By C1 Staff
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death, dismembered his body and hid some of the parts in potted plants was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.
The LA Times reports that Carmen Montelongo, 54, was convicted on Aug. 29 of murdering her 62-year-old boyfriend Samuel Wiggins. Wiggins was found stabbed twice in the chest and 22 times in the back, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.
Montelongo was arrested after Wiggins was reported missing by his family in April 2011. She delayed the investigation by telling police she was in regular contact with Wiggins, all the while living in his home and using his bank account.
It was during that period that investigators believe she dismembered Wiggins’ body, hiding his head and arms in potted plants. She then thoroughly cleaned the crime scene, even removing tile to hide evidence.
Weeks later, Ontario police spotted Montelongo pushing a trash can containing Wiggins’ body parts along a neighborhood street.
She buried Wiggins’ badly decomposed legs and torso at his home.