The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Sadness and shock’
Small town fears for family after disappearance
COLCHESTER — This small Connecticut town is grieving in the wake of news that it has a possible connection to the deaths of four people found in a Florida house Monday.
Former residents Tony Todt and his wife, Megan, have not been in contact with family for more than a week, according to several news reports.
Four bodies were found inside a central Florida home and sheriff’s officials said they have one person in custody. WESH 2 News in Orlando reported that through Osceola County court records it determined the home where the bodies were found was leased by Tony and Megan Todt, originally from Colchester.
The names of the victims and the person in custody have not been released. Investigators haven’t said how they were killed or what charges the person in custody would face.
The couple has three children, reports said. Todt was a physical therapist in Colchester.
Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Burt said Tuesday the district has no record of children of the missing Todt family attending Colchester public schools.
“There is a general sense of sadness and shock,” Burt said. “People have been affected by this.”
Burt said, especially because the town of Colchester is small, “we take precautions in a case like this,” he said.
The district sent crisis teams to each of its schools Tuesday morning; the teams consist of guidance counselors and other professionals equipped to support students, he said.
The central office also alerted staff to the situation and advised them to refer students who might need support to counselors.
The superintendent met with First Selectman Mary Bylone Tuesday morning to make sure community leaders were on the same page with regard to address the situation.
“We do want to get together to help everyone in this situation,” he said.
Bylone said, “The community is distraught.”
Bylone spoke of some of the reactions around town, while emphasizing that “we don’t really know what has happened” as authorities have not officially identified the bodies or a man who appears in a photo with police outside the home.
“When they hear accusations, people are stunned,” Bylone said of speculation about what occurred. She has been surprised by the amount of correspondence she’s received from residents, some of whom were angry that anyone would make accusations, some of whom were angry at the possibility that may have happened, she said.
“They [the Todts] were connected to a lot of people in the community,” Bylone said. As a physical therapist, Anthony Todt treated a lot of local residents, including student athletes at Bacon Academy, according to Bylone.
Bylone recalled that one woman said she wouldn’t be walking if it weren’t for Todt.
Colchester is Kind, a local group that “aims to foster a stronger sense of community in our town using kindness to build connection,” according to its Facebook page, even named Anthony Todt a “hero of the day” last month, according to Bylone. The group confirmed this Tuesday.
Bylone reflected on the inquiries and the social media frenzy that has followed the Todts’ disappearance and the news out of Florida.
“People want to know. They want to figure it out and put the pieces together so that they can … have closure.”
But while Bylone recognizes that urge, she believes it’s better to spend time on healing than speculation, especially when it comes to town government.
The town will not be sharing information on the case going forward, but instead will “focus on … how to support the community,” Bylone said, noting on a meeting she had that morning with the superintendent of schools and Val Geato, director of Colchester Youth & Social Services, where the group discussed how best to provide that support.
Staff have already made calls to local resources residents could use for support, and they will be putting out more information online, according to Bylone.
If community members feel a vigil would be helpful, the town would support it, the first selectman said.
“I just feel like our energies should be on healing and hope,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think anyone will truly understand the tragedy, even after all the facts come in.
A missing persons report was not filed in Connecticut in connection with the case, State Police spokesman Trooper Josue Dorelus said Tuesday.
A sign on the door of Family Physical Therapy’s Park Avenue, location, where Anthony Todt practiced, indicates the business was closed for the holidays and would reopen after Jan. 1.
But “the first of January’s come and gone, and he [Anthony Todt] hasn’t been here, said Dr. Priya Tandon, who runs a medical practice in the same building.
Last week, Tandon said, she heard something odd from Todt’s employees: that they hadn’t been paid and had no idea where he was.
It wasn’t the first unusual occurrence to happen recently. Sometime in November or December, FBI agents came to Family Physical Therapy, according to Tandon.
When she asked the landlord about it, he told her Todt was allegedly being investigated , she said. Hearst Connecticut Media does not have confirmation of the investigation.
Tandon’s understanding is that Todt’s family has been living in Florida full-time and, as he’s managed his practice in Colchester, he’s traveled on weekends and holidays to visit them, she said.
She does not know of any relatives of the Todts who live in Colchester, she said.
“[Todt] struck me as a good person,” Tandon said.
“He was a good man. I would refer patients to him all the time and he did a good job.”
Tony Todt’s Linkedin profile says he earned his master’s degree at Sacred Heart University and that he also operated a physical therapy business in East Hampton.
Town records show that Anthony and Megan Todt owned a home on Waterhole Road from 2006 until June 2017, when they sold the property, said Town Clerk Gayle Furman.
Anthony Todt filed a trade name for his physical therapy business in 2008 for a location on Wall Street, and then refiled it in 2012, when the practice moved to its Park Avenue location, Furman said.
No trade name was filed for the location on Middletown Road, according to Furman.
After checking town records, the town clerk described the atmosphere of sadness in Colchester that day. She even noticed the mood among people leaving the polls of the town’s special election for state representative, she said.