ORLANDO, Fla. – A jury found David Tronnes guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday evening. Tronnes was accused of strangling his wife in their Delaney Park home in 2018.
The state said Tronnes beat and strangled his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, in April 2018. Investigators said the couple was renovating their home and Tronnes called 911, claiming he found his wife’s body floating in the bathtub.
Tronnes looked teary-eyed at times as lawyers on both sides gave their closing arguments Wednesday.
“She was brutally attacked and then strangled,” the prosecution said.
Prosecutors showed pictures from the crime scene and said Tronnes killed his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes at their home in Delaney Park back in April 2018.
They said he then altered the scene before he called police, even though Tronnes claimed he found her unresponsive in the bathtub.
“He wiped down the bed rail, he brought water out to those blood stains in an attempt to clean it up. The shower it was dry, that’s the testimony from law enforcement,” the prosecution said.
All evidence that the state said isn’t consistent with Tronnes’ story.
“This isn’t an injury consistent with a fall.”
But the defense spent their closing trying to poke holes in the prosecutions claim.
“If the strongest piece of your case is that he’s not crying enough or there’s not enough water on the floor, then that’s not proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” the defense said.
The defense maintained that Tronnes is innocent.
“The government is the one taking the insignificant and stacking them into a period of inferences and asking you to make the same assumptions,” the defense said.
It’s also worth noting that Tronnes did not take the stand during the trial and the defense did not call any witnesses.
Following the verdict on Wednesday, the family of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes said they can finally feel a bit of peace.
“It’s like a weight that’s been lifted off of our shoulders,” said her son, Jackson Cooper.
After the verdict came down, both Jackson Cooper and his father, James Cooper, provided testimonies.
“Your honor, my mom was the best person I ever knew,” Jackson Cooper said.
“The only word I come back to is evil. Only evil would do what he did to her,” James Cooper said.
Shanti Cooper-Tronnes’ stepfather, Norman Dow, said he has been angry and hurt over her death.
“This has affected me so much that it withdrew me from my grandson...” he said. “Every time that I think of Jackson, it brings to my mind my daughter, and it upsets me.”
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