “but I don’t know why I did what I did.”
Stephen Capaldi apologized for killing his wife and told a Bucks County judge he didn't know why he did it.
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