Police say Elaina Bigoni was found dead in a car trunk after her husband allegedly told a family member they had fought and “she’s dead.”
PLANO, Texas — A Plano man accused of killing his wife allegedly told his mother, “I have something to tell you. She’s dead,” shortly before police found the woman’s body in the trunk of a car, according to a newly obtained arrest affidavit.
Jake O’Brien Bigoni, 37, is charged with murder in the death of his wife, Elaina Alexandra Bigoni, 34. He was also initially charged with abuse of a corpse, according to jail records.
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Plano police began investigating Aug. 12 after someone called the department concerned about Elaina Bigoni’s welfare. The caller told police Bigoni was going through a divorce and that family and friends had been unable to reach her.
Bigoni was supposed to pick up her two children, ages 2 and 5, that morning to take them to school, the affidavit says. She had also shared her location with her mother and a friend, which showed she had arrived at The Parker Apartments, where her husband lived.
Police went to an apartment in the 4700 block of Charles Place shortly after 10:20 a.m.
Jake Bigoni answered the door and told officers his wife had been there earlier but that he did not know where she was, according to the affidavit. He said she had stopped by to pick up one of their children, who wasn’t feeling well.
During that conversation, officers noticed what appeared to be a large wet spot on Bigoni’s shirt. He later told them he had been cleaning the house.
As officers continued trying to determine where Elaina Bigoni was, they received new information from another person who told police, “I believe someone has been harmed, killed,” the affidavit says.
That person told investigators Jake Bigoni had spoken with his mother on the phone and said, “I have something to tell you. She’s dead.”
About 30 minutes earlier, he had allegedly told his mother, “we got in a fight and she’s dead,” according to the affidavit.
Officers returned to the apartment and detained Bigoni. When they asked whether his wife was inside, he allegedly responded, “Why are you doing this?” He later said he had “no idea” where she was.
By then, an officer had also noticed what appeared to be a reddish-brown stain on the front of Bigoni’s shirt.
Police entered the apartment to check on Elaina Bigoni and searched the home. In the attached garage, an officer opened the trunk of a white Hyundai Genesis and found her unresponsive and in what police described as an unnatural position, according to the affidavit.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant for the apartment.
Police said Elaina Bigoni had significant injuries to her face and head, dried blood on her face and in her hair and bruising on several parts of her body. Investigators described the bruising as consistent with a violent physical altercation.
A large amount of blood and blood spatter was also found inside the apartment, according to the affidavit.
Based on the condition of Elaina Bigoni’s body, evidence inside the apartment and information gathered during the investigation, police sought a murder charge against her husband.
A magistrate found probable cause Aug. 13 to issue an arrest warrant charging Jake Bigoni with first-degree murder.
The case remains under investigation by the Plano Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit.
No bond had been set on either charge at the time of writing.