ME says Todt family was likely dead for weeks
Megan Todt and her children were likely dead for weeks when their bodies were found in a home the family rented in Celebration, Fla., last week, a medical examiner said Friday.
Megan, her sons and the family's dog, Breezy, were stabbed, while 4-year-old Zoe had no visible injuries, according to preliminary autopsy results by Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany, of the District Nine Medical Examiner's Office, which serves Orange and Osceola counties in Florida.
Stephany said that the level of decomposition the bodies were in made it more likely that the family had been dead for quite some time.
"If you told me they were dead for weeks, I'd say the decomposition was consistent with that," he said Friday in a telephone interview.
Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said in a press conference last week that they believed the family had been killed in late December.
The bodies were found in a bedroom on the second floor of the home the family rented in the community near Disney World on Jan. 13, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Colchester business owner Anthony Todt soon after confessed to killing his wife, children and their dog, police said, and was charged with four counts of premeditated homicide and one count of animal cruelty.
The medical examiner's office performed autopsies on the bodies of Megan, and her children Alek, 13, Tyler, 11 and Zoe. Preliminary autopsy results released Thursday found that Megan was stabbed twice in her abdomen, and Alek and Tyler were each stabbed once in their abdomen.
Stephany said Friday that the family dog, Breezy, was also stabbed. Breezy was brought into the Medical Examiner's office with multiple stab wounds and was later sent to another facility for further investigation, he said.
The preliminary autopsy results found no visible injuries on Zoe. Stephany said she may not have been injured, or her injuries just may no longer be visible.
"Because of the condition of the bodies, there may be injuries we can't see," he said Friday.
Stephany said that another possible cause of death that would not leave any visible injuries would be smothering.
The medical examiner's office has not ruled a cause of death.
Stephany said the preliminary reports released Thursday should be considered "rough drafts" that are not complete until the results of the toxicology tests are received. Those results could take 10 to 12 weeks, the medical examiner's office said.
The bodies of the slain Todt family and their dog are still in Florida, Stephany said.
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