FL - Megan Todt 42, Alek 13, Tyler 11, Zoe 4, & dog Breezy, Celebration, 6 Jan 2020 *ARREST*

[borndem]

I just saw this --

Dad Accused of Killing Family in Upscale Celebration Community May Have Lived with Bodies for Weeks

Anthony Todt is facing multiple murder charges after allegedly confessing to killing his wife, three kids and dog sometime after Christmas

By KC Baker...January 16, 2020 12:15 PM
On Dec. 29, a sheriff’s deputy knocked on the door of a tidy storybook home in Celebration, Florida, in the shadow of the Walt Disney World resort, to check on the family inside.
A relative had called from out of state saying she’d been unable to reach the family of five: Anthony Todt, 44, his wife, Megan Todt, 42, and their children, Alek, 13, Tyler, 11 and 4-year-old Zoey.
No one answered the door, but the deputy left when he found nothing suspicious.
[...]
Anthony was taken into custody on Monday morning. On Wednesday, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office charged him with multiple counts of homicide and one count of felony animal cruelty.

“Three children and a mother have lost their lives at the hands of a supposed husband and a father, and their family dog,” Gibson said. “This is despicable.”

Pausing to hold back tears, he said, “We grieve along with the victims’ family and friends, along with the community for this tragic loss of innocent lives.”

More here:
Dad Accused of Killing Family in Upscale Celebration Community May Have Lived with Bodies for Weeks

 

[zea mays]

According to my local news LE did go check on the family after relatives requested 3 welfare checks. First one right around time they were killed, second one a week later and third one
when they found the husband at the home and
they found the bodies. LE said no one answered the door on first 2 checks.

Sounds like they're getting the welfare checks and warrant service attempts mixed-up. The Sheriff clearly said that there was a welfare check requested by a family member on 12/29 (no one answered the door and nothing suspicious was noted), attempted warrant service on 1/9 (no one answered the door and nothing suspicious was noted) and the successful warrant service on the day he was arrested when they found the bodies while trying to secure the home. The Sheriff specifically stated that the family never requested any follow up after the 12/29 welfare check. The reason for the other two attempts were in support of the warrant service requested by federal LE based in CT. This is all in the press conference linked earlier in the thread.

 

[strawberry]

Can I just say I love that the dog Breezy is included in the title of these threads.

 

[MsArk]

Can I just say I love that the dog Breezy is included in the title of these threads.

Agree... Poor little Breezy. This guy is lower than low. Obviously.

 

[Lgreen]

More info Man Under Federal Investigation Allegedly Killed Wife, 3 Children: Police

 

[MeadowMuffin]

I've read the books, seen the movie (um ... they turned our suburban boring Richmond, Virginia 1960s office building into a marina? LOL), watched the shows, read, read and read some more. I mean ... I KNEW HIM. OMG.

I grew up maybe 10 miles from Westfield, NJ where the List's lived. I was the same age as Patty, the daughter. It was a frightening time. The local paper, the Plainfield Courier News had articles every day for quite a while. And on anniversaries they would bring it up. A cold, calculating SOB he was. When neighbors noticed the lights in the house gradually, one by one, going out, they called police. The home was torched a short time later and pretty much burned to the ground. It was only then that it was realized that the ballroom's stained glass insert in the ceiling was done by Louis C. Tiffany's studio and worth tons of money.

 

[mom2tee]

I grew up maybe 10 miles from Westfield, NJ where the List's lived. I was the same age as Patty, the daughter. It was a frightening time. The local paper, the Plainfield Courier News had articles every day for quite a while. And on anniversaries they would bring it up. A cold, calculating SOB he was. When neighbors noticed the lights in the house gradually, one by one, going out, they called police. The home was torched a short time later and pretty much burned to the ground. It was only then that it was realized that the ballroom's stained glass insert in the ceiling was done by Louis C. Tiffany's studio and worth tons of money.

YES! I remember reading that. The ceiling alone likely would have saved them from debt. I actually knew a girl whose father had worked on the original case (we met at a summer camp). It was weird to compare our Westfield and Richmond stories.

 

[molly1255]

Last night I watched Judgment Day: The John List Story. It's free on YouTube and Robert Blake stars as John List. John List is interesting to me because he is a FA who like CW and AT, did not commit suicide.

As an aside, and this is JMO, Robert Blake has his own personal demons, so I'm not sure how accurately he portrayed John List's personality, or if he perhaps portrayed some elements of his own personality.

Based on this movie, and in a nutshell, John List was an only child whose mother was absolutely bizarre. She was extremely possessive of him and my thoughts are she fostered extreme narcissism in him and did it partially by pushing her own bizarre, very rigid religious beliefs onto him. He was extremely socially awkward and his mother would not let go of him when he became an adult man. His mother absolutely loathed his first wife, but John List manipulated his mother into giving him money so he could buy the Victorian mansion his wife wanted. His mother gave him the money and she moved in. List also manipulated his mother into having him handle her finances and he was stealing from her to make ends meet before the murders. They were living above their means and he could not hold down a job, partially because he was creepy, but also because he demanded raises and promotions his employers did not agree with.

If the movie is accurate, John List's second wife was NOT safe. He was having conflicting and very negative feelings about her, especially right before he was captured.

I didn't think this was a "great" movie but I did find it to be interesting, "if" the details in the movie are accurate.

 

[wyome]

It is alleged that Tony was seen in CT on 1/3 and 1/4 (the 4th at a Pizza place alone acting normal). I wonder if he went back to CT for a few days "hoping" the bodies would be discovered and he'd have the alibi of "omg, I wasn't home". I bring this up because he obviously traveled back home, perhaps feeling defeated.

There were earlier posts, one a tweet from a reporter stating a strong odor coming from him. Some rightfully speculated decomp smell, as the owner of the house may have cut off electric during eviction-notice time due to non-payment.

I have also read (and will try to relocate!) a report that stated LE smelled strong smell of bleach when he was officially served fraud papers on the 13th, and the day they found the bodies.

Can someone help me reconcile some of this??

 

[molly1255]

YES! I remember reading that. The ceiling alone likely would have saved them from debt. I actually knew a girl whose father had worked on the original case (we met at a summer camp). It was weird to compare our Westfield and Richmond stories.

I remember reading about that stained glass ceiling a few years ago. I just posted a "review" about a movie I watched about John List last night. If the movie details are accurate, the finances were definitely a huge problem, but not the only problem.

 

[zea mays]

It is alleged that Tony was seen in CT on 1/3 and 1/4 (the 4th at a Pizza place alone acting normal). I wonder if he went back to CT for a few days "hoping" the bodies would be discovered and he'd have the alibi of "omg, I wasn't home". I bring this up because he obviously traveled back home, perhaps feeling defeated.

Rumor and speculation.

There were earlier posts, one a tweet from a reporter stating a strong odor coming from him. Some rightfully speculated decomp smell, as the owner of the house may have cut off electric during eviction-notice time due to non-payment.

The reported did report this. There has been no follow up that I can find to describe the smell. So, rumor and speculation.

I have also read (and will try to relocate!) a report that stated LE smelled strong smell of bleach when he was officially served fraud papers on the 13th, and the day they found the bodies.

Rumor and speculation

Can someone help me reconcile some of this??

The rumor mills online run rampant during these cases. Everyone wants the scoop. It's all rumor and speculation until it is reported in MSM or legal documents. Right now, we have the Osceola Sheriffs presser and the Health Care Fraud affidavit as official sources. Both can be found earlier in this thread. It's so hard to wait for official information. I read all the rumors, too. But, it's all rumors/speculation until MSM or legal documents.

 

[wyome]

I remember reading about that stained glass ceiling a few years ago. I just posted a "review" about a movie I watched about John List last night. If the movie details are accurate, the finances were definitely a huge problem, but not the only problem.

There was one program I watched on his crime that really angered me. They added a whole slant on how the wife was a nagger and put him down all the time and implied she was fooling around on him. I'm not saying their marriage was perfect, but damn, it almost put that spin on it that she deserved it, and he deserved to start over.

 

[molly1255]

It is alleged that Tony was seen in CT on 1/3 and 1/4 (the 4th at a Pizza place alone acting normal). I wonder if he went back to CT for a few days "hoping" the bodies would be discovered and he'd have the alibi of "omg, I wasn't home". I bring this up because he obviously traveled back home, perhaps feeling defeated.

There were earlier posts, one a tweet from a reporter stating a strong odor coming from him. Some rightfully speculated decomp smell, as the owner of the house may have cut off electric during eviction-notice time due to non-payment.

I have also read (and will try to relocate!) a report that stated LE smelled strong smell of bleach when he was officially served fraud papers on the 13th, and the day they found the bodies.

Can someone help me reconcile some of this??

I wish I could because I've seen the same things and am very curious about them. Didn't they also find his car at an airport? The family apparently had three vehicles. As to a strong smell of bleach in the house, my guess is if LE smelled bleach, they probably also smelled decomp when they went to his house on the fraud charges on the 13th. They knew the family had not been seen for weeks, put it together and that may have been what led them to search the house and they found the bodies. JMO.

 

[CaliRoses]

I don't think this one has been posted yet but apologies if it has...

Man Accused of Killing Family in Celebration Home Was in Deep Debt, Accused of Defrauding $130,000

Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said Wednesday that Anthony Todt, 44, allegedly confessed to killing his wife, Megan Todt, 42, and their children, Alek, 13, Tyler, 11 and 4-year-old Zoey, along with the family dog.

Todt faces four counts of first-degree homicide and one count of animal cruelty.

[...]

According to the affidavit, Todt allegedly operated a scheme that defrauded $130,000 from bills he sent to insurers, which included Medicaid, Cigna and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.

[...]

The affidavit alleges Todt admitted “adding stuff” to his bills when questioned by federal investigators. Todt allegedly told investigators his wife didn’t know of the scheme. When asked if he was living above his means, Todt allegedly said, “That’s the best way to put it.”

 

[molly1255]

There was one program I watched on his crime that really angered me. They added a whole slant on how the wife was a nagger and put him down all the time and implied she was fooling around on him. I'm not saying their marriage was perfect, but damn, it almost put that spin on it that she deserved it, and he deserved to start over.

In the movie I watched last night, the wife he murdered was portrayed as a nag who wanted more than what he could afford (including the Victorian mansion), and that she also abused prescription drugs. There was a part where he told his mother that his wife's brain was shrinking, due to a sexually transmitted disease and his mother went off into a crazy, religious rant. His wife was beyond fed up with his mother, who was living in an apartment in the mansion.

I think there have been attempts by some to try to portray him in a somewhat sympathetic manner, as if he was a victim.

 

[wyome]

Rumor and speculation.



The reported did report this. There has been no follow up that I can find to describe the smell. So, rumor and speculation.



Rumor and speculation



The rumor mills online run rampant during these cases. Everyone wants the scoop. It's all rumor and speculation until it is reported in MSM or legal documents. Right now, we have the Osceola Sheriffs presser and the Health Care Fraud affidavit as official sources. Both can be found earlier in this thread. It's so hard to wait for official information. I read all the rumors, too. But, it's all rumors/speculation until MSM or legal documents.

I can appreciate this, and appreciate you; hence, why I said I stated "alleged". I was hoping to hear from a VI, if we have one...I came in to this story a bit late.

It is hard to wait for official information, I agree. And honestly, since he's pleading guilty, we may never learn the full truth...LE's got bigger issues to deal with right now.

Honestly, his employees' checks were bouncing, legal issues were mounting, and eviction notices being filed...I wish Megan had been privy to a bit more rumor and speculation in her life -- maybe could have saved her children's lives.

 

[Wild Rose]

There was one program I watched on his crime that really angered me. They added a whole slant on how the wife was a nagger and put him down all the time and implied she was fooling around on him. I'm not saying their marriage was perfect, but damn, it almost put that spin on it that she deserved it, and he deserved to start over.

Whether true or not, IMO, every victim we see who has searched elsewhere, we find they realized they lived with a monster. How many times have we seen partners extinguish lives.

 

[CaliRoses]

Much more analysis at link...

Absent the usual triggers, Anthony Todt’s confessed crime is an unusual case study

Tony Todt’s confessed actions in the killing of his wife, three young children, and the family dog make him an unusual perpetrator in the annals of family killers, three forensic experts said in interviews Friday.

Missing was the more usual trail of protective orders, overt signs of marital distress and the “if-I-can’t-have-you-no-one-else-will” rage husbands and boyfriends have expressed in other domestic-violence slayings, remarked Harold I. Schwartz, psychiatrist-in-chief emeritus at Hartford Health Care.

Other factors that make the allegations against Todt unusual is that he didn’t kill himself after slaying his family and, with his clean criminal history, surface charm and social skills, he didn’t fit the profile of someone with a chronic lack of impulse control and a capacity for extreme violence, said Prof. Michele Galietta, a forensic psychologist at John Jay College of Criminal Jutice in New York City.

Todt appeared to have traits that are frequently seen in white-collar criminals, Galietta said.

[...]

“No, only me,” Todt said when the agents asked if Megan knew, according to the federal affidavit outlining a Medicaid scheme so blatant — he once billed for treating 16 children over 36 hours in a single day, on a Saturday when his office was closed — that it’s hard to imagine he sustained it for as long as he did.

[...]

“Psychopathy can have a genetic link,” said O’Toole.

His father had traits that are consistent with psychopathy," said Galietta. “You would want to know if Tony Todt was a family man.”

O’Toole said it will be important to learn how Tony Todt allegedly killed his family, his method and means, and the weapon used.

“Were there indications of prior attempts, had he written down these thoughts in his computer, how long did he plan it? What was his strategy? How the family died becomes very important in terms of his psychology,” said O’Toole. “He left the bodies in the house and he stayed in the house — what he says to detectives about that will also be important to know.”

 

[NuttMegg]

In the movie I watched last night, the wife he murdered was portrayed as a nag who wanted more than what he could afford (including the Victorian mansion), and that she also abused prescription drugs. There was a part where he told his mother that his wife's brain was shrinking, due to a sexually transmitted disease and his mother went off into a crazy, religious rant. His wife was beyond fed up with his mother, who was living in an apartment in the mansion.

I think there have been attempts by some to try to portray him in a somewhat sympathetic manner, as if he was a victim.

I watched that too and thought exactly the same thing. First of all they portrayed him as a "religiously abused" child, taking baths from bizarre female mommy at 7-8 years old. Then crazy wife comes along who makes him spend beyond his means, so of course he reacts by offing the whole family. Where have we heard that excuse recently? Wife more sociable than he and so forth, crazy mother jealous of wife. This Todt guy reminds me of Mr. "Fireplug" Jones who just casually offed his family and carried his dead wife in the van, with his murdered kids in the woods for a couple of weeks. Just like this Todt in physical appearance and hang dog plaintive sad sack expression after being caught.

 

[molly1255]

I watched that too and thought exactly the same thing. First of all they portrayed him as a "religiously abused" child, taking baths from bizarre female mommy at 7-8 years old. Then crazy wife comes along who makes him spend beyond his means, so of course he reacts by offing the whole family. Where have we heard that excuse recently? Wife more sociable than he and so forth, crazy mother jealous of wife. This Todt guy reminds me of Mr. "Fireplug" Jones who just casually offed his family and carried his dead wife in the van, with his murdered kids in the woods for a couple of weeks. Just like this Todt in physical appearance and hang dog plaintive sad sack expression after being caught.

I agree, there appears to be some interesting similarities with CW. I'm not familiar with Fireplug Jones - I'll have to read about him. Apparently he's another FA who didn't kill himself.