OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A judge has ruled that the federal healthcare fraud investigation will not be mentioned in the trial for Anthony Todt.
Back in January of last year, Todt was accused of killing his wife, kids, and the family dog.
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office alongside federal agents found Todt, a Connecticut-based physical therapist, inside a home in Celebration alongside his family who were all dead. Officials at the time were attempting to arrest Todt on health care fraud.
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Todt faces several counts of capital murder and one count of cruelty to animals.
During the court proceeding, the defense argues there was no evidence the killings were tied to or related to the federal investigation.
However, the prosecution said they only would have mentioned the federal investigation due to the federal agents being present during the time of the arrest.
The prosecution did not object to throwing the federal investigation out, so the judge ruled to dismiss it from the courts.
However, there was still a question of Todt’s mental state during the interviews.
Two toxicologists were called to testify. One doctor from UCF and the other a clinical pharmacist. Both said he looked “unwell” or showed signs of an overdose.
It was determined Todt used an excessive amount of Benadryl, but neither doctor could seem to determine how much was used.
There was also the matter of what was said during the initial arrest. The arresting officer took the stand and it was learned that he did not read Todt his full Miranda rights.
The judge did also rule that Todt can appear in court without handcuff or chains.
Yet he did ban the mention of Todt’s last name as the German word for “dead,” but will allow the jury to see photos of the victims’ bodies.
The nearly four-hour hearing ended with an opportunity for the defense who has 10 days from Tuesday’s hearing to submit a written statement regarding a motion to have Todt’s past statements being thrown out and the prosecution will have 10 days after that for a rebuttal.
At this time the scheduled Nov. 1 trial date has been reset.