Wendi Elizabeth Andriano, born on August 6, 1970, grew up in the United States. Her early life details are not widely known, but she would later marry Joseph Andriano in January 1994. Not long after their wedding, Joseph became seriously ill. Initially, he received many misdiagnoses. Finally, in 1998, he was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a type of cancer. At this point, his illness was already terminal.

During Joseph's illness, Wendi gave birth to two children. She worked as an apartment manager to support her family. However, as Joseph's health declined, Wendi started to feel overwhelmed by her responsibilities at home. She began to frequent bars and was unfaithful to her husband.

During the early morning hours of October 8, 2000, Wendi Andriano killed her husband, Joe Andriano, in their apartment in Ahwatukee, Arizona. She used a bar stool to hit him multiple times, causing severe injuries to his head. Then, she stabbed him in the neck with a 13-inch knife. The autopsy later revealed that he had suffered 23 blows to the skull. It also showed traces of sodium azide, which is a toxic substance.

Before the murder, Wendi called 911, claiming that her husband was dying. When the paramedics arrived, she told them to leave, saying that Joe had a do-not-resuscitate order and wanted to die. After an hour, Wendi made another 911 call. This time, she reported that she had stabbed and beaten Joe to death in self-defense. She stated that Joe was abusive toward her. However, due to his illness and the poisoning, Joe was not able to defend himself.

Wendi was charged with murder. Four years after the incident, her trial began on August 23, 2004. Even though she had no criminal history, she faced the death penalty. The prosecution argued that Wendi wanted money, mentioning her attempts to set up a life insurance policy on Joe and a potential lawsuit against his doctors. They claimed she poisoned Joe to make his death look accidental.

During the trial, Wendi testified for nine days. She maintained that Joe had abused her and that a fight broke out after she confessed to an affair. Despite her defense, on November 18, 2004, the jury found her guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection on December 22, 2004.

Wendi filed an appeal in 2007, arguing that evidence about her affairs and insurance efforts biased the jury against her. She also claimed the jury was not allowed to consider lesser charges. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld her conviction in July 2007.

In 2012, Wendi's case entered post-conviction relief. Her attorneys said the prosecutor's mention of her affairs was unfair and played into negative stereotypes of women. As of January 2018, Wendi Andriano remains on death row in Arizona.