Celebration is a 10.7-square mile master planned community located in Florida. It was designed by Disney in the 1990s, so it’s probably not much of a surprise that it’s just a stone’s throw away from the theme parks. The community is extremely charming, and was inspired by Walt Disney’s dream of creating a “perfect Utopian city” and it looks like small-town America of the mid-20th century. In January of 2020, however, residents of Celebration awoke to the grisly news that a mass murder had taken place in their picturesque community, a mass murder that would show that oftentimes, outward appearances can be deceiving…
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Audio Sources:
“Anthony Todt FULL CONFESSION: Detective Interrogates Physical Therapist About Family Murders”
“Judge Throws Book at Convicted Family Murderer Anthony Todt”
“Accused Family Murderer Anthony Todt Testifies in His Own Defense”
“FL v. Anthony Todt – Prosecution Opening Statement”
“FL v. Anthony Todt – Sergio Montanez – 911 Operator”
“FL v Anthony Todt Trial Day 1 – Christopher Boos, Osceola PD – Bodycam Video”
“Anthony Todt in jailhouse phone call: ‘I don’t remember anything'”
“NEWS CONFERENCE: Authorities in FL say Colchester man admitted to killing his family”
Sources:
The Bulletin, 13 January, 2020 – “Fears Mount for Missing Family”
The Daily Beast, 14 January, 2020 – “Four Found Dead at Home of Missing Florida Family”
The Day, 14 January, 2020 – “Florida Police Probe Death at Home of Colchester Physical Therapists”
The Day, 14 January, 2020 – “4 Found Dead in Home Rented by Colchester Business Owner”
The Hartford Courant, 14 January, 2020 – “Connecticut Family Linked to Deaths of 4 People Near Orlando, Fla.”
The Middletown Press, 14 January, 2020 – “4 CT Family Members Feared Dead in Florida”
The Middletown Press, 14 January, 2020 – “Sadness and Shock”
ABC – 2 WSB, 15 January, 2020 – “Man Killed Wife, 3 Kids and Family Dog at Florida Home”
Associated Press, 15 January, 2020 – “Physical Therapist Charged with Killing his Wife, 3 Children”
CBS – 17 WNCN, 15 January, 2020 – “Family Members Release Statement”
The Hartfort Courant, 15 January, 2020 – “Anthony Todt Was a Man Under Pressure”
The Bulletin, 16 January, 2020 – “44-Year-Old Colchester Physical Therapist has not Told Police”
Connecticut Post, 16 January, 2020 – “CT Man Charged with Killing Wife, 3 Children Denied Bail”
The Day, 16 January, 2020 – “Anthony Todt Had Violent Family Past”
The Day, 16 January, 2020 – “Details Emerge in Federal Investigation into Anthony Todt”
The Bulletin, 17 January, 2020 – “The 44-Year-Old Colchester Physical Therapist”
The Orlando Sentinel, 21 January, 2020 – “Slain Todt Family Remembered at Celebration Vigil”
The Chronicle, 22 January, 2020 – “State News Briefs”
Associated Press, 23 January, 2020 – “Woman, at Least 2 Children Stabbed”
The Bulletin, 23 January, 2020 – “Members of Todt Family Found Stabbed”
The Bulletin, 23 January, 2020 – “Residents Rally with Donations”
The Day, 23 January, 2020 – “Todt Stabbed Wife and Sons”
The Day, 24 January, 2020 – “Todt Family Bodies were Found Wrapped in Blankets”
The Hartford Courant, 24 January, 2020 – “Phone Calls Reveal Frantic Parallel Searches”
The Bulletin, 25 January, 2020 – “Remember How They Lived”
The Bulletin, 25 January, 2020 – “Wake and Mass Set for Four Slain Members of Todt Family”
The Orlando Sentinel, 28 January, 2020 – “Funeral Arrangement Made for Todt Family Slain in Celebration”
Shoreline Times, 29 January, 2020 – “Remembering the CT Mom and Children Slain in Florida”
Associated Press, 30 January, 2020 – “Man Formally Charged with Killing Wife, 3 Children”
Associated Press, 31 January, 2020 – “Community Mourns Mom and 3 Children Slain in Florida”
The Day, 31 January, 2020 – “Todts Remembered Fondly at Funeral”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 25 February, 2020 – “State to Seek Death Penalty Against Celebration Man”
The Hartford Courant, 27 February, 2020 – “Prosecutors Outline Rationale in Seeking Death Penalty Against Colchester’s Anthony Todt in Slaying of Wife, Children”
ABC – 2 WSB, 7 April, 2020 – “Benadryl Overdose, Homicidal Violence, Killed Florida Mother, 3 Children”
The Hartford Courant, 8 April, 2020 – “Autopsies on Todts”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 5 May, 2020 – “I Don’t Remember Anything”
The Chronicle, 7 May, 2020 – “Todt in Phone Call to Relative: I Don’t Remember Anything”
Associated Press, 27 July, 2020 – “Man Charged with Slaying Family Says Wife Killed Kids, Self”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 28 July, 2020 – “Osceola County Dad Accused of Killing Family Says Wife is Responsible”
The Day, 28 November, 2020 – “I Couldn’t Stop This Because I Wasn’t There”
The Bulletin, 5 January, 2021 – “Prosecutors No Longer Seeking Death Penalty for Todt”
The Day, 13 February, 2021 – “Federal Prosecutors in Connecticut Seek to Dismiss, For Now, Todt Health Care Fraud Charges”
The Day, 13 August, 2021 – “Todt Faces Civil Case While Awaiting Murder Trial”
The Day, 16 September, 2021 – “Todt Attorneys Move to Prohibit Photos of Family’s Dead Bodies”
The Day, 15 October, 2021 – “Judge Rules to Allow Crime Scene Photos in Todt Trial”
The Orlando Sentinel, 26 October, 2021 – “Lawyer Calls Todt Motive Reckoning”
The Hartford Courant, 31 March, 2022 – “Todt Jurors Won’t Hear About His Mental Health”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 11 April, 2022 – “Trial for Man Accused of Murdering His Family Began Today”
The Daily Beast, 11 April, 2022 – “Prosecutors Offer Bonkers ‘Apocalypse’ Theory for Florida Family’s Benadryl Deaths”
The Hartford Courant, 11 April, 2022 – “Todt Set to Face Jury in Florida”
The Hartford Courant, 12 April, 2022 – “Jury Told of Alleged Death Pact”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 13 April, 2022 – “I Came Home and my Kids Were Dead”
The Hartford Courant, 13 April, 2022 – “Jury Sees Todt’s Confession in Family’s Killings”
ABC – 9 WFTV, 14 April, 2022 – “Celebration Man Accused of Killing Family Found Guilty”
Associated Press, 14 April, 2022 – “Florida Jury Deciding Fate of Man”
The Daily Beast, 14 April, 2022 – “Jury Rejects Florida Dad’s Insane Story”
The Orlando Sentinel, 14 April, 2022 – “Anthony Todt Verdict”
Greenwich Time, 16 April, 2022 – “Ex-CT Man to Serve Four Life Sentences”
