Florida man gets life in prison after killing wife who wouldn’t appear with him on ‘Zombie House Renovations’ TV show
In a gruesome tale that could have been lifted from the world of reality-TV’s real crimes’ genre, on October 18, Florida officials released word that 55-year-old David Tronnes had been found guilty of first-degree murder in the violent killing of his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes. That murder went down in 2018 when Shanti was 39.
Background: On April 24, 2018, Cooper-Tronnes was beaten and strangled to death in the couple’s Delaney Park area house in Orlando, following a dispute concerning home renovations. Tronnes had spent thousands of dollars on renovations and had hopes of appearing on the reality television show, “Zombie House Renovations”. This led to the couple experiencing problems in their marriage.
Cooper-Tronnes’ refusal to appear on the show upset Tronnes to the point that it led to her murder.
During the renovation of their home, Tronnes slept in the garage while his wife slept in a one-bedroom studio on the property. Evidence presented during the trial showed Cooper-Tronnes was killed in the bedroom, and that Tronnes attempted to clean up the murder scene prior to police arriving at the couple’s home.
Tronnes claimed he found his wife in the bathtub after spending the day cleaning and walking his dogs; but the medical examiner testified that facial injuries, blood evidence, and bruises on the victim’s eyes told a different story.
From the very beginning of their criminal investigation, investigators with the Orlando Police Department noticed inaccuracies with Tronnes’ story. Investigators also noted Tronnes showed little remorse during his interrogation, “and never shed a tear over his wife’s death.”
Detectives performed their due diligence and once they collected all the necessary evidence, they arrested Tronnes four months later and charged him with murder.
His six-day trial concluded this past Wednesday, and the jury began deliberations late afternoon. After nearly five hours they came back with a verdict of guilty as charged. Tronnes was immediately sentenced to life in prison in the Florida Department of Corrections.
See the video posted below where the young son and ex-husband of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes gave their victim impact statement, after the jury found David Tronnes guilty of murdering his wife inside their Orlando home.
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(Source: Office of the State Attorney of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida)
(Cover photos of David Tronnes and Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, Image credits: Orlando PD)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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