ORLANDO, Fla. – Testimony resumed Friday in the murder trial of David Tronnes, who stands accused of beating and strangling his wife at their Delaney Park home in 2018.
The first witnesses took the stand the previous day after the state and defense presented opening statements.
“You’re going to hear that Shanti Cooper Tronnes was beaten to death and she was strangled,” prosecutors said in opening statements.
The prosecution said the home was undergoing major renovations -- calling it a “money pit.”
At one point, prosecutors said Tronnes wanted their home to go on a show called “Zombie House Flipping,” but they said Cooper wanted no part of it.
“This Zombie House Flipping show was the lifeline out of this mess with this house that they’ve dug themselves into and she, at that point, a week before her murder, was not into it,” prosecutors said.
The state called several witnesses, including investigators and the 911 dispatcher who took Tronnes’ call in April 2018.
Gary Crosby, an Orlando Police Department crime scene investigator who was there in 2018, went through photographs of evidence that included photos of what appeared to be blood on the bathtub.
“There was what looked like signs of diluted blood all the way around the bathtub, like where a water level was,” Crosby said.
But the defense team called the blood into question.
Defense: “That amino black, do you know how it works?”
Crosby: “Yes, it adheres to the amino acids in your blood is what I’m told.”
Defense: “So it adheres to amino acid protein sources. Is that correct? It doesn’t do anything to identify whose blood that is, does it?”
Crosby: “No ma’am.”
While the defense reserved their opening statement, they did cross-examine several witnesses. The prosecution said they planned to call up to 25 witnesses during the trial.
Court is set to reconvene on Monday at 9:30 a.m.