ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man accused of beating and strangling his wife at their Delaney Park home in 2018 was found competent Friday to stand trial on murder charges, according to Orange County court minutes.
David Tronnes, 54, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the April 2018 death of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, 39, court records show.
Prosecutors and the defense left Friday’s hearing with instructions to prepare a trial order by Feb. 3, with the trial set for June 5, records show.
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Tronnes was arrested more than four months after his wife’s body was found at the home on East Copeland Drive. His lawyers claimed in 2021 that he was not competent to stand trial due to “ongoing manifestations of the diagnosis of Schizophrenia.”
The motion filed by the defense did not detail those “manifestations” but do say that Tronnes “meets the criteria for involuntary placement” in a mental health facility under the Baker Act.
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Following his wife’s death, Tronnes initially called 911, claiming he found his wife unconscious in the shower.
He told dispatchers his wife wasn’t breathing but did not act on the CPR instructions he was provided over the phone, instead claiming he had already tried it, according to the recording.
When questioned, detectives did not believe Tronnes’ story with one quipping at the accused killer’s’ “cockamamie theory that (Cooper-Tronnes) fell and hit her head.” According to the medical examiner, Cooper-Tronnes died of strangulation and blunt force trauma. Additionally, investigators took note of Tronnes’ admittance during those interviews that his wife had a $250,000 life insurance policy, with him as the beneficiary.
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