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Around this time of year, In January of 2020, federal agents entered a house in Florida. They were there to serve an arrest warrant for health care fraud. But when they walked in instead, they found four bodies. The bodies of a mom and her three children. It was clear that they had been there deceased for a long time. Their bodies had been decomposing for weeks. And also inside of that house was the husband and father, 44 year old Anthony Todd, clinging to life. So what happened? This is the story of the Todd family and how a seemingly successful physical therapist and devoted father went from that to murdering his entire family. Quick intro before we fully get started. I've been ill. Yep, I've been sick. It's unfortunate, but I'm saying that not for any pity, but to give you a heads up as to why my voice sounds a little bit disgusting. Yeah, I probably should be resting for another day, but duty calls. I miss talking to you guys. I can't take another day off. I want to chat, I want to record. This is. I genuinely love what I do. So here I am. Just wanted to give you a heads up though, if you're like that doesn't sound like Michelle. Who is this lady on our screen? And you, if you're watching the video version of you of this video, you can probably see it in my eyes as well. Yeah, okay, we're just going to ignore that. Happy holidays though. First podcast episode of 2026. I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas. If you celebrated a wonderful New Year's. I'm so excited for this new year. To see what happens in my life, to see what happens with my job, to see what happens with all of you guys. And yeah, happy 2026. With all that being said, welcome to this episode of I wish you were here. This is the story of the Todd family. Anthony seemed to have it all. He was a licensed physical therapist in Colchester, Connecticut. He owned and operated family Physical therapy, which was a successful clinic that he ran for nearly a decade. Known as Tony to his family and friends, he was seen as a go to guy for anything physical therapy related, AKA he was always the person that people went to for help. He, he volunteered as a youth soccer coach. He worked with children more oftentimes than not. Honestly, he sounds like a pretty solid guy all around. Anthony met his future wife Megan while he was pursuing his PT certification in college. She was also interested in PT as well and she was working as a yoga instructor to help pay her way through college. And after dating for a couple of years in the year of 2000, the couple got married. Megan got her master's degree in PT from Sacred Heart University and together her and Anthony started family physical therapy in Colchester. When Megan fell pregnant with their first child, Alexander, who they called Alec, the couple decided that Anthony would take over the practice full time while Megan would stay home to raise their children. The two of them would go on to have a total of three kids together, Alec, Tyler and their youngest Zoe, all whom were homeschooled by Megan. But although they were homeschooled, the entire family was very active in their community. The kids were involved in sports, music and art classes. And then in 2005, around 2005, the Todd family relocated to Florida. They ended up buying a condo there. According to Anthony, a big reason for the move was because of Megan's health issues. During a trip to Disney World, Megan had suffered a bite from a tick which led her to contract Lyme disease. The disease caused several depressive episodes and also chronic pain. And Anthony claimed that Megan was so sick that she could barely walk. She could barely walk upstairs, she could barely take care of herself. And in a letter Anthony later wrote to his father, he stated that Megan's struggles with depression as well as other difficult things they were going through were ultimately the driving factors for the family's movement. What they agreed on was that Megan and the three children would be living full time in Florida, while Anthony continued working in Connecticut at the physical therapy clinic. And then he would fly to and from Florida on the weekends to be with his family. It wasn't ideal obviously, but they made it work. However, understandably so. Maintaining two residences proved to be financially difficult. The family faced eviction from their condo in Florida and they decided to then move into a rental home. And that was kind of a turning point in their lives, I would say, because in this new chapter, unlike their life in Connecticut, where they had managed to keep a pretty active social life in Florida, the Todd's became withdrawn. They were uninvolved with their neighbors and in their community, they more so just kept to themselves, becoming more reserved and isolated instead of putting in the effort to make new friends, meet new people, etc. Etc. But now to understand what Anthony Todd goes on to do. Not that it explains it, but I do think that it helps understand who he is, who he grew up to be as a person a little bit more. In my opinion, it's important to know about his family history. Forty years before today's story took place, Anthony's father committed a terrible tragedy when Anthony was only 4 years old. His mother was ambushed inside of their own family house by an intruder. She suffered a terrible injury from a weapon directly to her face and she almost lost her life as a result of it. The injury completely destroyed her entire left eye. Come to find out, Anthony's father, Robert Todd, had orchestrated the entire thing. He had hired a 19 year old student to end the life of his wife, paying him $800 for it. Robert Todd had been having an affair with affairs, actually plural, with multiple women. And he did not want his wife to find out, so he tried to get rid of her completely. For that he was arrested, charged and ultimately sentenced to two consecutive terms of five to ten years in prison. Shockingly, his wife, Anthony's mother, forgave him, refusing to believe that he was the person responsible, that he was the person who planned out the entire thing. Years later, she came to her senses and she did end up divorcing him and moving away with the kids. But all of that happens when Anthony was only a small kid and he was in the house when it happened, mind you. So I think it's my opinion that that probably did impact him in a lot of different ways. But anyway, back to the events that took place in today's story. By the year 2019, Anthony Todd's life looked successful on the outside. But in reality, all of it was built on lies. His business, family, physical therapy, seemed to be doing well, but most of it was actually fraudulent. For years, Anthony billed Medicaid and private insurances for hours of care he never provided. In April of 2019, federal investigators found that he was charging patients for services that they did not actually receive. He, he used that money to pay for the family's condo in Florida, as well as to pay for frequent trips to Disney World. Investigators estimated that he stole about $130,000, but it still was not enough. Paying for two homes, one in Connecticut and one in Florida, along with constant travel and expensive vacations, pushed his finances to the edge. And Anthony Todd took out loans to cover his debts, but he could not repay them. By 2019, he owed well over $100,000. He was being sued by multiple creditors and he was facing eviction for unpaid rent. Meanwhile, the landlord of the five bedroom mental home in Florida was seeking the family's eviction as well, claiming that they owed him over $5,000. By the end of the year, everything was closing in on him. In November of 2019, federal agents from the FBI and the U.S. department of Health and Human Services office interviewed Anthony Todd and searched his Connecticut office as part of their fraud investigation. At the time, Anthony had told them that he intended to plead guilty of the charges and he would find an attorney. But By December of 2019, Anthony had cut off all communication with investigators. He stopped returning phone calls. He stopped cooperating. In November, Anthony's staff at Family Physical Therapy began calling patients to inform them that Anthony had had a family emergency and needed to fly to Florida to be with his wife. Detective Michael Pell, who worked as part of the investigation, believed that the investigation into Anthony drove him to drastic measures, stating, quote, I think he blamed his family for a lifestyle that he could not maintain. End quote. Also around this time, the stress that he was under was showing on him physically. He had gained a significant amount of weight. He had completely stopped taking care of himself, and he was also diagnosed with diabetes. Friends and family members had noticed that his behavior was different. He seemed to be more withdrawn and almost always on edge because the pressure of living a double life, acting like nothing was wrong while also drowning in debt and facing federal prosecution, it was taking a big toll on him, and that showed. Guys, I was just home for the holidays. I was home and I got to see my aunt who lives in Austin, Texas, by the way. Love Texas. I love going home because the weather is always so nice and I'm tired of the snow. But anyway, I was talking to my aunt and guess what? She told me she never skips an episode of the podcast. She told me that she's been listening to what I've had to say about Quince and. And that she's made some purchases and she's obsessed. Of course she is. She told me she not only bought gifts for herself, she bought gifts for her children. Sweaters, denim, tops. They also have things for your home. If you haven't hopped on the website, definitely do so. But she loved every single thing that she got. Not only did she love it, but also her kids did. Because that is the thing with quints. I've told you guys a million times, everything that you get. I would bet my life on it. Maybe not my life. That's a bit dramatic. Well, maybe. I don't know. I would. I would guarantee, let's say that, that you guys will fall in love with everything that you get from Quinn's. Cashmere sweaters seem to be one of the biggest things in this winter season. But what if luxury did not mean that you had to overpay? Because at Quince, they make high quality essentials. Cashmere, silk, leather, without the traditional markup. By cutting out the middleman, Quince delivers premium pieces at prices that actually make sense. Timeless designs, premium materials, prices that do not feel scary. Luxury shouldn't be exclusive, it should be every day. And I feel like that's one of the things that I'm putting into play in my life in 2026. I don't want to save the nice luxury pieces for special events. I want to start making every day special. And I'm going to do that by using my quince item. They make me feel lux, they make me feel good about myself, and I want to feel that way every single day now that Christmas is over. Let me know what you guys ordered on Quinn's. Let me know if you got any Christmas presents for yourself or for your family members and your thoughts on it. I know that you love them, but I want to hear from you. Find gifts so good that you will want to keep them with quints. Go to quint.com wish for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com wish to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com wish thank you so much to Quince for sponsoring this episode. I love you guys. Guys, there is a reason as to why when people talk about going home, when people talk about missing home or just feeling cozy, wanting to feel comfort, they bring up a home cooked meal. Because a home cooked meal just brings you a kind of comfort that is hard to find elsewhere. And this new year, I think it's time that we all start incorporating the special little things into our everyday lives. And that means cooking at home. Not only is it healthier, it's also delicious. And with the help of hellofresh, you can still have the excitement of trying new things, new ingredients, new recipes, but doing it all from the comfort of your own home. I'll give you an example of another reason as to why I love hellofresh. I was going on vacation out of town for the holidays recently and usually I like to do my grocery shopping on a Sunday by groceries for the whole week. It's the routine that I fall into. It's what works. But we were only going to be home for the week, for three days. So instead what did we do? We ordered hellofresh. Hellofresh. Because we could say that we only wanted a certain amount of meals for a certain amount of days. No waste. No food going in the trash. No money. Wasted money going down the drain. Which is sometimes what I feel like when I buy a million groceries and only end up using two. With HelloFresh we were able to get delicious home cooked meals that were easy to make and allowed us to use every single piece of food in our fridge. With HelloFresh you can choose from 35 plus high protein weekly recipes including new Mediterranean and GLP1 friendly options. If you guys haven't tried it out, make 2026. The year that you do go to HelloFresh.com wish10fm to get 10 free meals plus a free Z Willing knife which is a 144.99 value due on your third box offer valid while supplies last free meals applied as discount on your first box. New subscribers only varies by plan that is hellofresh.com wish10fm thank you so much Hellofresh for sponsoring this video. And then we get to January of 2020 when federal agents entered the Todd family house in Florida to arrest Anthony for health care fraud. But what they walked into instead was a gruesome crime scene. They had actually been there before on December 29th of 2019 because Anthony's sister had called the authorities to request a welfare check on the family. But when officers arrived at the rental house, they noticed that the blinds were shut, the lights were off, the doors were locked, and there was no movement inside of the house. Mail was piling up on the porch. An eviction notice had also been placed on the door, but when officers knocked on the door, they received no response. But they were unable to enter the house without a warrant or probable cause to believe that someone inside was in danger. So instead they left. They just left. The bodies inside of that house remained undiscovered for two more weeks. It wouldn't be until January 13th of 2020 that they would return and this time enter the house. Authorities had been watching the Florida home for hours when they saw Anthony walk onto the porch, walk outside. One agent noticed that Anthony was struggling to walk, noticed that he did not look well, and he wandered out of the house shaking strangely. But before they could execute his arrest, Anthony walked back inside of that house. The FBI got a key from the property's landlord and they entered the residence. They were immediately hit by a pungent odor. It smelled like death. As they moved through the house, they made the horrifying discovery in the master bedroom. Anthony Todd was found alive. He was wearing only a shirt and his underwear. When authorities asked him where Megan was, Anthony said that she was upstairs sleeping and even called out for her as if she were still alive. When he was asked where the children were Anthony gave similarly delusional responses, making it sound like his family members were still living inside of that master bedroom. 42 year old Megan Todd laid deceased with her three children, 13 year old Alexander, 11 year old Tyler and 4 year old Zoe, all covered in wounds and terrible injuries. The family dog Breezy was also gone in that same bedroom. And 44 year old Anthony Todd was barely alive after attempting to unalive himself. The exact date of the murders remain unclear. The Todd family was seen alive last in mid December of 2019. Prosecutors believe the murders occurred sometime between December 14th of 2019 and Christmas Day. The bodies were discovered January 13th of 2020, meaning that they had been decomposing in the home for approximately three to four weeks. All while Anthony Todd had continued living inside of that house. As soon as the bodies were found, Anthony was arrested and pretty quickly he gave multiple confessions on how he murdered his entire family. After his arrest on January 13th of 2020, Anthony Todd gave his multiple confessions to law enforcement. In his initial interviews with detectives on January 13 and January 15, he provided chilling details about how he conducted the murders. According to prosecutor Danielle Pinel, who presented Anthony's confession at trial, he told detectives that he and Megan had had an agreement. Everybody needed to die in order to pass to the other side together because the apocalypse was coming apparently. Anthony claimed that he and his wife had watched videos about the afterlife and believed truly that the world was coming to an end. They supposedly allegedly made a pact that the entire family would die together. Anthony told investigators that the family had been given Benadryl to make everyone drowsy before the murders began. In the recorded interview played for the jury, Anthony described his daughter Zoe as being his first victim. According to his confession, one night he went into his four year old daughter's bedroom while she was sleeping, weighing 250 pounds. He rolled on top of her making it impossible for her to breathe. Anthony stated, she rolled and she started swiveling and I put a hand over her mouth and laid on her to keep her down and then I put a pillow on top. He sat with Zoe until she stopped breathing. Anthony then went into the bedroom where his 13 year old son Alexander was sleeping with a knife in hand. According to the confession, quote, I stabbed him and he started kicking and was trying to get up and tried rolling. I reached around and I held his nose in his mouth and he was rolling and kicking and eventually stopped. Anthony both stabbed and suffocated Alec until he passed away. 11 year old Tyler was his next victim and he did the exact same Thing to him, his wife Megan was the last. Anthony initially told investigators that Megan had attempted to unalive herself by using a sharp weapon on herself, into her stomach and into her liver. And he said that to put her out of her misery, he put his hands over her mouth and a pillow on top of her until she stopped breathing. Megan was also found with multiple wounds to her abdomen. According to the medical examiner, all four family members had toxic levels of Benadryl in their systems at the time of their deaths. After murdering his entire family, Anthony moved all of the bodies into that master bedroom. The two boys were placed on a mattress. Megan was also on the bed, and Zoe was positioned at the foot of it. When authorities arrived weeks later, Zoe's body was so deteriorated and decomposed that they immediately did not see her. Each victim had a crucifix placed in their hands and was wrapped in blankets. The bodies had been left in the home for weeks in the Florida heat. And during that time, Anthony, like I said, had continued living in the house and sleeping in that same room. Prosecutors later said that he wanted control over his family even after death to avoid suspicion. In the following days and weeks, he used his family members phone to send text messages pretending that they were still alive. He told them that the family was sick with the flu and could not talk on the phone. Later, he claimed that they were traveling and going off the grid. Those messages were eventually the messages that ended up alarming other family members who then ended up contacting the authorities. And that is why Anthony's sister had ultimately called for that welfare check. When the bodies were found and when Anthony was charged and arrested, he was taken to the hospital. Hospital. And in the hospital is when he gave those confessions. So his entire story was that the reason why he did what he did was because it was part of a apocalyptic pact with his wife, explaining that they believed that the world was ending and wanted to be in the afterlife together. But then, in 2020, while in jail, in a change of events, Anthony then wrote a 27 page letter to his estranged father, Robert Todd. In that letter, Anthony completely changed his story. He was claiming that he had nothing to do with the murders. Instead, he blamed everything on Megan. According to this new version of events, Anthony had come home one day in December to find that Megan had murdered their children. He claimed that Megan was struggling with a lot with her Lyme disease and had become severely depressed and said that she allegedly had become obsessed with reincarnation and in her weakened state, hoped to pass away with her family and be reincarnated into a better life. Anthony's trial began in April of 2022, and even though he tried to say a different version of events in that letter to his father, the tape recordings of his multiple confessions were played in court. And that was more than enough to convince their jury that he was the person responsible. The trial lasted six days, and after seven hours of deliberation, the jury came back deadlocked. They could not make a decision. They returned on April 14th of 2022 and continued their deliberations. Finally, they reached a verdict. The jury found Anthony Todd guilty on all counts and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the four murders to be served in consecutively. Anthony Todd is currently serving his life sentence at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, Florida. To do that to your own wife and your own children is one thing, is a terrible, horrible thing. To then turn around and blame it on your wife is also pure insanity. That is all I have for today's episode. Let me know what your thoughts are on this case. Hope you guys are having the best day. If you don't go, do something to make it the best day, make somebody happy and I will see you in my next video. Massive kiss on the forehead to every single one of you.
Host: Michelle Cuervo
Episode: He Lived With Their Bodies For Weeks: The Todt Family Murders
Date: January 5, 2026
In this chilling episode, Michelle Cuervo explores the harrowing case of the Todt family murders, delving into how a seemingly devoted family man, Anthony Todt, descended into deception, financial ruin, and ultimately, unspeakable violence. The episode traces the family's history, the events leading up to the murders, Anthony's attempts to explain his actions, and the aftermath—including his conviction. Through Michelle's characteristically conversational tone, listeners are guided into the unsettling details and unanswered questions surrounding this real-life tragedy.
Michelle draws a line between Anthony’s father—a man who orchestrated a violent attack on Anthony’s mother when Anthony was only four—and Anthony’s own fate, suggesting generational trauma may have played a role.
"I think it’s my opinion that that probably did impact him in a lot of different ways." (18:50)
"They were immediately hit by a pungent odor. It smelled like death." (35:00)
"She rolled and she started swiveling and I put a hand over her mouth and laid on her to keep her down and then I put a pillow on top. I sat with Zoe until she stopped breathing." (39:36)
"To do that to your own wife and your own children is one thing, is a terrible, horrible thing. To then turn around and blame it on your wife is also pure insanity." (48:10)
On the discovery of the bodies:
"Anthony Todd was found alive. He was wearing only a shirt and his underwear. When authorities asked him where Megan was, Anthony said that she was upstairs sleeping and even called out for her as if she were still alive." (36:00)
On Anthony’s story changing:
"But then, in 2020, while in jail, in a change of events, Anthony then wrote a 27 page letter to his estranged father, Robert Todd. In that letter, Anthony completely changed his story. He was claiming that he had nothing to do with the murders. Instead, he blamed everything on Megan." (45:45)
Host’s reaction to the blame shift:
"To do that to your own wife and your own children is one thing, is a terrible, horrible thing. To then turn around and blame it on your wife is also pure insanity." (48:10)
Michelle closes with empathy for the victims and incredulity at Anthony’s shifting stories. She underscores the horror of his actions and the pain left in their wake. The case is left with the lingering question: how could someone maintain such a façade and commit such a brutal crime?
If you haven’t listened to the episode, this summary covers all the critical aspects, from the Todts’ family dynamics and history, Anthony’s unraveling, details of the crime, to the aftermath and Michelle’s thoughtful commentary. As always, Michelle’s warm, informal style invites listeners not just to be informed, but to reflect deeply on the unsettling complexities of real crime cases.