Stephen Capaldi, 57, of Sellersville.
Stephen Capaldi will serve the next 22 to 44 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder and dismemberment of his wife Elizabeth “Beth” Capaldi six months ago in their Sellersville, Bucks County home, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Capaldi, 57, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, possessing an instrument of crime, tampering with physical evidence, and obstructing police, and was subsequently sentenced to state prison Tuesday, authorities said. Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller accepted the negotiated plea, authorities said.
Capaldi smothered and strangled his wife in their bedroom at 254 High St. the morning of October 22, 2022, dismembered her in the basement, and then hid and disposed of her remains, according to the district attorney’s office. He was charged on Dec. 9, 2022, nearly two months after Elizabeth Capaldi was reported missing.
Read more on the plea agreement here.
According to a press release, Deputy District Attorney Mary Kate Kohler said the plea agreement was not entered into lightly.
“But it allowed for swift closure for the victim’s family, which was one of the wishes of the family,” Kohler stated in the release.
As part of the negotiated plea, Kohler said Capaldi cooperated with investigators and told them what he did to Elizabeth and led them to her remains near Philadelphia International Airport, allowing her family to give her a proper burial, according to Kohler.
Back in December, District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said the victim’s family was consulted and was accepting of the plea agreement.
“In order to bring Beth Capaldi home, we had to make a bargain,” said Weintraub.
Judge Liller also sentenced Capaldi to pay $8,308.50 in restitution to his daughter for funeral expenses, ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation, and ordered him to have no contact with his daughter, unless she chooses to contact him, according to the release.
The daughter gave an emotional impact statement to the district attorney’s office, stating she struggled every day since she lost her mother, who was like a best friend. Even harder is the fact that her father was the killer and lied to her about what happened to her mother.
“My mother is dead, and my father killed her,” she said in the statement released by the district attorney. “I have the love of friends, family, even strangers, but my own father took the person who loved me most.”
The daughter told the district attorney that her father “should never be free from prison to finally leave my mother’s memory in peace.”
The district attorney’s office said the investigation began Oct. 12, 2022, when Elizabeth was reported missing to Perkasie Borough Police Department by her daughter. Elizabeth lived with Stephen Capaldi, who last saw her the morning of Oct. 10, 2022, but never called the police.
“An investigation led by detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Perkasie Borough Police Department concluded that Stephen Capaldi murdered his wife, lied to investigators on several occasions, took steps to destroy evidence and hid her body,” stated the Bucks County Attorney’s Office.
Police said Elizabeth was strangled by Capaldi while sleeping in their bed. He moved her body from the master bedroom to a back bedroom, and finally, to the basement, where he dismembered her, police said. He then disposed of her remains that evening, prior to meeting with the police.
Capaldi, police said, purchased items to carry out the disposal of his wife’s body.
The case was investigated by Detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Perkasie Borough Police Department, with the assistance of the Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury.
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