Who was Shanti Cooper-Tronnes? California man found guilty of beating, strangling wife after fight over home renovation
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Shanti Cooper-Tronnes was mercilessly beaten and strangled by her husband after they argued over home renovation.
As per the court ruling, David Tronnes is found guilty of first-degree murder that took place in their ritzy Orlando house.
Jury makes the decision after six-day trial
The judgment came after around five hours of deliberation by a jury on Wednesday, October 18. The trial, which lasted for six days, decided on life in prison for the convict in the Florida Department of Corrections, prosecutors said.
Cooper-Tronnes’ body was found on April 24, 2018, in the couple’s house in Delaney Park. She was murdered in the bedroom and then later laid in the bathtub to frame her murder as an accident.
David claimed she slipped and fell into it before drowning. However, an autopsy revealed she was strangled and died from blunt-force trauma to the head, ruling her death a homicide, as per Law and Crime.
“You’ve fake cried for about seven or eight hours today,” a detective said to the convict during his interrogation, adding “Not one tear came out of your eyes — not one. You have fake cried over this woman’s death since we made contact with you. There is not a lick of remorse for what you did to this woman.”
Detective Teresa Sprague, in an audio obtained by the Sentinel, can be heard telling the accused: "Common sense would tell you if you pull a woman — soaking wet — out of a tub at 3 o'clock and call the police within six minutes, that everything will be soaking wet when the police arrive within three minutes of that. That's common sense."
NEW: Records show Orlando mother Shanti Cooper-Tronnes died from blunt head trauma and strangulation. Her husband David Tronnes is behind bars accused of murder as @OrlandoPolice continue to investigate. Follow @WFTV for the latest developments. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/dUYAFRW9ZM
— Jeff Deal (@JDealWFTV) September 13, 2018
David faked being a rich man
Melissa Burzinski, Shanti’s friend told the investigators, "Dave was doing things that was [ticking] her off as it pertains to money."
She also mentioned that the accused would also get "weird" when it came to paying for food, the Sentinel reported.
"He always talked about how he had a ton of money, but she couldn't figure out why he was such a miser," the friend added.
Cooper-Tronnes' father-in-law, Norman Daugh, also said that it was the Shanti who was paying for things like TVs and moving vans.
"It just was my gut feeling. He always claimed he had millions, but Shanti bought everything," he said.
The convict was declared unfit for trial in 2021 after his attorney told the court that he is having “ongoing manifestations of the diagnosis of schizophrenia,” as per court documents.