OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Anthony Todt, a physical therapist from Connecticut, was found guilty on Thursday of murdering his wife and three children in their Celebration home over two years ago.
Jurors returned with a verdict around 6:50 p.m. and found Todt guilty on four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his 42-year-old wife, Megan, his 4-year-old daughter, Zoe, and his two sons Alek, 13, and Tyler, 11. He was also found guilty on one count of animal cruelty for the murder of the family dog, Breezy.
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Todt addressed the court after the verdict was delivered and said, “I maintain my innocence.”
“I love my wife. I love my children. I was not there the night my children died,” he said.
Watch the full video below of Todt addressing the court:
The judge called Todt a “destroyer of worlds” and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole.
Prior to reaching a verdict, the jury deadlocked were brought into the courtroom where the judge read what is called the Allen charge, which is further instruction to allow the jury to talk about their decisions and give jurors in the minority opinion about the case a chance to reconsider their positions.
In closing arguments, the prosecution said the reason they are in court boils down to control, saying that’s what Todt wanted.
Prosecution says Todt told deputies they brought the kids into this world, and they should be in control of when they leave this world. Referencing control again.
— Lauren Cervantes (@LaurenNews6) April 14, 2022
The defense argued there are holes and gaps in the story around the slayings, creating reasonable doubt that Todt is guilty.
Prosecutors and the defense rested their respective cases Wednesday with the attorneys representing Todt calling him to the stand to testify.
While on the stand, Todt blamed his wife for the deaths of his children, saying he came home and found the children dead and blood on his wife’s shirt. He said he was distraught, tried to cover for his wife and told the jury he tried to kill himself several times.
“I remember at least eight times,” said Todt, adding that he tried to overdose several times on Benadryl. “I just wanted to be with my family.”
The victims’ decomposing bodies were wrapped in blankets and had stab wounds and toxic amounts of Benadryl in their bodies when they were found in January 2020, according to autopsy reports. The bodies were discovered when federal agents and deputies went to the house to serve an arrest warrant for health care fraud charges in Connecticut.
[RELATED: State, defense rest after Anthony Todt, accused of killing family in Celebration, testifies]
The jury also heard from a detective who interviewed Todt after the slayings in January 2020.
Todt initially confessed to the killings but in jailhouse writings he has since blamed his wife for the slayings. He was arrested in January 2020, but investigators believe the family members were killed weeks earlier.