Gilbert man gets 25 years in prison for killing wife, trying to covering it up

GILBERT, Ariz. - Police say a Gilbert man killed his wife and tried to cover it up by saying she fell in the bathtub. Officials say Mark-Eric Ponsati called 911 on September 7, 2017 to report that his wife had slipped in the bathroom and hit her head. She was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Police then received calls from relatives of the woman who said the couple had a tumultuous marriage and that she had told them Ponsati threatened to kill her if she tried to leave him.

Court documents also show that the scene appeared to be staged and that an autopsy found the woman could not have died by the single-fall injury Ponsati described. According to the medical examiner, she had multiple blunt-force injuries, spine and brain bruising consistent with shaking, along with skull and rib fractures.

The police report showed Ponsanti was an active member of the U.S. Army Reserve. A Google search of him showed he was a judge advocate general also known as a JAG officer.

Ponsati was arrested on September 14 on suspicion of second-degree murder.

In May 2023, 42-year-old Ponsati was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.