Karen Biraghi

Case overview

Karen Lyn Biraghi was sentenced to life in prison on March 28, 2013 for shooting and killing her sleeping husband, Alan Biraghi, on Christmas Eve 2011. She entered an open guilty plea that adjudicated her guilty of second-degree murder.

Timeline

• December 24, 2011 — Karen Biraghi shot and killed her husband, Alan Biraghi, in the back of the head while he slept on the couch in their Spring Hill home; she called 911 to report the shooting.
• December 28, 2011 — An ABCactionnews.com report described a newly released 911 recording in which Biraghi confessed to shooting Alan and answered questions from the dispatcher.
• January 13, 2012 — A grand jury indicted Karen Biraghi on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder in Alan’s death; investigators said she later admitted she was angry at him because he was moving out of their home.
• November 28, 2012 — A TampaBay.com report described that the defense would focus on Biraghi’s mental health issues and her substance abuse in response to a first-degree murder charge.
• January 25, 2013 — A TampaBay.com report stated that Biraghi reached a plea deal and entered an open guilty plea to second-degree murder; the report said sentencing was set for March 28.
• March 28, 2013 — Judge Daniel Merritt Jr. sentenced Karen Biraghi to the maximum after accepting an open plea that adjudicated her guilty of second-degree murder.

The offence

Karen Biraghi shot and killed her sleeping husband, Alan, on Christmas Eve 2011. Investigators said she was angry at her husband because he was moving out of their home.

Alan Biraghi was 31. Karen Biraghi was 40 at the time of the indictment reporting and 42 at the time of sentencing reporting.

According to a 911 recording described in a report, Biraghi said:

“I shot him” and stated: “He’s on the couch right now” and when asked if he was alive: “No.” When asked how it happened, she said: When asked where she shot him, she said: “In the head.” A report based on an arrest affidavit stated Biraghi confessed to shooting her husband in the head twice at point blank range.

Investigation and admissions

A report stated that after the shooting, Biraghi drove to her parents’ home a few blocks away and returned with them before reporting the shooting. Investigators said she later admitted she was angry at her husband because he was moving out of their home.

In an interview with a Hernando sheriff’s detective later that day, Biraghi said she held the gun and considered her next move, and the detective wrote in a report:

“She said she knew if she shot Alan, he would die and her life would be over.” After about an hour, she said she walked up to the couch, aimed the gun at the back of her husband’s head, and pulled the trigger. When she called 911 and admitted what she done, the operator asked her why. Biraghi said: “Because I have been suffering years of mental and verbal abuse and I just felt like I’ve reached the end.”

In the 911 recording described in a report, Biraghi’s mother, Patricia, answered a question about why Karen would want to kill her. Patricia said:

“They split up. He found himself another woman,” and further: “It was somebody that she knew.” Patricia told the dispatcher: “She just lost it. She went out and bought a gun,” and: “She's not a violent person. She's never been in trouble. Ever.”

Arrest and indictment

Karen Biraghi was indicted on Friday morning on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder in the death of her husband, Alan. The indictment reporting said Alan was sleeping on the couple’s living room couch when Biraghi shot him in the back of the head on Christmas Eve.

After the killing, Biraghi matter-of-factly explained to a 911 dispatcher what she had done:

“I'm turning myself in for killing my husband.” The dispatcher asked where her husband was, and Biraghi responded: “He's, umm, on the couch right now.” When asked: “Is he alive?” Biraghi answered: The dispatcher then asked: “Later, the dispatcher asked how it happened. ‘I shot him.’”

A report also said Biraghi had no criminal background in Hernando County other than minor traffic violations.

Trial and plea

Judge Daniel B. Merritt Jr. accepted an open plea in which Biraghi was adjudicated guilty of second-degree murder.

Earlier reporting described that the state attorney was not seeking the death penalty because:

“the facts and circumstances do not rise to the level” of a capital murder case.

A defense attorney, Larry C. Hoffman, said he tried unsuccessfully to get prosecutors to agree to a maximum cap on the sentence and planned to ask Merritt to levy the minimum, citing Biraghi’s mental health issues. Hoffman said:

“It's in the hands of the judge, and we're trusting him to make a wise decision based on what he's going to hear,” and: “She has deep remorse,” in the plea and sentencing reporting.

Sentencing

On March 28, 2013, Judge Daniel Merritt Jr. sentenced Karen Biraghi to the maximum after hearing testimony from both the prosecution and the defense.

Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino asked a first witness, Rosemary Ann Biraghi, if she had her hand raised. Rosemary Biraghi testified via court phone line from her home in England. She explained how she always had “maximum respect for Alan’s wife,” and gave her son the space he requested to live his life with Karen “without interference.” Rosemary Biraghi also said she could not comment on the length of Karen Biraghi’s sentence because her son’s death affected the entire family. Rosemary Biraghi allowed Biraghi, unshackled, the opportunity to apologize to her mother-in-law over the phone. During the phone apology, Biraghi said she didn’t know what to say other than she was very sorry, and Rosemary Biraghi responded:

“I accept your apology, Karen,” and: “and let her know she would continue to pray for her and work on forgiving her for the ‘indescribable act.’”

A licensed psychologist, Valerie McClain, evaluated Biraghi on two separate occasions. McClain testified that multiple factors from Biraghi’s childhood led to mental health conditions including obsessive compulsive behavior, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and bulimia, as well as abuse of alcohol and pain drugs. McClain testified that Biraghi’s physical and sexual abuse as a child affected coping skills and maturity, which McClain described as being at an adolescent level. McClain described Biraghi as a “broken” woman and said eating disorders could deprive the brain of nourishment, leading to blackouts. McClain testified Biraghi was “obsessed” with Disney characters and hoarding and filling her house with the “relics.” McClain said Biraghi wasn’t feeling “vindictive,” but that her behavior was “spiraling” out of control, and that Biraghi originally intended to kill herself.

Magrino questioned McClain about the paper trail of Biraghi’s abuse. McClain testified:

she did not know of any reports of physical or sexual abuse filed with law enforcement, the school system or the Department of Children and Families.

Biraghi’s mother, Patricia Wells, told the court that she was “always close to her daughter,” and testified that Biraghi’s maternal grandmother had severe paranoid schizophrenia. Wells said Biraghi was “quiet” and “reserved” as a child and that she often tried to get her child to open up to her about anything bothering her.

Biraghi asked Merritt to sentence her to 25 years, promising to “seek every additional resource while incarcerated,” and said she wanted to “be there” for her daughter upon release.

During sentencing, Merritt wanted to know more about the murder weapon and whether Biraghi had to manually load each round of ammunition or if she slid in a loaded clip. Magrino said Biraghi purchased a revolver. Merritt acknowledged the “extraordinary” understanding and compassion shown by the victim’s mother and said:

“he has sentenced about six people to life in prison the last 28 months,” and: “and that Biraghi is deserving of similar treatment.” Merritt also said: “I hope you do find some good, purpose, somehow during incarceration,”

Other details

The couples’ background described in plea and indictment reporting included that Alan Biraghi adopted Karen’s then-8-year-old daughter when the couple married. The daughter later told investigators that Karen’s mother’s first husband cheated with another man. The daughter said her mother was distrustful of Alan Biraghi and activated parental controls on his cellphone to keep track of his calls.

Reporting described that Karen and Alan moved to a house on Greynolds Avenue in Spring Hill about three years before Alan’s death. By 2010, records showed Karen was corresponding with men she met online and complaining that Alan didn’t make her feel desired or wanted anymore, and that she sought to arrange meetings. By the summer of that year, records showed she was in the midst of an affair; it was unclear how long it lasted or when it ended.

A week before the killing, reporting described that Karen had a sexual encounter with a neighbor, and the man later told detectives they had sex one time and exchanged text messages afterward but had no plans to start a relationship.

Reporting described that about a month before Alan’s death, Alan and a co-worker struck up a friendship that progressed quickly “to a very emotional connection,” and the woman told investigators she hesitated because Karen was jealous. The woman and investigators’ account said Alan was to move into her Spring Hill home on Dec. 26, and to keep the relationship secret, Alan obtained a second cellphone.

A report said that on Dec. 20, Alan told his wife there was more to the relationship than she knew, and Karen called the woman:

“She was distraught and very upset,” because she said she wanted another chance.

A report said that the next morning Karen went to a pawnshop and placed a down payment on a .38-caliber handgun and told investigators she bought the gun because her husband was mentally and verbally abusive and that he scared her.

A report described that at about 3 a.m. on Dec. 24, Alan sent a text to the woman:

“I love u, i am a lucky man to have u, thank u.” The report said Alan finished his paper route, returned home and fell asleep on the couch, and that while he slept Karen left the house, returned to the pawnshop and picked up the gun. Authorities said she returned, found Alan’s second cellphone and discovered the romantic text messages, retrieved the gun from the bedroom and loaded it with six bullets.

A report also described that four days before Christmas last year, Karen Biraghi sent a text message to a friend that said:

“If I could kill the s.o.b. I would!” It said that court documents showed her husband of 11 years, Alan, had made it clear he would be leaving her for another woman.

A report described that Biraghi worked as a newspaper delivery woman for the St. Petersburg Times and that her car had the slogan “Magic is Everywhere” and a license plate reading “DSNE NUT.”

Aftermath

The sentencing resulted in Karen Biraghi being ordered to spend the rest of her life in prison for shooting and killing Alan Biraghi. The open plea adjudicated her guilty of second-degree murder and sent her to prison for at least 25 years, or as much as life in prison.