A Arizona husband who reported his wife missing has agreed to plead guilty to her murder in exchange for a 16 year prison sentence.
Daniel Paduchowski, 58, reportedly led investigators to Kelly Paduchowski’s body, along with her phone, car keys, and the murder weapon, KNXV reported.
Paduchowski was arrested on Monday and charged with aggravated assault after he told investigators Sunday night that his 45-year-old wife had gone for a run and a swim and never returned, as CrimeOnline reported.
Investigators later said they located her vehicle at the Campbell Mesa trailhead in Flagstaff and further learned that her cell phone was in the area of Schultz Creek Trail around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Her husband was seen in the same area about an hour later, and his wife’s cell phone pinged at the family home at about 12:15 p.m.
Kelly Paduchowski’s vehicle and her husband were seen back at Campbell Mesa at about 1:30 p.m.
“Defendant provided us with information that led us to the body, phone, car keys and the murder weapon,” Coconino County Senior Attorney Michael Tunink told KSAZ. “We reached an agreement in which the defendant Daniel Paduchowski pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder, tampering of evidence, concealing a dead body, and possession of drugs.”
Tunink said the charges come with a 16-year-prison sentence without parole.
Police said Kelly Paduchowski’s body was found at about 10 a.m. Friday and initially declined to provide information about where the body was found or how it was located. That information came in a press conference later on Friday, Arizona Central reported.
