ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orlando grandmother is still trying to get closure two months after her granddaughter was killed.
But a battle over the victim’s remains may delay the process.
The body of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes was found in her upscale Delaney Park home in April. No one has been arrested and no suspects have been named.
Her ex-husband, James Cooper, wanted to take possession of her remains.
He was not successful, but eventually he and Cooper-Tronnes’ husband, David Tronnes, agreed to take turns having funeral services with her ashes after she's cremated.
Family members said Tronnes claims he found her in the shower, beaten and bleeding from her head.
“She was like my own kid. She was more than a grandchild. I miss her so much," said Cooper-Tronnes’ grandmother, Marion Perry.
Cooper-Tronnes ex-husband, Cooper, who now has custody of their 8-year-old son, filed an emergency petition to try to get possession of her body, citing a statute that gives others possession if the victim's husband was arrested for the crime.
The judge denied the request, saying, "There is no evidence that the surviving spouse, David Tronnes, has been arrested for committing against the deceased an act of domestic violence that resulted in or contributed to the death."
Since then, her husband Tronnes and ex-husband Cooper have agreed to have Cooper-Tronnes’ remains cremated, and will have separate funeral services.
Perry said she's looking forward to celebrating Cooper-Tronnes’ life and hoped to see her grandson for the first time since the day before Cooper-Tronnes died.
"I can't even tell him 'hello.' That little boy, I raised him almost,” said Perry.
Under the agreement approved in court, after both funeral services, the 8-year-old boy will get custody of his mom's ashes.
The funeral dates have not been set.
Cox Media Group
