The tragic story of a woman from Connecticut unfolded when she took her own life just hours before she was due to be sentenced for the death of her husband.
Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi, 76, was found deceased at her Burlington home on the morning of July 24. The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed on August 12 that she committed suicide. The cause of death was a toxic reaction to ethylene glycol, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Ethylene glycol, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is an industrial compound commonly found in various consumer products like antifreeze, hydraulic brake fluids, some inks, ballpoint pens, solvents, paints, plastics, films, and cosmetics.
The Connecticut State Police received a call at 10:37 a.m. on July 24 from an individual who was unable to contact the resident of the house. The Associated Press reported that Kosuda-Bigazzi was scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. that day for the murder of her 84-year-old husband, Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi.
“Responding Troopers attempted to make contact with anyone inside the residence, but were unsuccessful,” stated the Connecticut State Police. “With the help of the local fire department, Troopers entered the residence and located an unresponsive female, who was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi’s death came four months after she had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree and theft in the first degree in March. These charges were connected to the death of her husband.
On February 5, 2018, her husband, a University of Connecticut employee, was found dead in their basement. This discovery led to Kosuda-Bigazzi’s arrest, according to a criminal information summary obtained by PEOPLE.
State’s Attorney for the Hartford Judicial District Sharmese L. Walcott issued a statement explaining that a welfare check was requested at the residence by the victim’s employer, who had not heard from him in several months.
“An investigation revealed that paychecks from the victim’s employer continued to be deposited into the couple’s joint checking account from the time of his death, believed to be in July 2017, until his body was discovered in early February 2018,” authorities said in the statement.
