Man’s body found in plastic under bed at home, AZ officials say. Wife sentenced
A woman accused of killing her husband in “a betrayal that shattered a family” is heading to prison, Arizona officials said.
Ivanka Deneva Koleva, 52, was ordered to serve 20 years behind bars in Stefan Koleva’s 2023 killing, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a June 16 news release.
The sentence came after Ivanka Koleva pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, officials said.
McClatchy News couldn’t immediately reach her attorney June 16 for comment.
Gilbert police found Stefan Koleva dead under a bed at home in November 2023 during a welfare check, officials said, noting that one of his kids had come to the area for Thanksgiving but hadn’t seen him since getting into town.
Stefan Koleva had been stabbed and shot, and his remains were wrapped up in plastic, according to officials.
“The victim’s children told police that their mother, Ivanka Koleva, had been acting strangely over the last several days and asked them not to go inside the home. They also said she had recently been involved in a car crash,” according to officials.
In the couple’s home, “police found evidence that the defendant had cleaned the crime scene, hid the victim’s belongings, and attempted to repair a bullet hole in the bedroom door,” officials said.
A weapon used in the killing also was found in the car she’d been driving when she crashed, officials said.
“This wasn’t just a murder — it was a betrayal that shattered a family,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release, adding that “no one should ever have to endure that kind of horror, especially at the hands of their own mother.”
Gilbert is about a 25-mile drive southeast from Phoenix.
This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Man’s body found in plastic under bed at home, AZ officials say. Wife sentenced."
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