Todt family: State to seek death penalty against Celebration man accused of killing wife, 3 children

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The state will seek the death penalty against the Celebration man accused of killing his wife and three children, State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced Tuesday.

Ayala, who announced in 2017 that she would not seek the death penalty in Orange and Osceola county cases, said her office’s death penalty review panel decided unanimously that the state should seek the death penalty against Anthony Todt.

“The death penalty review panel is completely separate from my professional assessment,” Ayala said.

READ: Second-degree murder charges filed against Celebration man accused of killing wife, 3 children, family dog

Deputies said Todt confessed to killing his wife, Megan, 42, and their three children, Aleksander, 13, Tyler, 11, and Zoe, 4 -- as well as their family dog, Breezy.

Ayala said a grand jury in Osceola County decided Tuesday that Todt’s original charges of second-degree murder should be upgraded to first-degree murder.

“We are going to absolutely do what we can to make sure justice is served as we go through this process," Ayala said. "I hope they will find some semblance of peace in this process. knowing for certain we are standing with them. We are standing with community to make certain that justice is served.”

Ayala said Todt is now facing four counts of capital murder and one count of animal cruelty.

READ: Todt family: Documents detail timeline leading up to discovery of bodies in Celebration home

Watch Ayala’s news conference below in full:

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