On July 30, 2025, an Amherst County, Virginia, judge sentenced Frederick Wiggington Jr. to life in prison for the murder of his wife, Elsie.
In May 2024, Elsie’s story was featured in Dateline’s Missing in America series. Dateline spoke with her daughter, Sativa Rucker, her friend Tracey Coleman, her sister Victoria Seal, and Sheriff Jimmy Ayers from Amherst County.
Sativa said the last time she heard from her mom was on June 25, 2023. Elsie had texted her asking for a recipe. Sativa replied, but the next day she couldn’t get ahold of her. “I just figured she was busy working. But then a few hours later, her job called to ask if I’d heard from her,” she told Dateline in 2024.
Elsie was the director of nursing at Fairmont Crossing Health Rehabilitation Center in Amherst, and her sister Victoria said she loved what she did. “You don’t just walk away from that,” she said.
According to Sheriff Ayers, Elsie’s husband, Frederick Wiggington Jr., called the police on June 26, 2023, to report her missing. He said he last saw her the night before, wearing pajamas and packing a bag.
Elsie’s family and friends told Dateline they never believed she’d just leave without saying anything. “She would never put her kids through this kind of heartache,” friend Tracey Coleman said.
In August 2024, investigators searched the Amherst County property Elsie and Frederick had shared. During that search, authorities discovered human remains buried beneath a concrete slab on the property. They were later identified as Elsie’s.
Frederick Wiggington Jr. was arrested and charged with concealment of a body, first-degree murder, and concealment of a firearm.
In late April 2025, Wiggington went on trial for the firearm and murder charges. During the trial, prosecutors played a 2024 video interview with a fellow inmate, who claimed Wiggington confessed to killing Elsie while they were in jail together. He also claimed Wiggington said he would “end up on Dateline.”
On May 2, a jury found Wiggington guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced on July 30 to life plus three years.
Wiggington was also charged with concealing a body. Earlier this month, he entered an Alford plea -- acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him while maintaining his innocence.
In January 2025, Wiggington Jr.’s ex-wife, Patricia Wiggington, was arrested and charged with one count of accessory after the fact and one count of obstructing justice. She was released on bond shortly afterward.
In 2020, Elsie filed for divorce from Frederick. Among the allegations in the filings, Elsie claimed her husband had continued to see Patricia while they were married.
According to her arrest warrant, Patricia moved into the couple’s home the same weekend Elsie was killed. She has not yet entered a plea to the charges against her. Her next court date is set for August 21, 2025. Dateline reached out to Patricia Wiggington’s attorney who declined to comment on the case.
