Horror pics show bedroom where Disney dad Anthony Todt ‘massacred his wife & three kids’ as case ‘bombshells’ revealed
A SUSPECTED killer's confessions could be the key to the "Disney dad" trial as jury selection begins, a legal expert said.
Anthony Todt was accused of killing his wife, three kids and the family dog in 2020 and living in the family's Disney vacation home with their decaying bodies for weeks.
Osceola County Sheriff's Office in Florida found him during a welfare check with the bodies on January 13, 2020, according to the criminal complaint.
Horrific crime scene photos have shown the room where Todt allegedly massacred his family and slept with their decaying bodies.
When first responders found the father, he "was barely able to stand and shaking" and told paramedics he overdosed on Benadryl in an attempt to kill himself, Todt's lawyers said in legal documents.
While Todt was in the hospital, he confessed to the crimes, according to legal documents.
But his defense team argued that Todt wasn't properly read his Miranda rights at the beginning of the interrogation before police took a 50-minute break.
CRIME STORIES
When police returned, they reread Todt his rights, but the defense argued the entire conversation should be tossed and so should his January 15, 2020 statements because they were tainted.
What Todt said wasn't included in the court documents.
The Florida judge presiding over the trial partially granted the defense's motion in March and threw out Todt's statements before the officers took their break.
But everything after the break and statements made on January 15, 2020 will be allowed.
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Those statements could "hit like an artillery shell" to the defense's case, legal expert Don Jones told The Sun.
"That's the effect it will have on the defense," the University of Miami law professor said. "The chess game over the confessions will likely be the entire trial."
If the jury accepts Todt's confession included into evidence, "it's game over," Jones said.
But if the defense can convince the jury the rest of his statements to police were tainted and he didn't fully understand the rights that he waived, Todt has a chance to win the case, the legal expert said.
There there's the issue of his mental state and if he was inebriated, Jones said.
"If you're intoxicated and give a confession, that's a relevant fact," he said.
"You can make that argument to the jury, which will the have to assign weight and credibility to confession.
"But that doesn't impact admissibility."
'IT'S A DISTURBING CASE'
Todt was formally charged with four counts of murder and animal cruelty on January 29, 2020 and could face the death penalty if he's convicted.
The Connecticut physical therapist pleaded not guilty and will finally get his day in court after the pandemic dragged out the legal process for two years.
The married father of three had been living in the family's Disney vacation home with the decaying bodies for weeks before Osceola County Sheriff's Office found him during a welfare check.
It was later revealed that his wife Megan, Alex, (13) Tyler (11), Zoe (4) and dog Breezy may have been dead on December 29, when police previously did a welfare check at the request of a family member.
The bodies were in advanced degrees of decomposition, and one of his sons was partially mummified, police said at the time.
A long delay usually favors the defense, but this particular case was so publicized and "the evidence is strong," according to Jones, that he doesn't think it will impact the trial.
"It's an interesting trial, but a disturbing case," Jones said.
DEFENSE WANTED PHOTOS THROWN OUT
Before Todt's defense team made a motion to exclude the confessions, it tried to suppress "shocking" photos of his alleged victims' decomposed bodies.
The grizzly crime scene photos were released shortly after Todt was arrested.
The pictures included the hunting knives that he allegedly used, two boxes of Benadryl tablets and a bottle of anti-histamine syrup.
Police also found a bloody mattress, restraints and gun, according to the criminal complaint.
The defense argued in court documents that the cadaver crime scene photos were "unduly prejudicial."
Photos of the cadavers haven't been released to the public but are expected to be shown to the jury during the trial.
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A Florida judge denied the defense's motion.
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A motive is still not clear, but Todt was in major financial trouble at the time.
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