‘WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME THAT WE HAD’
As they struggle to find a ‘new normal,’ loved ones gather at Megan Todt’s hometown parish to celebrate lives of young family
MONTVILLE — The laughter and music that constantly came from Megan Todt and her three children will be the memories their family and friends hold on to tightest in the months ahead as they cope with the darkness surrounding the young family’s death in December.
Megan Todt, 42, and her children, 13-year-old Alek, 11-year-old Tyler and 4-year-old Zoe, were remembered at a funeral service Friday morning in her hometown parish at St. John the Evangelist in Montville.
The family was killed in their Florida home at the hands of Megan’s husband and the children’s father, Tony Todt, who has confessed to their murders.
More than 200 friends, family and former coworkers at the Todt family’s physical therapy business joined to remember the family for their good, not the excruciating end of their short lives.
“Remember them for who they were and what they brought to our lives,” the family said in a eulogy read by Mike Caplet, Megan’s brother-in-law. “We are so grateful
for the time that we had. It certainly wasn’t enough, but we made memories to hold onto. Their laughter will echo forever in our hearts.
“Megan, Alek, Tyler and Zoe were loved by so many, but no one loved them more than those who have to pick up the pieces. Each day we try to take another step toward finding a new normal.”
The past few weeks have been a “living nightmare” for the Todts’ Connecticut relatives and friends, who are still struggling to comprehend the family’s gruesome deaths.
Tony Todt led the well-regarded Family Physical Therapy business in Colchester while Megan and the children lived in Celebration, Florida, near Walt Disney World, and the family was well-known across that corner of Connecticut. News of their deaths rocked Colchester and Montville, where most of their family still lives, and the revelations that a man many had trusted to treat their children was capable of killing have stunned the communities.
But the Todts’ close-knit extended family has insisted the community focus instead on remembering the lives lost, at a community vigil last week on the Colchester green, at the service Friday and eventually at a private burial ceremony when their remains are returned to Montville. The family has asked for privacy and declined to speak publicly about the case, but Rev. Bob Buongiorno distributed a written statement on their behalf after the service.
“There is no possible way to say thank you for the compassion shown by so many,” the family’s statement said. “It is truly humbling to witness the outpouring of love, support and generosity shown by our surrounding communities; especially from the towns of Colchester, Montville and Celebration, Florida.”
Florida police believe Megan and the children were killed sometime in December but were not discovered until Jan. 13 after family, federal agents and Florida sheriff ’s deputies all tried unsuccessfully to contact them during the two weeks after Christmas. That morning federal authorities confronted a trembling Tony Todt with an arrest warrant on charges he has run an illegal billing scheme through his physical therapy business and discovered the bodies in a bedroom upstairs.
Tony Todt confessed to killing his family, including Breezy, the family dog, and remains in custody on murder charges without bail. Police have not revealed a possible motive for the killings, but public business and legal records have outlined the mounting debt and federal criminal charges against him.
“In the face of this tragedy, there may be no words that make the pain or any anger or doubts disappear,” the Rev. Buongiorno said during his homily. “We simply pray that our presence, here with you now, gives you some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone in your grief. Indeed we are united in spirit with the friends and neighbors of Megan, Alek, Tyler and Zoe at a memorial service for them in Celebration, Florida, right now.”
Megan Todt and the children were all “musically infused” and were a constant source of joy for their friends and family, the family said.
She and the boys all played piano and each were learning new instruments, including Megan on the guitar and Alek, the violin. “Princess Zoe” had not yet picked up an instrument, but that didn’t stop her from trying the harmonica and singing.
“She loved to sing and even though she couldn’t carry a tune, that didn’t stop her from belting out a song,” Caplet said during the eulogy. “Alek would shake his head while Tyler would laughingly encourage her. They enjoyed having fun.”
Alek was the serious, older brother and Tyler the mischievous middle child, but they both knew when to band together to cause trouble or support their sister, their family has said. Most of all, the entire family was generous, with their time or their ear or even their things, friends and family have said.
“As hard as it is to imagine life without them, it’s important to remember the time with them,” Caplet said. “Megan would want to be remembered as the patient, loving mother she was, who adored her family and loved every moment with her children.”
The family’s unthinkable deaths might rightly be seen as “the burden of life’s cruelty” and a nightmare from which their communities cannot wake, Buongiorno said. But by remembering Megan and the children’s lives, instead of their deaths, is the only way to beat back the darkness surrounding the case, he said.
“We grieve with you and we are here with you today to try to return some of the goodness and friendship and joy that they shared so generously with everyone who knew them,” Buongiorno said. “May God, with time, in time, give you the grace to move from crying because they’re gone to smiling because they were here.”