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"My mother is dead, and my father killed her,” said Emma, whose dad, Stephen, recently learned his fate for the grisly killing of his wife, Elizabeth.
"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."
In a Bucks County courtroom on Tuesday, April 11, Stephen Capaldi pleaded guilty to killing his wife in their Sellersville home last October.
As part of a plea deal struck with District Attorney Matthew Weintraub's Office, the 57-year-old copped to third-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime, fabricating evidence, and abusing a corpse, officials said.
He will now spend the next 22 to 44 years in a Pennsylvania prison, Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller ruled.
Prosecutors hoped the plea bargain would bring "swift closure" for Elizabeth Capaldi's surviving loved ones — including the couple's daughter Emma, who was present for the proceedings Wednesday.
“My mother is dead, and my father killed her,” she told the court in an emotional victim impact statement. “I have the love of friends, family, even strangers, but my own father took the person who loved me most.”
While she said she can't help but love and grieve her father, she said he "should never be free from prison to finally leave my mother’s memory in peace.”
As part of the deal, Stephen Capaldi must pay $8,308.50 to his daughter for Elizabeth's funeral costs, and must not contact his daughter "unless she chooses to contact him," the DA's Office said.
He also agreed to "fully cooperate" with investigators, leading them to Elizabeth's remains and explaining what he had done with them, officials said.
Elizabeth Capaldi was last seen alive at her Sellersville home on Oct. 10 and reported missing by her daughter on Oct. 12. Her cell phone, car, and keys were all recovered from the home, but her wallet was apparently taken with her, authorities said at the time.
Investigators worked the case for weeks before taking Stephen Capaldi into custody for questioning on Dec. 9.
Later that day, Bucks County officials found human remains near Philadelphia International Airport while investigating Capaldi's disappearance, multiple outlets have reported.
On Dec. 15, the District Attorney charged Stephen with strangling his wife to death in their bedroom and dismembering her body the following day in their home.
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