Jury selection has begun in the case of the suspected killer known as the “Disney Dad.”
Anthony Todt allegedly murdered his wife, three kids and the family dog in 2020, then lived with their decaying bodies in the family’s Disney vacation home for weeks.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office in Florida found Todt with his family’s decaying bodies on January 13, 2020, when they conducted a welfare check, according to the criminal complaint.
First responders said that when they arrived on the scene, Todt “was barely able to stand and shaking.” He told paramedics he had tried to kill himself by taking an overdose of Benadryl.
Todt confessed to the murders while he was in the hospital, but his defense argued that he had not been properly read his Miranda rights before the interview began.
Police took a 50 minute break during the interrogation and when they returned they reread Todt his rights, but the defense said that the entire interrogation should be thrown out and so should his January 15, 2020 statements because they were tainted.
The Florida judge presiding over the trial partially granted the defense’s motion in March and the statements Todt made before the officers took their break were thrown out.
The judge also ruled that all statements made after the break on January 15, 2020, will be allowed.
“That’s the effect it will have on the defense,” University of Miami law professor Donald Jones said. “The chess game over the confessions will likely be the entire trial.”
If the jury accepts Todt’s confession included in evidence, “it’s game over,” Jones said.
However, should the defense convince the jury the rest of his statements to the police were compromised and that he didn’t fully understand the rights that he’d waived, Todt has a chance to win the case, the legal expert said.
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.