Tragic kingdom
Disney town’s 4-dead shocker
A fairy-tale Florida community built by Disney World turned into a horror scene when cops discovered four bodies in the home of a missing former Connecticut family.
The family of five’s dad — who had been hit with an eviction notice for the home in Celebration three days before Christmas — was hauled off in handcuffs Monday morning, residents told local media.
Neighbor Marcelo Rodrigues said his wife was walking her dog when she “saw police with guns in hand.”
“So she started to run, because we didn’t know what was happening,” Rodrigues told ABC affiliate WFTV. “We live in Celebration. It’s where dreams come true basically, right? And this has happened. So it’s really sad.’’
Frantic relatives of the missing family — physical therapists Tony and Megan Todt and their three young kids, Alek, Tyler and Zoe, all formerly of Colchester, Conn., southeast of Hartford — had set up a Facebook page titled “Looking For The Todt Family’’ after the five went dark Jan. 6.
Alek’s worried teacher wrote, “We last heard from him via text on Dec 16th. I last communicated with Megan on Dec. 13th. They are a beautiful family, and we’re all praying for them.”
But while some contributors to the Facebook page said they only knew the family as closeknit and happy, there appeared to have been signs of serious trouble.
Tony Todt let his physicaltherapy license expire in September, although several people wrote that he continued to practice. Some contributors said Tony was commuting between the family’s home in Florida and his two offices in Connecticut, a situation that stressed him out. “The last time i saw him was the wk before Thanksgiving,’’ a patient wrote. “After that the office called me and canceled all my future appts saying Tony was dealing with a personal matter. I reached out to him in December but got no response.’’
By Dec. 22, the couple had been slapped with an eviction notice on their rented home.
On Friday, the landlord told neighbors the family was in arrears on rent and that he’d cut off their electricity, NBC affiliate WESH-TV reported.
Authorities went to the home around 9 a.m. Monday after a neighbor called police, concerned about not having seen the family or their dog, Breezy, for a while.
Within a half-hour, police were there yelling, “‘Open the door! Open the door!’ and a few minutes later, I saw the guy on the porch with handcuffs, and I said, ‘Something bad happened over there,’ ” Rodrigues told the station.
Authorities have yet to announce the identities of the dead, but local Sheriff Russ Gibson told reporters, “All parties involved with this investigation are accounted for.”