CELEBRATION, Fla. — In June, former Colchester physical therapist Tony Todt goes on trial, charged with murdering his wife, their three children in the family dog at their Florida home several months ago. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Todt's business was under investigation by federal agents for alleged healthcare fraud. That's what had agents staking out the family's Celebration, Florida home on the morning of January 13.
The 45-year-old claims he doesn’t remember anything about those murders. But, he told a family member, during a phone conversation from his jail cell, that he does remember going from the family home to a condo they owned nearby.
"The night everything happened, Ok, I’m going to tell you this," Todt said to the female family member. "I went over (to the condo) because Zoe wanted her Mickey silver necklace, for reasons you’ll find out later."
Zoe was Todt’s four-year-old daughter. According to the medical examiner, it remains unclear exactly how she died. His two sons and his wife suffered stab wounds.
The victims were discovered by federal investigators, inside the Todt home, which they entered to serve an arrest warrant for the alleged healthcare fraud.
Agents say Todt told them his wife, Megan, was still asleep. As for the three children, ages four, 11, and 13?
"He said 'oh' I don’t know. I can’t remember if they went to a sleepover last night," said Special Agent Melissa O'Neal, of the Office of the Inspector General, in a recorded interview with local police.
It turns out, all four had been dead for weeks in the master bedroom.
During the jail cell phone call, Todt asked about his mother.
Female: Is mom okay? Um. Um.
Todt: It’s okay, you don’t have to answer.
Female: Well hold on. Give me a second to think about. She’s okay. She’s obviously very upset. She’s reliving a lot.
Todt: Tell her I love her, please.
Female: I will.
Evidence gathered from the home included a loaded gun, two hunting knives, two boxes of Benadryl tablets. And, police say they determined Tony Todt tried to take a lethal dose of Benadryl when the agents entered the house.