A Florida jury sentenced a man to life in prison Wednesday for murdering his wife over a dispute stemming from her alleged refusal to appear on a home-renovation reality TV show.
David Tronnes, 55, was found guilty in a 2018 first-degree murder of his wife, 39, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes. Tronnes strangled and beat his wife to death in their Orlando home after she declined to go on the reality TV show, “Zombie House Renovations,” according to a statement from the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
“Tronnes had spent thousands of dollars on renovations and had hopes of appearing on the reality television show, ‘Zombie House Renovations,'” the statement reads. “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.”
Jury convicts Florida man of first-degree murder in the 2018 strangling and beating death of his wife after she refused to appear on a home-renovation reality TV show, prosecutors say. https://t.co/nKoKC7SU2x
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 19, 2023
During the home renovation period the couple lived separately on the property, with Tronnes sleeping in the garage and 39-year-old Cooper-Tronnes in a one-bedroom studio, according to the attorney’s office. It was there she was ultimately found deceased.
The jury delivered the verdict following a six-day trial, taking less than five hours for deliberation. Tronnes received an immediate sentence of life imprisonment in the Florida Department of Corrections, per the press release. (RELATED: Youth Pastor Allegedly Tried To Murder Wife, 5 Kids Before Lighting House On Fire)
Details from the prosecutors revealed discrepancies in Tronnes’ account of the events. Despite bruises and injuries on the woman’s body, Tronnes claimed he had found his wife dead in a bathtub after spending the day walking their dogs and cleaning the house, the attorney’s office noted.
During the trial, investigators presented evidence suggesting the woman was killed in the bedroom and that Tronnes attempted to clean up the murder scene prior to the police’s arrival, the attorney’s office stated.