This Feb. 10, 2018 photo shows the home where Pierluigi Bigazzi, professor of laboratory science and pathology at UConn Health, was found dead in Burlington, Conn. He lived there with his wife, Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi, who was charged with his murder. (Rebecca Lurye/Hartford Courant via AP)
Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi, a professor and researcher of pathology and laboratory medicine who worked at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine for more than 40 years, was found dead in his Burlington, Conn. home on Friday morning by Burlington and state police officers, according to the Hartford Courant.
Officials have not yet made Bigazzi’s cause of death public, but the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death to be a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Hartford Courant.
Concerned coworkers called UConn police last week to report his absence and non-responsiveness, according to UConn Health.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our longtime faculty member Dr. Pierluigi Bigazzi, professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UConn School of Medicine,” UConn Health said in a statement. “After being unable to reach Bigazzi, concerned departmental leadership contacted UConn Police who visited his home.”
Burlington and state police officers responded to the home to check on Bigazzi, where they found his body “wrapped up,” according to the New York Post.
Investigators said that it was clear the body had been decomposing in the home for several months, according to the Hartford Courant.
Bigazzi’s wife of 40 years, Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi, was charged with murder and tampering with evidence and was arrested on a $1.5 million bond, according to NBC.
Officials requested alimony checks supposedly signed by Bigazzi to his ex-wife to approximate the date of his death, according to the Hartford Courant.
“I don’t know yet who signed the checks,” Anna Bigazzi, Bigazzi’s ex-wife, told the Hartford Courant. “The state police asked me to request copies of the checks from the bank and I am waiting for them. I really haven’t had any contact with my former husband in 40 years and I have no idea what is going on.”
Police are now looking for anyone who had been in contact with Bigazzi between July 2017 and February 2018, according to the Hartford Courant.
Andrew Miano is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at andrew.miano@uconn.edu.