The defense attorneys for a Connecticut physical therapist accused of killing his wife, their three children and the family dog at their Disney town home in central Florida want his initial confession excluded from his trial, arguing that it was obtained illegally.
Anthony Todt, 45, talked to detectives when he was arrested at the hospital following the January 2020 killings. But they did not properly inform him of his Miranda rights before the interview, Assistant Public Defender Peter Schmer said in an August 31 motion.
The motion also said that Todt was also 'suicidal' and had diminished capacity because he was under the influence of a Benadryl overdose, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
A defense lawyer for Anthony Todt (left), who is accused of murdering his wife, three children and the family dog (right), has filed a motion seeking to have his initial confession excluded from his trial, arguing that it was obtained illegally
The victims' decomposing bodies were found inside their Celebration, Florida, home two weeks after their January 2020 killings
Schmer said the combination of factors led to an invalid waiver of Todt’s rights. The lawyer further argued that detectives may have been 'tempted to cut corners' to obtain a confession in their rush to solve the high profile murder 'with no available concrete evidence.'
Todt has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty in the killings of Megan Todt, 42, and their children, Alek, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4. The family’s dog Breezy was also killed.
The victims were drugged with Benadryl, suffocated, stabbed and left to rot for two weeks inside their Celebration, Florida, near Disney World.
Todt worked in Connecticut and spent weekends in