Man Cut Off Wife's Head, Stored It In Freezer, Gets 52-Year Sentence

A 24-year-old man from McLennan County, Texas, was sentenced to 52 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to beheading his wife in front of their children and storing her remains in a freezer at their home in Bellmead city.

The accused, David Dauzat, pleaded guilty to murder charges before retired Judge George Allen in Waco’s 54th State District Court.

In a statement to the police, Dauzat admitted that he had smoked marijuana with his wife the day he killed her and had also consumed drugs.

An autopsy report stated that Natasha, Dauzat's wife was stabbed at least 43 times, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.

The Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences said: “Based on autopsy and the history available, it is our opinion that Natasha Ellen Dauzat died as a result of sharp force injuries and decapitation.”

Ater Dauzat's arrest, the deceased's family requested him to agree to a plea deal so that his children do not have to attend the trials of their mother's murder, to which he agreed.

Michael Jarrett, Assistant District Attorney for McLennan County said: “They didn’t want to put the children through a trial and have them relive those memories.”

Dauzat's crime came to light in 2016 when the police received a call for a welfare check from one of his relatives. Upon reaching the place, they found everything to be quite normal. However, after about two hours, the police again received a call from the same relative who informed them about Natasha's death, CBS affiliated KWTX – TV reported.

“There was no indication from Natasha or David that either of them was in distress or in need of police intervention at that time. They both appeared calm and expressed their curiosity why the police were there,” police said at the time.

While investigating the incident, police found Dauzat's bloodstained clothes along with Natasha's dismembered head in the freezer.

Dauzat will now have to spend at least 26 years in prison before he can request a parole.

After he was handed over the sentence, Joseph Marcee, Dauzat’s defense attorney said: “It is certainly a tragedy for everybody involved in the situation and I think it highlights the dangers that drugs play in our society. I certainly think that factored into everything and I think it is a tragedy.”