The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the murder case against the wife of a University of Connecticut medical school doctor can proceed, despite authorities having reviewed documents covered by attorney-client privilege that were seized from her home.
Justices issued their unanimous decision Wednesday in the case of Linda Kosuda-Bigazzi. She has claimed self-defense in the 2017 killing of 84-year-old Pierluigi Bigazzi, a professor of laboratory science and pathology at UConn Health.
Prosecutors allege she left his body wrapped in plastic in their Burlington home for months while she continued to collect his salary.
Kosuda-Bigazzi had sought dismissal of the charges, saying investigators’ review of her documents severely prejudiced the case against her. Some of the documents included notes about the killing, but her lawyers said those were part of her defense strategy and were protected by attorney-client privilege.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said while authorities should not have reviewed certain documents, the state has taken steps to ensure a fair trial including having another state’s attorney’s office handle the case.
Justices also said investigators’ actions did not rise to the level of “extreme prejudice” that would warrant dismissal of the charges.
