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Anthony Todt
The trial of Anthony Todt, the man accused of murdering his family in Celebration in January 2020, has been pushed back.
Originally scheduled to start next Monday, a new status hearing has been set for Oct. 18. Prosecutors allege Todt, a physical therapist from Connecticut, killed his wife and three children.
Prosecutors said they wanted to delay the case to allow time to sift through large amounts of evidence, and Public Defender Bob Wesley asked the Ninth Circuit Court for time to assemble its full defense team from medical leave.
Todt is accused of murdering his wife Megan Todt, 42, and their three children -- Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4, -- and the family’s dog at their rental home on Reserve Place in Celebration in January 2020.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office reported that the Todt had confessed to the murders shortly after arresting him and that the family was likely killed in late December, several weeks before their bodies were discovered.
On Dec. 29, 2019, the Sheriff’s Office received a request to check on the family’s well-being from an out-of-state relative who told authorities she hadn’t been able to reach them.
On Jan. 9, the Sheriff’s Office was contacted by federal agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding an investigation into Anthony Todt, and deputies made several more unsuccessful attempts to contact someone in the home, authorities said at the time.
Four days later, investigators discovered the bodies wrapped in blankets inside the home while deputies conducted another well-being check. Anthony Todt was taken into custody as a suspect the same day but first was brought to the hospital after telling deputies he had ingested an antihistamine.
Defense attorneys said earlier this month that Todt’s initial confession to the murders should be excluded from the trial because he was not properly informed of his rights during the first interview and had diminished capacity.
HHS agents had been investigating Todt for alleged healthcare fraud at his physical therapy business in Connecticut. He was accused of fraudulently billing tens of thousands of dollars worth of bogus therapy appointments.
The property owner filed paperwork to evict the family on Dec. 22 after the $4,921 rent went unpaid on Dec. 1, according to public records on the website for the Osceola County Clerk of the Court.
The eviction complaint shows that the property owners also were seeking $9,842 in damages from the Todts for breaching the lease.
Todt has entered a plea of not guilty.
