A Florida man has pleaded guilty to killing his wife and using a COVID-19 ruse to hide her disappearance.
David Anthony, a 44-year-old from Jupiter, pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree murder and kidnapping charges stemming from earlier this year. Investigators believe that Anthony killed his 51-year-old wife, Gretchen Anthony, on March 21 near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KVIA7. He was arrested 10 days later after fleeing to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Police received a report from a neighbor that said they heard “blood-curdling screams” from a woman along with shouts of “No! No!” coming from Anthony’s garage on March 21. When police conducted a search of the house, they discovered blood droplets, bleach stains, and soiled towels.
Anthony reportedly used his dead wife’s cellphone to send text messages to her friends and family, assuring them she was all right. The text messages, which the police report described as “suspicious,” also claimed Gretchen was hospitalized after contracting the virus and was held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after checking out from the hospital.
Investigators used cellphone data to track where Gretchen Anthony’s cellphone was heading as they captured it pinging off of towers in the Florida Panhandle and Texas. He was tracked down in New Mexico and arrested while walking his dog and later extradited back to the Sunshine State.
Anthony faces 38 years in prison as part of the Monday plea deal and is required to divulge the location of his wife’s remains by the end of the day. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 14.
