ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge agreed this month to partially exclude a confession made by Connecticut physical therapist Anthony Todt in the 2020 killings of his wife and three children at their Celebration, Florida, home from his upcoming murder trial.
Todt, 45, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty in the killings of his wife, 42-year-old Megan Todt; the couple’s children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4; and their dog Breezy.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The detectives who interrogated Todt after he was arrested at the hospital did not fully inform him of his Miranda rights before their first interview, Circuit Judge Keith Carsten ruled in his March 15 order.
Police are required to inform people in custody of their constitutional rights prior to an interrogation, an expectation established under the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona.
A detective with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office omitted the warning that Todt’s statements could be used as evidence against him and advice about Todt’s right to have an attorney appointed if he could not afford one, Carsten found.
“The Miranda warnings recorded on the audio tape were inadequate and incomplete,” Carsten wrote in his ruling. “... Regardless of (Todt’s) apparent lack of hesitation to speak with the Detectives, and their lack of coercion or promise, (Todt’s) waiver of his Miranda protection cannot be found to be knowing and voluntary, as he was not afforded a full and complete advisement of his rights.”
After Todt’s first confession to the killings, detectives interrogated him two more times and read him the full Miranda warning before Todt repeated his involvement in the deaths of his wife and children. Defense attorneys argued those interviews should be excluded as well because Todt was suicidal and had diminished capacity after a Benadryl overdose.
Carsten rejected those arguments, though, finding Todt spoke to detectives voluntarily.
“(Todt) did not show any signs of hesitation of speaking with the Detectives in any of the three interviews, Carsten said. “This is evidenced by (Todt’s) repeated statements to the Detectives indicating he wished to talk to them, wished to take responsibility, felt comfortable with the Detectives, and was not threatened at all by their presence or questions.”
Federal authorities and Osceola deputies were at the family’s Celebration home Jan. 13, 2020, to arrest Todt on insurance fraud charges related to his physical therapy business when they found the blanket-wrapped bodies of his wife, children and dog.
The victims had stab wounds and toxic amounts of Benadryl in their bodies, according to autopsy reports. Although he initially confessed to the killings, Todt has since blamed his wife for the slayings in jailhouse writings.
Todt’s trial is set to begin April 4 at the Osceola County Courthouse.
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