The family of a former University of Connecticut professor has filed a lawsuit against the estate of his late wife who was found dead on the day she was supposed to be sentenced for her husband’s death.
Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi, a faculty member at the University of Connecticut’s medical school for more than 40 years, was found dead, wrapped in garbage bags and hidden under a tarp in his Burlington home on Feb. 5, 2018, after UConn staff who had not been able to reach him contacted authorities to request a welfare check, according to police.
Police believe the 84-year-old had been dead for several months before his body was found – possibly as early as June 13, 2017.
The medical examiner said Bigazzi had died from blunt trauma to his head.
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His wife, Linda Bigazzi, was initially charged with murder and police said she claimed self-defense. In March 2024, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Pierluigi Bigazzi was an internist by training, specialized in immunology research and had previously worked as an educator on pathology and oncology.
Investigators determined that Pierluigi Bigazzi's paychecks were being deposited into the couple’s joint checking account from the time of his death until his body was discovered.
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UConn said in March 2018 that Linda Bigazzi had repaid the university $50,000 through her attorney.
Linda Bigazzi was supposed to be sentenced on July 24, 2024.
State police said they found her unresponsive when they went to her house that day after someone said they were at the residence and couldn’t contact her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Attorney John J. Houlihan from the Connecticut law firm of RisCassi & Davis is representing the estate of Pierluigi Bigazzi.
“This lawsuit was necessary in order to both underscore the defendant’s responsibility for her husband's death and to prevent her estate from acquiring assets that rightfully belonged to her husband and his heirs,” Houlihan said in a statement. “As sad and tragic as this case is, an action like this is necessary to enforce the principle that no one or no one's estate should benefit from the killing of another.”
