'I have something to tell you': Man killed estranged wife when she came to pick up their children for school, police say

A Texas man is behind bars for killing his wife when she came to pick their two young children up for school, Lone Star State police say.

Jake O'Brien Bigoni, 37, stands accused of murder in the first degree and abuse of a corpse over the death of 34-year-old Eliana Alexandra Bigoni, according to the Plano Police Department.

The investigation began Aug. 12, when a witness "expressed concern" over Eliana Bigoni's welfare because of the couple's pending divorce "and now family and friends couldn't get a hold of her," according to an arrest probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.

That morning, Eliana Bigoni went to her estranged husband's apartment to pick up their children for school, police said.

"The process should have taken 10-15 minutes, but Eliana Bigoni was not reachable by phone," the charging document reads.

The witness — and Eliana Bigoni's mother — had the woman's location shared to their cellphones, police said. The witness said Eliana Bigoni missed a breakfast meetup scheduled for 8:30 a.m. that morning, so she checked and saw the phone was still at the apartment complex.

Just before 10:30 a.m., law enforcement arrived at The Parker Apartments on Charles Place and asked Jake Bigoni about the missing woman, according to the probable cause affidavit.

"Jake Bigoni advised that she had been there earlier in the day but that he didn't know where she was currently," the charging document goes on. "Jake Bigoni advised they were going through a divorce, and she came by to pickup a kid but the kid wasn't feeling well."

As the defendant initially spoke with police, two officers "observed a large apparent wet spot on Jake Bigoni's shirt," the affidavit says.

Minutes later, officers knocked on the door and spoke with the defendant again, this time about the woman's car and whether she drove there that morning. After looking in the garage and finding a white Hyundai Genesis, officers asked about the wet spot on his shirt.

"He advised he had been cleaning the house and again confirmed he saw Eliana Bigoni this morning and then closed the garage door," the charging document continues.

Back in their squad car by 10:44 a.m., the officers took stock of "updated notes to the call," according to the affidavit.

"I believe someone has been harmed killed," one note read, the document says. Another note read: "son said she is dead."

The officers then contacted a second witness, identified as Jake Bigoni's mother, and spoke with her, according to the affidavit.

The woman said she spoke with her son on the phone at roughly 10:15 a.m. that morning and he said, "I have something to tell you. She's dead" and "we got in a fight and she's dead," police allege.

At 10:46 a.m., the officers knocked on Jake Bigoni's door for a third time and then placed him in handcuffs, the affidavit says.

"You're detained. Is your wife in there? You're not under arrest, is she in there?" one officer said, according to the charging document. Jake Bigoni allegedly replied: "Why are you doing this?"

The affidavit goes on:

Officers continued to ask where his wife was and he stated, "I have no idea." Officers asked why he would tell his mother she died and Jake Bigoni replied, "How would you know this kind of stuff?"

As the discussion progressed, police noticed the larger wet spot on the defendant's shirt "appeared to have dried" into a "darker spot" and "reddish-brown stain," according to the charging document. At that point, the officers decided "it was reasonable for them to conduct an exigent sweep of the apartment to check on Eliana Bigoni and whether she needed any life saving measures," police said.

Inside the garage, in the trunk of the Hyundai Genesis, police found the victim, according to the charging document. Officers described her as "not breathing, unresponsive and in an unnatural position." The apartment was secured, and the children were removed.

The victim and apartment were covered in blood, police claim.

"Eliana was wearing a small amount of clothing that appeared damaged and covered in a reddish substance that is believed to be blood. Eliana appeared to have significant damage to her face and head. There was a decent amount of dried blood on the face of Eliana and in her hair," the charging document goes on. "There was a large amount of blood and blood spatter seen inside of the location."

Jake Bigoni was originally arrested and booked on the abuse of a corpse charge. The murder charge came later, authorities said.

The defendant is being detained without bond in the Collin County Jail.