BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. — A Bucks County man will face up to 44 years in state prison for killing, dismembering and hiding the remains of his wife, Elizabeth "Beth" Capaldi.
Stephen Capaldi, 57, from Sellersville, entered guilty pleas to third-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function and abuse of a corpse.
He will spend 22 to 44 years in state prison, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
Capaldi was charged on Dec. 9, 2022, almost two months after his wife was reported missing from their Sellersville home.
Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller accepted Capaldi’s negotiated plea agreement. Deputy District Attorney Mary Kate Kohler said the plea agreement was not entered into lightly by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, but it allowed “for swift closure for the victim’s family, which was one of the wishes of the family.”
Additionally, she said, as part of the negotiated plea, Stephen Capaldi fully cooperated with investigators, told them what he did to his wife and led them to her remains, allowing her family to give her a proper burial.
In an emotional victim impact statement, their daughter said she has struggled every day since she lost her mother, who was like a best friend to her.
Making it harder for her is that her father was the killer and lied to her for several weeks about what happened to her. “My mother is dead, and my father killed her,” she said. “I have the love of friends, family, even strangers, but my own father took the person who loved me most.”
She added that while she cannot hep but feel grief and love for her father, she said, “He should never be free from prison to finally leave my mother’s memory in peace.”
The investigation began on Oct. 12, 2022, when Elizabeth Capaldi, 55, was reported missing to the Perkasie Borough Police Department by her daughter.
Elizabeth lived with Stephen, her husband, who alleged that he last saw her in the early morning hours of Oct. 10.
An investigation led by detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Perkasie Borough Police Department concluded that Stephen murdered his wife, lied to investigators on several occasions, took steps to destroy evidence and hid her body.
According to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, it was determined that Stephen killed Elizabeth on the morning of Oct. 10, while she was sleeping in their bed, by strangling her and using a pillow to smother her.
He then moved Elizabeth's body from the master bedroom to a back bedroom and then the basement where he dismembered her and disposed of her remains on Oct. 12, before ever meeting with police officers.
The investigation reportedly found that Stephen purchased items to carry out the disposal of his wife's body.
In addition to the state prison sentence, Capaldi was also sentenced to pay $8,308.50 in restitution to his daughter for funeral expenses, was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and was ordered to have no contact with his daughter, unless she chooses to contact him.
