OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The man accused of killing his wife and three children in Celebration took the stand during his murder trial on Wednesday.
Anthony Todt, 46, is accused of killing all four of them, as well as the family’s dog, in December 2019, then living in the home with their bodies until their bodies were discovered a month later.
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Prosecutors said Todt, who has pleaded not guilty to the killings, initially confessed to the killings but later blamed the deaths on his wife and told his sister that his wife may have tried to harm them before.
In opening statements, prosecutors laid out for jurors how Todt at one point told investigators he killed each member of his family, suffocating them all and striking the boys with a knife in the family’s Celebration home. On Wednesday, Todt tried to put the blame on his wife.
Todt, 46, testified that his wife, Megan, killed the kids before killing herself.
“I came home and my kids were dead,” Todt said.
Todt testified that Megan had suffered from chronic pain related to a litany of medical conditions, but woke up on the last morning his children were alive, claiming she was “pain-free.”
Todt said he spent that night sleeping in the family’s van outside the condo they owned nearby. When he returned the next morning, he said the children were dead.
“I didn’t even see this coming,” he said. “This is being blindsided with a Mack truck full of dynamite.”
READ: Testimony underway in trial of Celebration man accused of killing family
Todt said that while he was home, Megan stabbed herself and died.
In the days that followed, Todt said he tried to kill himself 10 times.
WATCH: Defense can’t discuss mental health of Celebration man accused of killing family, judge says
Todt concluded his testimony just after noon. Closing statements are expected to begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.
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