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Man Who Reported Wife Missing Charged With Murder

Richard Gigante

TAMPA – A Tampa man who reported his wife missing last year has now been charged in her murder, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Richard Gigante, 38, was arrested Thursday night at a Chick-fil-A in Pinellas County. He has been charged with second-degree murder, the sheriff’s office said.

Gigante reported his wife missing on May 31 to Tampa police, but Megan Gigante, 26, was found dead the same day, the sheriff’s office said.

Her body was found in the area of Adamsville Road off of U.S. Highway 41 north of Apollo Beach. A resident of the area discovered her body, the sheriff’s office said.

At the time the body was recovered, it wasn’t identified. Investigators identified it in June, the sheriff’s office said.

Megan Gigante

In August, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide, saying she died of “homicidal violence including fractures of thyroid cartilage.”

Richard Gigante was to be booked into the Pinellas County Jail Thursday night and then transferred to the Hillsborough County jail later, the sheriff’s office said.