ORLANDO, Fla. — A departing state attorney in central Florida has filed notice that her office won't seek the death penalty in several cases, including that of a man accused of killing his wife and three children.
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala wrote that concerns about Anthony Todt’s mental health played a factor in her deciding against seeking the death penalty.
Todt is accused of the killings at their home near Walt Disney World. He reportedly claimed that his wife was the one who killed their three children and then herself, saying he wasn't home.
Todt said his wife confessed when he returned and then stabbed herself.
But he told a family member, during a phone conversation from his jail cell, that he does remember going from the family home to a condo they owned nearby.
"The night everything happened, ok, I’m going to tell you this," Todt said to the female family member. "I went over (to the condo) because Zoe wanted her Mickey silver necklace, for reasons you’ll find out later."
Ayala is set to be replaced by incoming state attorney Monique Worrell. Worrell says her administration will establish a review panel to examine the individual circumstances of capital-eligible cases.
Ayala said shortly after taking office that she wouldn't seek the death penalty, even though it wasn't an issue she campaigned on.
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