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David Michael Tronnes, 54 at the time of his trial, was convicted of first-degree murder on October 18, 2023, in the death of his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, in Orlando, Florida, and was sentenced to life in prison the same day. Florida's Sixth District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction per curiam, without a written opinion, on May 6, 2025, in case number 6D2023-4012. He remains in custody serving the life sentence.

Tronnes and Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, 39, lived at 218 East Copeland Drive in the Delaney Park neighborhood. Her young son from a previous relationship, who was 8 years old in 2018, lived in the home and is not named here. The couple had bought the property, and Tronnes pursued a large renovation. His wife funded roughly $250,000 of the work while the family lived in a garage apartment because the main house was not habitable. Tronnes wanted the house featured on the reality renovation series "Zombie House Flipping," with filming scheduled to begin days after her death. Prosecutors said her reluctance to take part was a source of conflict.

On the afternoon of April 24, 2018, Tronnes called 911 and said he had found his wife not breathing in the bathtub. Officers found her dead in the home. Investigators noted that both the tub and her body were dry, which did not fit a drowning. The medical examiner found blunt force trauma to her head and face and bruising around both eyes, concluded that she had been strangled and beaten, and ruled the death a homicide.

Prosecutors said Shanti Cooper-Tronnes was attacked in the bedroom, where blood was found on the bed and bedspread, and that the scene was cleaned before police arrived. One earring remained in her ear, while the other was on a nightstand. A diamond engagement ring and cash were missing. The ring was later recovered from a suitcase belonging to Tronnes at his mother's home.

Tronnes told investigators he had walked the dogs and done yard work for about an hour before finding his wife in the tub after 3 p.m. He voluntarily went to Orlando Police Department headquarters on April 24, 2018, and was questioned for hours without being under arrest. Detectives confronted him with the physical evidence and accused him of strangling his wife. He denied any involvement throughout and was not held that day. Tronnes was arrested on August 29, 2018, more than four months after the death, and charged with first-degree murder in Orange County.

In 2021, his lawyers argued that he was not competent to stand trial, citing schizophrenia. He was found incompetent and sent to a state hospital. A judge found him competent on January 20, 2023, allowing the case to proceed.

The trial was held in Orange County Circuit Court, with Jenifer M. Harris named in the appellate record as the presiding judge. Jury selection took place on October 11, 2023, and evidence was heard over the following week. The state did not seek the death penalty. Tronnes did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses. The jury deliberated for a few hours before returning its guilty verdict.

The video is a narrated analysis using police interview-room footage from Tronnes's voluntary questioning on April 24, 2018. It runs about 76 minutes and covers that interview.