Gilbert man gets max sentence for wife’s 2017 murder

PHOENIX – A Gilbert man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday for the September 2017 murder of his wife.

Mark Eric Ponsati, 42, was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said the two-month trial concluded with the maximum sentence for the defendant, and it means a sense of closure and justice for family and friends who cared about the victim.

“To the prosecutor and the victim advocates who worked tirelessly to bring justice to this family, I commend them because their work fulfills the duty bestowed upon this office: to hold criminals accountable and bring justice to victims,” Mitchell said in a press release.

The defendant told authorities his wife had slipped in the bathroom and hit her head. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

A report from the medical examiner’s office revealed the victim’s injuries could not have been caused by a single slip-and-fall injury. The victim had multiple blunt force injuries, rib fractures, skull fractures, spine and brain bruising consistent with violent shaking, and a large laceration on the back of her head.

The investigation revealed multiple indications of staging and tampering with evidence, according to the press release.

The victim’s mother said she’s been waiting to speak about her “precious daughter.”

“The pain is indescribable, especially when I heard about all the injuries she received,” the victim’s mother stated in a victim impact statement during the sentencing.”

Ponsati will serve his sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections.