A Pennsylvania Man Wanted to Open a Comic Book Store. So He Cheated With Someone Who Supported His Dream, and He Killed His Wife.

A Pennsylvania man who had aspirations to open up a comic book shop was found guilty of murder.

Stephen Capaldi, 57, recently pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, obstructing the administration of law or other government function, and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of his 55-year-old wife of 30 years, Elizabeth Capaldi, at their Sellersville home, prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to up to 44 years.

On Oct. 12, 2022, the victim’s daughter phoned police after she hadn’t heard from her mother for days, WPVI-TV reported.

Stephen Capaldi was accused of murdering his sleeping wife by strangling her and then smothering her with a pillow.

Prosecutors said he then dismembered the victim’s body in the basement and disposed of her remains.

Stephen Capaldi eventually led investigators to his wife’s remains.

According to a grand jury report obtained by WPVI-TV, Stephen Capaldi made several incriminating online searches on his cell phone — “how to get away with murder” and “how to disappear and never be found.”

The report states the defendant had “found someone that he loved and who supported his dream of opening a comic book store with his brother while his wife did not.”

The defendant initially told investigators that Elizabeth Capaldi had admitted to him that she was had been having an affair for three years, but a grand jury later concluded that he was the one who was cheating.

“My mother is dead, and my father killed her,” the couple’s daughter said in a victim impact statement. “I have the love of friends, family, even strangers, but my own father took the person who loved me most.”

“He should never be free from prison to finally leave my mother’s memory in peace,” she concluded.