The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Vigil slated as more details emerge in Todt case
As a Connecticut town plans to hold a candlelight vigil Friday night for a family killed in Florida, new details have emerged in the case.
Anthony Todt, the man accused of killing his wife and three children, was $200,000 in debt and his Connecticut physical therapy practice was under investigation for health-care fraud.
Unsealed documents reveal new details about the deaths of Todt’s wife, Meghan, and his children, Alek, 13; Tyler, 11; and Zoey, 4. According to the documents, Todt’s wife and sons were also found with two small lacerations to their abdomens.
Anthony Todt was spotted by federal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agents walking into his home at 202 Reserve Place in Celebration, Fla., around 9 a.m. on Jan. 13.
The federal officials were trying to serve him with a warrant charging him with health-care fraud.
However, Todt refused to answer the door and authorities forced their way inside where they found his family dead, according to court documents.
Osceola County Sheriff's Office deputies working with federal agents located Todt inside the house, unsteady on his feet and shaking, a newly released arrest warrant said.
He told law enforcement officers who were flooding his home that he believed his wife was upstairs sleeping, the warrant said.
The family hadn't been seen for days, reports said.
While doing a "protective sweep" of the rented house, agents and deputies made the discovery of four bodies, many of which had obvious stab wounds to the abdomen and the family dog, named "Breezy" who was also dead, the warrant said.
The warrant said his children’s wounds were consistent with the statement Todt gave to police that remains sealed by the court. The cause of deaths will not be determined for several weeks, authorities said.
Todt told paramedics he had taken an "unknown amount of Benadryl in an attempt to commit suicide" before he was found in the home barely able to stand, officials said. He was taken to a hospital before being charged two days later with four counts of premeditated murder and one count of cruelty to animals, police said.
The family was from Colchester, where Todt ran Family Physical Therapy, a practice that treated clients for chronic pain and sports injuries.
A vigil for Meghan, Alex, Tyler, Zoey and the family dog will be held at 6 p.m. Friday on the Town Green in Colchester.
Todt knew on Nov. 21 that he was being investigated by federal authorities for insurance and Medicaid fraud, according to federal court papers unsealed on Jan. 15.
Federal agents had shown up at Family Physical Therapy at the practice's two locations in Colchester to seize records and interview Todt, federal authorities said. By that point, agents gathered enough information to charge Todt based on insurance and Medicaid claims for patients that dated back at least four years, the papers said.
In some cases, patients reported Todt to their health insurance provider after realizing he filed dozens of claims for physical therapy that had never taken place, court records said.
Todt had billed the insurance of numerous patients for therapy sessions that had never occurred, including times when the patient was out of state, on vacation or in the hospital, court records show. Fraudulent bills tallied into the tens of thousands, authorities said.
During an interview with federal agents as his offices were being search, Todt admitted he "routinely billed for services that he didn't provide," according to court documents. He was the only one involved in the fraudulent billing, he said during the interview, and that he was using the insurance money to keep up payments on various loans.
He was allowed to return to Florida where he had moved two years ago with his family, court records indicate. He told federal agents that he would be back to Connecticut the week of Dec. 8 to deal with his legal problems, but he never returned, according to court documents.
His employees told federal agents they stopped coming to work because their paychecks bounced and they weren't receiving reimbursement, court documents said.
Federal agents contacted a Todt family member on Jan.7 after not hearing from him for weeks, court papers said.
The relative told federal authorities that she was worried about the family when they hadn't been in contact and asked the Osceola County Sheriff's Office to do a welfare check at the Reserve Place residence.
Osceola deputies who went to the home on Dec. 29 didn't find any trace of Todt and noted that it appeared the house had been boarded up. By that time, the Todts had been served with an eviction notice by the landlord who was also trying to determine if the family was still in the home, reports said.
Federal authorities learned on Jan. 7 that the Todts had also received an eviction notice from the landlord of one of their Colchester physical therapy offices due to non-payment of rent.
Federal authorities sought and obtained a warrant charging Todt with health care fraud within days, court records show.
They staked out the home looking for any sign of him when he was seen entering the house on Jan.13, court records said.
He noted in a court filing requesting a public defender in the case that he was indigent and $200,000 in debt.