On Friday, a Gilbert man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the September 2017 murder of his wife. Mark Eric Ponsati was charged with one count of second-degree murder and was sentenced to the maximum of 25 years to be served in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
On September 7, 2017, the Gilbert Police Department responded to a 911 call from the defendant. He reported that his wife had slipped in the bathroom and hit her head. The victim was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The Office of the Medical Examiner report revealed that the victim’s injuries could not have been caused by a single slip and fall injury as described by the defendant. There were multiple blunt force injuries, multiple rib fractures, multiple skull fractures, spine and brain bruising consistent with violent shaking, and a large laceration on the back of her head.
The investigation also revealed multiple indications of staging and tampering with evidence.