David Tronnes, 55, was looking forward to being featured on the popular A&E show Zombie House Renovations—”When a house has been left for dead, the Zombie House Flippers bring it back to life”—but for one problem: his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, did not wish to be on the series. So he shot her dead, and has now been convicted of her murder.
On April 24, 2018, Cooper-Tronnes was beaten and strangled to death in the couple’s Delaney Park house after a dispute concerning home renovations. Tronnes had spent thousands of dollars on renovations and had hopes of appearing on the reality television show, “Zombie House Renovations”. This led to the couple experiencing problems in their marriage. Cooper-Tronnes’ refusal to appear on the show upset Tronnes to the point that it led to her murder.
During the renovation of their home, Tronnes slept in the garage while the victim slept in a one-bedroom studio on the property. Evidence presented during the trial showed the victim was killed in the bedroom and Tronnes attempted to clean up prior to police arriving on scene. Tronnes claimed he found his wife in the bathtub after spending the day cleaning and walking his dogs, but the medical examiner testified that facial injuries, blood evidence and bruises on the victim’s eyes told a different story.
After a six-day trial, jurors took five hours to convict him and he was immediately sentenced to life in prison in the Florida Department of Corrections.
