A friend’s concern, a reported phone call and a stain on the suspect’s shirt shaped the police response.
PLANO, Texas — A missed breakfast, unanswered calls and a welfare concern led Plano police to the home of 34-year-old Eliana Alexandra Bigoni, beginning a sequence of events that ended with officers finding her dead and arresting her estranged husband, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit gives a more detailed timeline of the Aug. 12 investigation that led to murder and abuse of a corpse charges against 37-year-old Jake O’Brien Bigoni. Police said the couple were separated and going through a divorce. Bigoni remained in the Collin County Jail without bond as the investigation continued. The criminal charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
A friend contacted police after Eliana Bigoni failed to attend an 8:30 a.m. breakfast and could not be reached, according to the affidavit. The friend said Eliana planned to go to Jake Bigoni’s apartment that morning to pick up the couple’s children, ages 2 and 5. Location information available to family and friends continued to place Eliana’s phone at the apartment complex, according to accounts of the affidavit.
Plano police said officers were dispatched at about 10:23 a.m. to the 4700 block of Charles Place for a welfare concern involving possible family violence. When officers arrived at The Parker Apartments, Jake Bigoni told them Eliana had visited earlier but was no longer there, the affidavit says. He said she had come to pick up a child but that the child was not feeling well.
Officers noticed what appeared to be a large wet spot on Bigoni’s shirt during the encounter, according to the affidavit. When they returned to ask additional questions, Bigoni said the mark was from cleaning the home. Police also saw a white Hyundai in the garage while trying to determine how Eliana had arrived and where she might have gone.
The investigation changed direction after officers received updated information about a phone conversation between Bigoni and his mother, according to the affidavit. His mother told police that Bigoni had called her around 10:15 a.m. and said Eliana was dead after the two had been in a fight. The reported call occurred shortly before police reached the apartment.
Officers returned to the door and detained Bigoni while trying to locate Eliana. According to the affidavit, he told police he did not know where she was and questioned how officers knew about the conversation with his mother. Investigators also observed that the stain on his shirt had dried into a darker, reddish-brown mark that they believed was blood.
Police then conducted an emergency search of the apartment to determine whether Eliana was inside and needed medical assistance. In the garage, officers opened the trunk of the white Hyundai and found her unresponsive, according to the affidavit. Police later said she was dead. The couple’s two children were inside the residence and were removed unharmed.
Authorities reported that Eliana had injuries to her head and face. The Collin County Medical Examiner had not publicly released her official cause of death as of the latest reporting. Police have not publicly announced a motive, and the affidavit’s account of what happened before officers arrived remains part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Jake Bigoni was first arrested on a charge of abuse of a corpse without authorization. On Aug. 13, Plano police detectives obtained a warrant charging him with murder. The department identified the deceased woman as Eliana Alexandra Bigoni and said its Crimes Against Persons Unit was continuing the investigation.
Bigoni remained jailed without bond as of the latest available reports. Authorities have said additional charges could be possible as investigators continue gathering evidence, while the medical examiner’s final determination and further court proceedings remained pending.
Author note: Last updated August 15, 2026.