‘I came home and my kids were dead’: Celebration man accused of killing family testifies in court

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.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

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.

READ: Opening statements set for Monday in trial of Celebration man accused of killing wife, 3 children

“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.”

WATCH: ‘I don’t remember anything,’ man accused of killing family in Celebration home says in jailhouse call

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.

Video: Testimony underway in trial of Celebration man accused of killing family Testimony is underway Monday in Osceola County in the murder trial of a man accused of killing his family in 2019. (Jeff Deal, WFTV.com)

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2022 Cox Media Group