A husband who searched “how to get away with murder” on Google has allegedly admitted that he strangled his wife after initially claiming that she left him following a three-year affair.
Elizabeth Capaldi disappeared in October, but her adult daughter didn’t accept that her mother had simply run off after seeing another man.
That was the story put forward by her husband Stephen Capaldi, who is now facing murder charges.
The daughter was sceptical from the outset, noting that Ms Capaldi was most comfortable at home and she didn’t take her car, keys, iPad, or cellphone, and left her elderly mom in a nursing home, The Daily Beast reported.
The 55-year-old didn’t have a passport and had never been away from home alone overnight. Her credit cards remained unused and no cash had been taken out. She had also neglected to collect her inhaler.
When police searched the devices left behind in the home in Sellersville in Bucks County in eastern Pennsylvania, they were unable to find any signs that Ms Capaldi had been having an extramarital affair.
This week, the authorities were able to show that following an investigation of Stephen Capaldi’s devices, they had discovered that he had been in a relationship with another woman who had been supportive of his wish to open a comic book store.
A grand jury report revealed that they found several internet searches, such as “how to get away with murder,” “how to delete Facebook messages,” “can a polygraph be skewed,” “how to increase your dark impulses,” and “how to disappear and never be found”.
Other online searches had been conducted for quick-curing cement, a reciprocating saw, and a blacklight for seeing traces of blood that the naked eye can’t spot.
The investigation also found that Mr Capaldi, 57, had lied about his actions before and after his wife’s disappearance., according to The Daily Beast.
The Bucks County District Attorney said that Mr Capaldi agreed to testify before a grand jury on 8 December. During that appearance, he admitted to telling several lies and he “unquestionably failed” a polygraph exam.
“Although he still denied being involved in his wife’s murder and disappearance, Mr Capaldi did agree that the evidence was overwhelming that he was involved,” the jury said in its report.
Mr Capaldi agreed to a deal with the prosecution – a guilty plea in return between 20 and 40 years in prison.
“Stephen Capaldi stated that on the morning of Oct. 10, 2002, he strangled Elizabeth Capaldi while she was sleeping in their bed. During the strangulation, Stephen Capaldi also utilized a pillow to smother her,” the grand jury stated.
Part of the agreement with the prosecution was that Mr Capaldi lead the police to where he got rid of his wife’s remains – a dumpster and the Delaware River shoreline.
This week, DNA tests confirmed that the body parts were those of Ms Capaldi.
Her daughter Emma Capaldi wrote on Facebook last Sunday that “my beautiful mother is gone from this world. She made me who I am. She touched so many people”.
According to DA Matt Weintraub, the family of Ms Capaldi supported that the deal be struck so that they could get the answers they wanted.
“I explained the principles and goals I focused on in my negotiations with the defendant. First: To find Beth Capaldi alive if possible—I am so sorry that this was not possible; her family was devastated by this news. If not, then to bring her back to her family, and to bring her killer to justice,” he said, according to The Daily Beast.
The jury wrote that “we also hope that Stephen Capaldi, given his deceit and total lack of remorse, remains incarcerated for the rest of his natural-born life”.
