Pod Insights True Crime with Kendall Rae He Said She Fell in the Shower, yet Her Body Was Dry!? The Case of Shanti Cooper About this episode In April 2018, David Tronnes called 911, yelling and crying that he had just found his wife Shanti dead in their bathtub. He said she must have slipped and fallen while he was out of the house that morning. However, Shanti was dry, as was the tub, and none of David’s story was adding up. Medical examiners were able to very obviously see that Shanti had injuries consistent with strangulation and blunt force trauma–not from falling.
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Transcript 12,112 words · 8 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
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0:29 Speaker 01 This episode's sponsored by Good Ranchers. Most people don't realize this, but over 85% of the grass-fed beef sold in the U.S. is actually imported from overseas. It's a system that often pushes out American farmers and ranchers. That's why it matters to be intentional about where you buy your meat. That's why I choose Good Ranchers. Good Ranchers connects you directly with local American farms and ranches. 100% American meat, pasture-raised, no antibiotics, no added hormones. Delivered straight to your door. Make the switch to better meat. Go to GoodRanchers.com to start your plan and get premium American meat delivered right to your door. That's GoodRanchers.com. American meat delivered.
1:14 Kendall Rae? Hey, everyone, and happy holidays. It's Kendall.
1:17 Speaker 03 And Josh from Malharr Media.
1:19 Kendall Rae? And as many of you guys know, we just recently launched our foundation, the Higher Hope Foundation, and now we are about to launch our annual matching program for the holiday season, so it's a great time to get involved, to give back, because your gift can go twice as far.
1:35 Speaker 03 Thanks to all of your support thus far, we've already awarded several grants. We have several more in process, and we've got several exciting projects coming in 2025.
1:44 Kendall Rae? So if you're interested in getting involved and allowing us to do even more projects in the future, it is easier than ever to make a donation. You can do it right on our website, which is higherhope.org. And we've launched a new feature where you can create your own fundraiser, and you can access that by going to the Get Involved tab on our website.
2:00 Speaker 03 So if you want your gift to be doubled, right now through December 27th, Malharr Media will be matching all gifts.
2:06 Kendall Rae? And just as a reminder, 100% of your donations will Go directly towards impacting victims of violent crime.
2:13 Speaker 03 We just want to say a huge thank you in advance to everyone out there for all of your support, your generosity, and there's lots of other ways to help support the foundation. If you're not able to give a gift, just sharing our campaigns, the work that we're doing just helps get the word out and, you know, helps us further our mission.
2:30 Kendall Rae? Yeah, truly, because of all of your support, so many people are getting the vital services and help that they need, and we're very, very grateful for your continued support. So, thank you.
2:48 Kendall Rae? Hello, everyone, and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much, as always, for joining me. And if you're new, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you. So, guys, today, we are talking about a case that actually came in through my members-only request form. And when I started looking into the details of this one, God, it pissed me off. It's just so unnecessary, so frustrating. We're going to be talking about Shanti Cooper Tronnes. Shanti was an amazing person. She was a wonderful mother. She was a very successful, very driven person who had a lot of friends, who was very loved by the people in her life. And her life was tragically stolen from her by
3:30 Kendall Rae? her evil, monster, idiot of a husband, David Tronnes. She and David were doing some home renovations, and not just like little home renovations. The home was in, it was a wreck, all thanks to David. And it was a pretty insane situation. I'll explain more. I don't want to give too much away yet. But that was sort of the catalyst that led to her murder. And in this episode, you're also going to be hearing a lot about her son, Jackson. And I just have to say, wow, what an amazing young man. I don't know if I would have the strength that he has had even
4:09 Kendall Rae? as an adult, let alone a child, but he is just so impressive for his age, so mature, and so wise. His biological father says that he- He really takes after his mom and I love that she sort of lives on through him since they are so similar. So let's just get into this case here because I have quite a bit to say. And right off the bat, I just want to say that obviously, most of the time in my episodes, I spend quite a bit of time talking about the victim and who they were. And I really like to do that. I really love to learn about people. Um, I find it really interesting to hear about people's lives, especially really amazing people like Shanti.
4:49 Kendall Rae? However, this was a bit of a different situation because there isn't that much information available about her and especially her early life. So here's what I do know. We know that Shanti was born on January 22nd, 1979 and lived just outside of Orlando, Florida. And I can also tell you, like I already have, that she really was a great woman who made a lasting impact on the lives of those she surrounded herself with. She very much had a type A personality, which really suited her well in her career and allowed her to be really successful. She worked for a software company for a while, but then she ended up starting her own software business and was very successful with that. I saw an interview with a friend of hers who explained that Shanti was someone
5:32 Kendall Rae? who would walk into a room and really just make an impact. Like you just noticed her and she was really just an unforgettable person. But the most important thing that you should know about her is that she really was an incredible mother. And by that, I mean she lived and breathed for her son, Jackson. And everything that she did in her life was with the intention of showing him unconditional love and support. She and her first husband, Jim Cooper, got married and they were over the moon when they found out that they were pregnant with him. He was really a huge blessing in both of their lives. And the way that Jackson speaks about his mother to this day just really shows you what an impact she made on him in the years that they did have together. It's really beautiful to see.
6:15 Kendall Rae? And he's been very vocal in the media about what happened to his mom. And the biggest message that he shares is that she is so much more than a victim. He says that she was the best mom that anyone could have asked for. He remembers how the two of them would always Do fun things like going to the movies and theme parks together. And even though she'd sometimes chicken out before going on the rides, as I probably would too, she would eventually gain the courage and get on those rides with her son. And Jackson was only eight years old when his mother was murdered. And even though he's a young teenager now, his maturity and the way he speaks and has handled all of this is just truly amazing to me.
6:54 Speaker 04 She didn't like to spend time with her family. She also loved her job. She loved what she did. Can't tell you what she did at all, but she definitely loved her family. She loved our dogs. She loves theme parks. We'd always go to the theme parks, you know, watch twice a month. She was scared to go on a lot of rides. She chicken out like four times, but she's still away.
7:14 Speaker 05 You know, when work was done and we were able to relax, it was relaxing. Barbecues on the lake, just hanging out with friends, their kids, Jackson. Nothing crazy, just when it was time to relax, that's what we want to do.
7:30 Speaker 04 No matter what kind of day she was having, she always had a smile on her face. She wouldn't let the bad things that happened that day affect the moment. She was a very great woman. Everything about her was outstanding. She was just overall the best mother that anyone can ever ask for.
7:43 Kendall Rae? Now, going back to her first husband, Jim. At first, they had a really great relationship. Jim says that the two of them met while they were both out one night and that they didn't leave each other's side for the next 16 hours. They ended up dating, getting married, and in 2009, they got pregnant with Jackson, who, like I said, was just the light of both their lives. And like I said, for a long time, things were good. But at some point, things took a turn and Shanti was just very unhappy in the marriage. And that ended up leading her to be unfaithful to him. And they just couldn't work through things after that. And their divorce was not easy. It was actually pretty contentious.
8:24 Kendall Rae? And Jim has talked about how, especially now, looking back, he feels bad that he made it that way. And I mean, in the heat of the moment, divorces can get really messy and very, you know, hurtful things can be said. It can drive. On and on, just be absolutely draining and devastating for everyone involved. But eventually they got through it, they got past it, and they made sure that no matter what, Jackson knew that both of his parents loved him and that they were committed to raising him to the best of their ability. And so the two of them really did a great job of co-parenting, which is really all that matters at the end of the day, in my opinion. And that brings me to March of 2013.
9:04 Kendall Rae? The divorce had finally gone through and Shanti was ready to move on and possibly find love again. And she found love pretty quickly, actually. That month, she connected with a man named David Tronnes through Match.com. And their relationship started the way that a lot of relationships start, especially when you meet someone online, just by exchanging messages. And it really seemed to just hit the ground running. They really bonded over the fact that they had both recently gone through a divorce and that they were looking for a second shot at love. And they seemed to find that second shot at love with each other. After a few months of doing the long distance thing, David left Minnesota and moved to the Orlando area where Shanti was living so that they could give their relationship a real chance.
9:49 Kendall Rae? And by all accounts, everything seemed great, especially at the beginning. Her friends and family say that they were very much in love, to the point where people around them were like, okay, enough, we get it. They were just kind of like all over each other and so, so into each other. But anyway, after living in Orlando for about a year and a half, David ended up buying the two of them a home in Delaney Park, which is a very idyllic, safe neighborhood. And he paid a little over $600,000 in cash, and this was supposed to be their dream home. And just by looking at it, it looks like it would be really anyone's dream home. They had a beautiful pool, it had some really beautiful architecture, palm trees surrounding it, green grass. I mean, really, they were gonna be living the dream in this home, right?
10:33 Kendall Rae? And sources say that in the beginning of their relationship, David really made it seem like he had all this money, like he was Mr. Moneybags. Some sources say that he was a successful engineer and he was able to retire early. And some sources talk about an inheritance worth a couple Million dollars, but it seems like that may have not been the full picture. I mean, it's possible that he really did have all of this money and he was just really, really goddamn cheap, but I'd venture to say that he probably was not as rich as he was making it seem. And I say that because when they decided to renovate their house, which I mentioned earlier,
11:14 Kendall Rae? Shanti was the one who ended up footing the bill, even though he was, like I said, Mr. Moneybags, and that ended up being a pretty high bill that Shanti had to pay for on her own. A quarter of a million dollars to be exact, which is a lot for home renovation.
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12:38 Kendall Rae? The house was really beautiful as it was, in my opinion. I mean, I think it was a bit outdated, maybe, and according to David, that's why they wanted to do the renovation. I guess Shanti wanted something a little bit more modern. So they came to the conclusion that Shanti would run her business and work as she normally did, and David's job would be this renovation. And he worked as an engineer. So I'm guessing the dude just thought he was qualified to do this massive project. But that really could not have been further from the truth. At first, when the renovations began, the demolition was pretty basic. You know, tearing down some walls, removing the floorboards, the usual. But as the months and then years went on, the house had become completely torn down to nothing.
13:23 Kendall Rae? Like David just went wild with it and did it seemingly all at once. And I mean, literally not even the studs were left, okay? It was just destroyed on the inside, completely stripped down. And from the outside, the house looked fine. You would have no idea. But on the inside, there literally wasn't even a house. And obviously, it was completely unlivable. So David, Shanti and Jackson, when Jackson was there, I mean, he did spend time with his dad as well. But they all ended up having to move into the garage, which had this upstairs kind of apartment type unit going on. It was basically like a one-bedroom apartment with a full bathroom.
14:04 Kendall Rae? And so it was livable, but it was certainly not enjoyable or ideal. David actually slept downstairs on the couch because he said that Shanti snored. And he would sleep down there with the dogs. And then Shanti and Jackson would sleep upstairs. They had like a little kind of kitchen area with a burner so that they could do some cooking there. But it certainly was not an ideal situation, especially when they had this large house next door. That was completely unusable. And obviously, of course, people have to make sacrifices during home renovations. And they were definitely more than willing to do that. But this wasn't a six-month or even a year-long project. Their house had been under construction practically since they bought it.
14:45 Kendall Rae? And by April of 2018, almost exactly three years later, it was in the worst condition it had been yet. And when I say that there was barely a house left outside of the outside structure, I mean it, like a strong wind could have taken this house down. And I think anyone after three years of this, much longer than they expected, would start to feel pretty frustrated.
15:10 Kendall Rae? Shanti was definitely at that point and not just because of the inconvenience of it all and the fact that she was paying for the entire renovation without David's help, but also, and this is a big but, David would not put her name on the deed. The two of them got married in 2017 and even after they were literally bound by marriage, he kept the deed in his mom's name. And also, David's plans for the house were just as unstable as the house itself. It sounds like he was just hiring and then firing construction crews left and right and there didn't seem to be any clear path forward in getting any of the work done. And he was like obsessed with this renovation. I mean, he was all the dude could think about
15:53 Kendall Rae? and spend time on, but at the same time, wasn't actually doing anything to get it done. In fact, he seemed to be delaying things quite a bit along the way. But that changed when he ended up reaching out to a man named Keith Ori. And now, some of you may know Keith Ori, actually. He is a house flipper and builder who's located in the Orlando area, but he's best known for his reality TV house flipping series, which is called Zombie House Flipping. And the whole concept of the show, I'm sure you can imagine, as many home renovation shows are like this, but since this is zombie edition, they're taking the worst houses possible and then flipping them into something beautiful. And considering the condition that their house was in, it was the
16:36 Kendall Rae? perfect candidate to be on the show. It was a zombie house. In fact, Keith said that when him and his team first looked at the house, they realized that the only thing keeping it standing was two inches of stucco. He actually even said in an interview that he did not understand how this house was still standing at all. It was totally shocking to him and his team, but hey, great opportunity for their show, right? And of course, it was a big opportunity for David and Shanti as well. I mean, at the very least, their house would be livable again. So Keith, of course, pitched it to the network. They were on board. He got the green light and they were on track to start filming in just a couple of weeks, but that episode was never filmed because on April 24th,
17:20 Kendall Rae? 2018, 39-year-old Shanti Cooper's life was taken from her. That day, at 3:51 PM, David called 911 to report that he had just come home and found his wife unconscious in the bathtub. He said that he pulled her from the tub but was unable to get her to wake up despite CPR attempts. And I actually do have the 911 call to play for you, so take a listen.
17:43 Speaker 07 Hello?
17:48 Speaker 04 She's not breathing. I'm trying to do CPR. I can't get her to breathe.
17:54 Speaker 07 Okay, listen to me. And who is it?
17:56 Speaker 04 This is David. John.
17:59 Speaker 07 Okay, your name is David? Okay, who is it that's not breathing?
18:03 Speaker 04 My wife.
18:05 Speaker 07 Sir, I need you to take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. What happened?
18:09 Speaker 04 I found her in the shower.
18:12 Speaker 07 And she passed away?
18:16 Speaker 07 Is she awake right now?
18:18 Speaker 04 No.
18:18 Speaker 07 Is she breathing?
18:20 Speaker 04 Yeah, wake her up. I tried to do CPR. I can't get her to breathe.
18:25 Speaker 07 Can you get her out of the shower?
18:27 Speaker 04 I pulled her out.
18:29 Speaker 07 And you don't know what happened or when anything happened?
18:33 Speaker 04 No.
18:34 Speaker 07 Has she been sick or something?
18:37 Speaker 04 Yeah, she's been sick, yes. Oh, God, what happened, baby? Baby, baby.
18:49 Kendall Rae? When first responders arrived at the scene, they were honestly expecting to walk into a very tragic, yet accidental slip-and-fall death. But when they walked in, they realized that that was not the case at all. I mean, that's how David had made it sound on the 911 call, but it was very clear that that was not the case. Because when they got upstairs, they saw that Shanti was lying on the floor of the bedroom with wounds that were indicative of a very brutal beating. Now, we know that David said that he moved her out of the bathroom, so her being in the bedroom wasn't that suspicious, but everything else about the scene was.
19:30 Kendall Rae? In a typical slip and fall accident that ends fatally, you would expect to see one, maybe even two, pretty deep, serious wounds to the head. You know, you slip, maybe you hit your head in one spot and then fall back and hit it again. But that was not the case here. Shanti had a ton of injuries. First of all, both of her eye sockets were fractured. There was a hole in her cheek, a gash to her ear. Her nose was broken. She had bruising in several areas and her hands and knees had abrasions on them. Another one of her injuries, which wasn't discovered until later on during her autopsy, was the fact that blood vessels in her eyes had burst,
20:14 Kendall Rae? which is probably, as most of you know, a very strong indication of strangulation. In fact, strangulation was actually listed as her cause of death right next to blunt force trauma. So slip and fall? I don't think so.
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21:36 Kendall Rae? And what was also immediately sus and one of the many reasons why David is such a goddamn idiot is the fact that Shanti was completely dry and everything was dry. The bathtub was dry, the floor was dry. There was no water anywhere. If she had slipped in the shower, you would expect her to be soaking wet, right? You'd expect there to be water on the floor. You'd expect, of course, the shower to be wet. You would expect David to be wet considering he pulled her out of the shower. No, everything was dry. And so, of course, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he is lying and this is a homicide. And that's exactly how they treated it right from the start. And so that evening, David
22:21 Kendall Rae? was asked to come into the Orlando Police Department's headquarters and he did so willingly. He wasn't under arrest, which he was made well aware of. And for the next 14 hours, he sat in an interrogation room and answered questions about what happened. And honestly, he was seemingly very cooperative. He consented to them taking photographs of his body to look for defensive injuries and even willingly gave them DNA swabs. But that cooperation did not make him innocent, of course, and what he said in the interrogation proved that pretty quickly. Now, I've watched a good amount of the interrogation footage and it's quite fascinating. I'm going to insert as much of it as I can in here so that you
23:02 Kendall Rae? guys can see for yourselves. But I've got to give a big shout out to the detectives who led this interrogation. They did a fantastic job. Their names are Barbara Sharp and Teresa Sprig. And again, these two women just absolutely nailed it. When you see some of these clips, you're going to see just how ridiculous David was acting, how obvious it was that he was lying. But the two of them were really able to stick to the classic good cop strategy at first and kind of gain his trust, make him feel like they were being sympathetic to him. They wanted to make it seem like they believed him and it was a great move. And they really tried to play up that sympathy.
23:44 Kendall Rae? Quite a lot like you'll even see in one of the clips, the one I'm about to play. Actually, that one of them actually reached out and started kind of rubbing his knee, really trying to make him feel safe and like I said, earn his trust. They were definitely trying to give the illusion of we're here for you, David. You've been through so much. Tell us everything, you know? And they knew that he would sink his own ship pretty quickly.
24:06 Speaker 04 You wanted to be born here?
24:08 Speaker 05 No, I was born in St. Paul, not here.
24:11 Speaker 04 And when did you meet your wife?
24:13 Speaker 05 In 2013, five months after I had shot you.
24:17 Speaker 04 Did you meet her here or there?
24:20 Speaker 05 No.
24:26 Speaker 04 It's all sorry. Take your time.
24:30 Kendall Rae? After that, David went into his story of what happened and everything that led up to him walking in and finding his wife face down in the bathtub. And his story actually begins the night before. According to David, he was sleeping downstairs on the couch as he usually did because of Shanti's sleep apnea and the fact that she snores. And then the following morning, he said he woke up and began cleaning their pool. Then sometime around 7:00 AM, he says that Shanti comes downstairs for the first time that day. But apparently she wasn't feeling well. She had actually chipped her tooth the day before, so she made a dentist appointment for that day, the 24th, to get it fixed. But she was a no call, no show to that appointment.
25:12 Kendall Rae? And David makes it seem like she just missed the appointment because she wasn't feeling good. In total, David claimed that Shanti came downstairs three times that morning for various things, like to smoke a cigarette, for example. And he said that the third time he saw her, when she came downstairs, was the last time that he saw her alive.
25:30 Speaker 04 Tell me about Monday night. What happened?
25:32 Speaker 05 We were getting ready to go to bed at midnight. He sleeps separately most of the time. She has a really severe sleep pattern.
25:45 Speaker 04 Where'd you sleep?
25:46 Speaker 05 That's just on the couch.
25:48 Speaker 04 You wake up Tuesday morning and what do you do?
25:51 Speaker 05 The pool was full of leaves from the magnolia and I cleaned the pool out. She said she was gonna try to sleep in a little bit, so I went in. She came down after seven o'clock, probably. She said she wasn't feeling very well. She had chipped her tooth the day before. And she admitted dentist appointment. This morning, but she said she wasn't sure if she needed to go. How's your find out down?
26:22 Speaker 05 That's so much fun.
26:23 Kendall Rae? David then goes on to explain that sometime before noon, he left and took the dogs to the park where he spent two hours out walking them. And he sees nobody and then returns home around 2:00 PM. From there, he says that he puts the dogs in their kennels, feeds them, and then returns to their backyard to clean up the courtyard and the pool for a second time. And in this next clip, you're gonna see where he gets into finding her in the tub. And pay close attention to what he says about the water specifically.
26:56 Speaker 04 What happens when you enter the home? Is anything unusual?
27:00 Speaker 05 I could hear the water is running. I just walked upstairs. I didn't hear her. She's not saying anything, doesn't seem right. She's submerged partially. One of her legs is kind of sticking up and out a little bit. The water in the tub was
27:23 Speaker 05 tinged with blood. I pulled her out into the other room. I didn't know what to do. At first I tried to do CPR. She was, she was still. I was losing her and I thought I was losing her.
27:39 Speaker 04 Her clothing is wet?
27:40 Speaker 05 Yeah. She felt cold. I tried to lift her head. She's, I was fighting, she has blood
27:52 Speaker 05 coming down her face. I grabbed the, um.
27:57 Kendall Rae? I flash her cover. I put it under her head. I wiped her. You saw me die. I started crying. Okay, so we all heard that, right? David is claiming that not only was she in the tub, but that she was wet. Okay? Make that make sense. By the time that first responders get there, she is just magically completely dry? Absolutely not. So obviously, his story is not matching the crime scene whatsoever, let alone her injuries. And on top of all those injuries that I've already gone over with you, she was also already in rigor mortis when they got there. Which I'm sure most of you, if you consume a lot of true crime content, or possibly even work in the field,
28:43 Kendall Rae? know what rigor mortis is. But if you don't, it's the natural stiffening of the muscles that occurs after someone dies. And it takes several hours to set in. So what does that tell us? It tells us that David is lying about the time when she died. It had to have been much earlier than he says it was. In fact, detectives actually believe that Shanti died the night before. And on top of her body already being in rigor, they later discovered that Shanti's phone showed zero activity on the 24th. She actually had a work text come in around 6:58 a.m. that morning. And there is just no way in the world
29:26 Kendall Rae? that she would have gone the entire day without answering. That's just not who she was. She really was professional when it came to her job, took it very seriously, and she would not have just blown off a text like that for no reason. And the last activity on her phone was around 11:30 p.m. on the night of the 23rd. And that's around the time that detectives estimate that she was killed. So we will talk more about that later, but let's get back to the interrogation of David. So like I was saying, David was giving them a bunch of stories that just made no sense. And it felt like he was trying too hard to paint this picture of their happy life. And he also did something really strange that- I wanted to point out during his interrogation,
30:09 Kendall Rae? he mentions that he and Shanti actually had sex two nights before she died. And another thing that's important to note is a couple of weeks before this, she had her appendix removed, which can be a pretty intense surgery. And she really wasn't feeling well for a while. But that Saturday, he said that she was feeling better and that the two of them decided to have sex.
30:32 Speaker 05 We just found like a great rhythm. We were just really, really happy. We were talking more and we were, you know, it was great. We were really, really, really happy. And Saturday night, I think was the first night that she, she really enjoyed just being kind of out and relaxing a little bit. Since her surgery, we hadn't been able to have sex. And she wanted to try another sweet head.
31:00 Kendall Rae? Here's why this is strange, though. And it's strange for a couple of reasons, but one of them being the fact that no one had asked him anything about their sex life. He just offered this information up. But also, what's very strange is that David mentions that while they were having sex, that Shanti ended up getting her period during it. And I'm telling you about this because detectives believe that this was his way of trying to explain why they might find blood on the bed and on the sheets. So clearly, David is just trying to get ahead of them, potentially asking about any blood that they have found. And the whole thing is coming across as very staged.
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32:48 Speaker 04 It was messy. It was very messy. So are you saying that that blood is got somewhere? It did get on the bedspread and it did get on the bed, on the sheet. Is there something covering that up now or no? How many, we changed the sheets. So there shouldn't be blood on the bed now? Or is there? There shouldn't be. She was pleading when I brought her out of the bed. I would guess there is blood there. I would guess there is. I would guess there is. So we picked up the sheets and we worked it out.
33:22 Kendall Rae? But here's what's interesting about the blood, though. When that room was searched, detectives found blood in places that made no sense with what David was claiming happened. Okay, sure. So they have sex while she's on her period and they get blood on the bed, on the sheets, whatever. But they found blood on the wooden bed rails as well as the interior side of the bed frame. It seemed like the exterior side of the bed was wiped down, but if you removed the mattress and stood in the middle of the frame, you could see fresh blood dripping on that interior side. And this was no period blood. And as you can imagine, by this point in the interrogation, these two detectives had enough of his shit. They were done playing good cop
34:06 Kendall Rae? and they were ready to go full bad cop mode and just call his dumb ass out.
34:11 Speaker 04 Talk around in circles. Trust me, the evidence and her body speak for itself. And your story is BS. You either made a mistake or you're a cold body killer. Which one are you? The injuries that this woman sustained, absolutely 100%, in my opinion, not possible from a slip in a fall in a bathtub. Did you two argue? No, absolutely not. Did you harm Shanti in any way? Absolutely not. Did you choke her? Absolutely not. Did you strangle her? Without question, no.
34:53 Speaker 04 Shanti did not fall and get those injuries. Okay. Without question. For you to see the significance of her injuries up close and personal like you did and come up with this cockamamie theory that she fell and hit her head is just baffling to me that you thought we would believe that. You strangled her. There is no one home but you. This is not looking good for you.
35:18 Kendall Rae? They also started asking him a lot about their living situation and the house and clearly what a stressful mess of a situation the renovation had been. And, you know, asking if that had caused any stress on their relationship or, you know, how they were dealing with that. But David, of course, just kept saying everything was fine between them. They, you know, were doing just fine during this process. He specifically said that Shanti wasn't upset at all about how long things were taking and that she even was just fine with her name not being on the deed, which we definitely know is not true because she had told several people in her life that she was very upset about all of that. So at one point, late into the interrogation, David agrees to take a polygraph.
36:03 Kendall Rae? But since it was in the middle of the night, there was nobody there to administer it. So ultimately, they ended up letting him leave. There just wasn't enough to make an arrest that night. But believe me, this was far from over. And I just want to make this clear. Despite how guilty David seemed right off the bat, detectives definitely did their due diligence and looked into all other possibilities. So let's talk about some of the other theories that they considered. Of course, Shanti's ex-husband Jim was brought in for questioning as well because they just couldn't ignore the fact that the two of them had a, you know, not so Friendly divorce, but Jim's alibi was completely verifiable, not only for the 24th, but even for the night before. Plus, as time had passed, they really weren't on as bad of
36:45 Kendall Rae? terms. So it just didn't seem like Jim really held any animosity towards her. Like I said earlier, the two of them are really co-parenting well, and they knew how important it was that both of them got along to some degree for his sake. Now, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering, where was Jackson when all of this happened? And he was actually at school on the day that his mom was killed. His father, Jim, ended up getting a call around four o'clock from someone at the school who was asking if he would be able to pick him up, even though it was technically Shanti's day to get him. And Jim said that he knew something had to be wrong, because it just was not like Shanti to fail to pick up her son. But of course, he couldn't imagine how
37:26 Kendall Rae? bad the situation actually was. He didn't know why she didn't come to get him. So after picking Jackson up, he said that he made the biggest mistake of his life. And I feel so bad for him listening to some of his interviews, but he ends up driving to their house with Jackson. And he said that he truly regrets that decision, because by the time they arrived, he unknowingly brought his son to the scene of his mother's death, which was swarming with police officers and crime scene tapes. So as you can imagine, that was very traumatic for Jackson. And I listened to an interview with Jackson, and he talked about how it really took him some time, obviously, to accept that his mother was really gone. Like, at first, it just
38:09 Kendall Rae? didn't seem real. I mean, poor kid was only eight years old, and this was just so unexpected. It's hard to grasp at that age that your mother is there one day, and then the next, she's just gone. So of course, it took him some time to really come to terms with what happened. And I'm really glad that his father has been able to. Be with him and raise him now on his own, but really help him through that pain and understand his emotions and feelings. I mean, Jim really does seem like an amazing guy and I'm really thankful that Jackson has him. But anyway, let's get back to the other potential theories. So of course, another possibility that they had to consider was maybe this was a robbery gone wrong.
38:54 Kendall Rae? Because when Shanti's body was discovered, she wasn't wearing her engagement ring. And her engagement ring was very important to her. It was something she was really proud of and she always wore it. And it wasn't even found during any of the searches of their home. So the fact that it was missing definitely made them consider that maybe someone had broken it and stole it. But the problem with that theory is that nothing else of value in the home was taken. Not her cash, or her credit cards, or things like her iMac or TV. Not even Jackson's Xbox, or the diamond earring that was just sitting in plain sight on the bedside table. Nothing. So that theory just really fell flat pretty quickly.
39:36 Kendall Rae? And then another theory was that maybe it was a scorned construction worker that had some issue with them. Maybe they killed Shanti. Like I said earlier, David was constantly hiring and firing these crews. So was it possible that he had pissed someone off and maybe they wanted revenge? But when detectives started exploring that more, that theory also fell flat pretty quickly. Didn't really make any sense. And sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer. And that obvious answer is David. As time went on, David became more and more obvious as the only person with the means, motive, and opportunity to kill his wife.
40:18 Kendall Rae? However, he didn't take a backseat when they were building their case against him. Shortly after Shanti's death, David ended up hiring a defense attorney and private investigator, and they began sniffing around. They ended up going door to door, asking neighbors about any quote homeless people in the area. Basically trying to find anyone else to blame. And there was one guy that some people mentioned, and neighbors said that he looked like Woody Harrelson. And law enforcement tracked down this guy and they spoke with him and he was cleared. So no matter what other theories they looked into, everything just kept pointing back at David.
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41:59 Kendall Rae? And let me tell you guys, when they started looking deeper into David's life, they found some pretty shocking shit. It turns out that he was a member of Club Orlando, which is a fitness center and sauna for queer men. And an employee ended up coming forward and said that David had been a member there for months. And not only that, it turns out he came in five days before Shanti's death, and then several days after she died.
42:24 Speaker 04 Is that your full name?
42:25 Speaker 05 My name is Arthur Adams.
42:27 Speaker 04 We are now at the 7-Eleven. You work here?
42:30 Speaker 05 Yes.
42:31 Speaker 04 And you have a second job as well?
42:33 Speaker 05 Yes.
42:34 Speaker 04 Where is that?
42:35 Speaker 05 At Club Orlando. It's a gay men's gym spa.
42:40 Speaker 04 Is David a member of the club?
42:42 Speaker 05 Yes.
42:43 Speaker 04 How many times in the last 18 months do you think you've seen David, on average?
42:48 Speaker 05 Like, at least twice a week.
42:52 Speaker 04 And the last time you saw David at Club Orlando?
42:55 Speaker 05 Maybe five days.
42:57 Kendall Rae? Before the murder. And this employee even said that he witnessed David perform oral sex on two separate occasions, but wasn't sure if it was with the same person or not. So it turns out that Mr. David seems to be living a double life. And there's actually a neighbor of theirs who had a very strange interaction with David while David was out on a run. And this neighbor is gay and he asked David if his glasses were new. And he lowers them down and says, yes, they are. And now that I can see better, I can see how attractive you are. And the neighbor is like, okay, interesting. This took the neighbor by surprise, considering he thought he was straight and married.
43:42 Kendall Rae? And he was obviously hitting on this guy. And obviously it doesn't matter what David's sexuality is, but it does matter that David, whether he was with a man or a woman, he was still cheating on Shanti. And all of her loved ones say that they just don't believe she would have been okay with this. Of course, there is that small possibility that she did know and maybe she accepted this side of David and his sexuality and she allowed him to go to Club Orlando. Maybe she was fine with sort of having this open relationship. We don't really know, but anyone who was close with her said that they just don't believe that that was the case. And obviously, once investigators found out about this, a motive started to form.
44:22 Kendall Rae? Was it possible that Shanti had found out about his secret and had threatened to leave him or expose him, something like that? And in fact, one of her best friends, really her best friend, did an interview and she talked about how there was one time where Shanti had called her and seemed very concerned, was saying things along the line of, I know too much and I need to get out of this. And then later on, she had called her up again and said, oh, everything's fine. And she felt like David was there when she made that call. So is it possible that she found out that he was living this double life? And that made her angry about the infidelity aspect of things?
45:06 Kendall Rae? Or yeah, she was threatening to expose him or something like that. Or maybe she just threatened to stop paying for the home renovation. Maybe she didn't know about his double life at all, but she was just sick of footing that bill on a project that really wasn't going anywhere, that he seemingly was just continuing to make worse. Also, she had a $350,000 life insurance policy in her name with David listed as the beneficiary. And with that, plus other assets, he stood to gain about $1 million from her death. And as we know, people have been killed for a lot less. And on top of all of these other potential motives, their relationship, their marriage, certainly wasn't sunshine and rainbows. Not only was the house causing major problems between them,
45:50 Kendall Rae? but Shanti's journal entries point to things being a lot worse than just house stress. In some of these journal entries, she wrote things like this. "Why do you treat the dogs better than me? Is it because they don't question you? And do you love me anymore? People who love each other don't act this way. Maybe it's time for a change." And I don't know about you, but those journal entries don't really strike me as being written by someone who's really, really happy, as David claimed she was.
46:19 Speaker 04 I'm just really, really happy, really, really happy, really, really happy.
46:24 Kendall Rae? And he actually took a video on his phone a week before the murder, where he was sort of just walking through the house and showing the progress and whatnot. And at one point, Shanti and Jackson appear, and you can just tell by her body language that she was upset. She was really sick of his shit. Clearly, something was going on and other people noticed it, too. There was times where she would call her best friend crying, saying things like, "He won't let me go." And Jackson said he witnessed some domestic abuse in the house. And Jackson even said that David threatened to hurt him. A literal child. So that just tells you what a monster this man truly is and what he could be capable of. Oh, and that guy Keith from the zombie house flipping show
47:07 Kendall Rae? also said that he witnessed tension between Shanti and David a week before she died. He had gone over there to do just a general meeting about production and sort of get The final green light from the two of them. And he said he noticed Shanti was just visibly upset and that she took off as soon as the meeting was over, which of course that alone doesn't prove that David killed her. But it certainly does show you the dynamic between the two of them in the days leading up to her murder. In the end, though, investigators did determine that only one person could have been responsible for this, and that was David Tronnes. So on August 29th, 2018, David was arrested at his mommy's house where he had been living
47:50 Kendall Rae? and was held without bail on charges of first degree murder. And following his arrest, investigators searched his mom's house and they ended up finding a crucial piece of evidence. Remember how Shanti's engagement ring was missing? Well, turns out David was the one who stole it. It was hidden in a suitcase in his room and it's just further proof that some stranger didn't come into their house and kill her. And it doesn't end there because after his arrest, investigators got a tip that pointed them in the direction of his ex-wife, Carol. And it turns out that when David was still married to Carol, she just randomly got sick out of nowhere and could never really figure out what was wrong.
48:30 Kendall Rae? And several of her friends believed that David may have been poisoning her, but detectives ended up traveling to Minnesota to meet with her and surprisingly she was pretty protective of him, even though he cooked most of their meals and she could never really figure out what was wrong with her. She said that she just didn't think that he was poisoning her. Carol also said that she continued to be sick after they got divorced. So I guess that's something to consider as well. And there's certainly no definitive proof that he was poisoning her. What's interesting though, is that when detectives looked into her and her marriage with him, they found out that she and David still shared a bank account together with quite a bit of money in it.
49:12 Kendall Rae? Now she had said that she just forgot to take her name off the account, but it has been speculated that maybe David was still funding her life in some ways and that maybe she felt the need to protect him because of that. And I'm not saying that that is the case, or even if it's true, we Don't know if it's true, but it is information that has been reported. So I wanted to share that with you. I also did bring that up though, because detectives did wonder if maybe Shanti was being poisoned. Earlier, I mentioned that she had her appendix removed not too long before she was killed. And they actually went to the hospital to see if maybe they still had her appendix and that they could possibly test it for any type of poison. Unfortunately, they did not still have her appendix, so they weren't able to do that. But it was definitely something that they were considering.
49:57 Kendall Rae? Like, maybe David had tried to kill her in a nonviolent way and then possibly resorted to something violent when that didn't work. On the poisoning note, though, while David was still in jail, his cellmate ended up coming forward and told detectives something really strange. He said that he and David were bonding over their shared love of hallucinogens. And David mentioned this type of tree frog that produces a poisonous sap. There are actually a couple of frogs out there that produce a hallucinogenic. So I'm not sure exactly which one he was talking about. But anyway, apparently, according to this cellmate, he told him that you can put it in salsa and kill someone with it. And not only did he say that, but apparently, according to this cellmate,
50:40 Kendall Rae? David admitted to killing Shanti to him. Now, none of what he said can be corroborated, so I didn't want to spend too much time on it, but it's something interesting to note.
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51:48 Kendall Rae? But there is one more big thing that happened about a year after David was first arrested. And it has to do with a phone call that the lead prosecutor on this case got. That prosecutor is Ryan Vecchio and he said that in his entire career, nothing like this has ever happened to him. But one day he got a call and it was from David's defense attorney. And he tells him that he had a piece of physical evidence that they never disclosed. And it was a pair of bloody bed sheets. Now, if you remember, earlier I mentioned David's story about having sex with Shanti and the fact that she supposedly got her period. And he said this because he thought it was possible that they may find some bloody bed sheets. But the thing is, they never actually found them.
52:30 Kendall Rae? In fact, when they first got to the crime scene, it looked like the bed had been freshly made with a very clean set of sheets. And sure, he did say that they changed the bed sheets, but to the detectives, it looked like these sheets had literally just been put on the bed that day, not two days earlier when he said they did. Now, 11 months later, after he gets this phone call, he realizes that the defense had those sheets all along. So how did that happen? Well, in total, there were three search warrants conducted on David and Shanti's home. It turns out that in searches one and two, the sheets were there and the truth is investigators just missed them. But they were there and they were up on a shelf. But by search number three, they were just gone.
53:15 Kendall Rae? And we know this because photos were taken during each one of these searches and you can literally see on the shelf from searches one and two that the sheets were there. But by the third search, the photo shows that those sheets were missing. I mentioned earlier that David and his attorney had hired a private investigator. And it turns out that this private investigator had found the sheets between searches two and three, and he was instructed to collect them. And there's even surveillance footage from outside of David's house showing the P I carrying what could have been that evidence into a car. And the P I said that he was told that they were going to submit the sheets for testing to prove that the blood was from Shanti's period. Because period
53:55 Kendall Rae? blood actually produces different protein than regular blood. So their plan was to test the sheets and then prove that they weren't from Shanti being attacked. Here's the thing, though. Those sheets sat in a locker for 11 months and they were never tested. And once detectives got them, they did end up testing them, but unfortunately, they couldn't determine where the blood came from. And believe it or not, that is not the only evidence that this defense attorney was just hanging on to, or potential evidence, I should say. I guess they had also collected a green cord from the scene, and their excuse for taking this was to protect David from taking his life. But detectives believe that this cord could have actually been used to strangle Shanti. Now, they did test it,
54:40 Kendall Rae? and they didn't find any DNA on it, but it was speculated that maybe David could have wiped it down, making this the second thing that the defense withheld. And this attorney didn't even get in trouble. Imagine that. That's Florida for you, folks. And no shade to Florida, beautiful state, I love it. My mom lives there. But wild things happen there, and people seem to get away with a lot down there. I will say that he did end up dropping David as a client, so I guess there's that, but yeah, whatever. So a different defense attorney took over the case in 2020, and he has had a lot to say about everything. So let's get into the trial now, because there's a lot to say about that. Five and
55:20 Kendall Rae? a half years after Shanti's murder. David's trial began in October of 2023, after several delays pushed the trial back. And for a while, he tried to claim that he wasn't mentally fit to stand trial because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but a judge ruled that he was totally competent. So like I normally do, I want to walk you through what the defense was arguing and what the Prosecution was arguing, and let's start with the prosecution. Earlier, I explained that detectives believe Shanti was actually killed the night before David said she died. And part of that theory had to do with the fact that her cellphone wasn't used until after 11:30 PM on the 23rd. Now, what I didn't mention earlier is the fact that only one of Shanti's diamond earrings was found on the bedside table.
56:04 Kendall Rae? The other earring was still in her ear, which starts to paint a picture of what could have really happened. So during the trial, the prosecution painted a picture of a violent attack that occurred on the night of the 23rd while Shanti was taking off her earrings before bed. They say that while her head was turned to take out the other earring, David became enraged by an argument that they were having, and he began attacking her. This would explain why only one earring was removed and also why she didn't use her phone at all the next day. It would also explain why there was so much blood on the bed frame, on the carpet, on the sheets, because that's where the attack happened, not some slip and fall in the bathroom.
56:45 Kendall Rae? Now, as for what they believe enraged David, the prosecution argued a couple of things, and first and foremost, of course, the house. The home renovation project was clearly causing tension in their marriage, which several people testified to. Shanti was unhappy with how long it was taking and especially upset about the fact that she was paying for it and that she wasn't on the deed. She was also reportedly not on board with their home being featured on the zombie house flipping show. I guess David was the one who was really pushing for them to be on it, to increase their home's value, but for whatever reason, Shanti was against it, which may explain why she was upset with David when they had that final meeting with Keith.
57:26 Kendall Rae? The prosecution also argued that another potential contributing factor to their marriage and eventually her murder was their finances. Clearly, David was not honest with Shanti about his financial situation when they first met, and there's a good possibility that she was starting to catch on to the fact that he had been lying all this time. And even if he wasn't, the dude refused to contribute to anything, and all the burden fell On her. So yeah, she was upset. Who wouldn't be? And lastly, of course, there's the fact that David seemed to be living a double life. I did find out that they didn't bring up the whole Club Orlando situation during the trial because they couldn't ultimately prove whether or not Shanti knew about it.
58:10 Kendall Rae? And I know some of her friends and family were frustrated by this. They were told that it just wasn't relevant because, yeah, they couldn't prove that she even knew about it. But still, at the end of the day, we know that he was deceiving her. And it's possible that she confronted him and maybe it led to an argument that caused him to snap. Now, as for the defense, they used a strategy that I think is pretty common. In fact, it's very similar to what was used in the Matty Kingsbury trial, which I covered recently. And that was the idea that detectives just zeroed in on David, that they had blinders on and failed to consider other suspects. However, the defense called zero witnesses to testify. So it doesn't sound to me like they did much to create any reasonable doubt.
58:55 Kendall Rae? And the jury clearly agreed because it only took them five hours to come back with a guilty verdict. And God, I'm sure that was an amazing moment for her loved ones. A moment that was a long time coming. Jackson said it was the greatest moment ever, knowing that his mom could finally get the justice she deserved. And keep in mind, he was only 13 years old going through the trial. I swear, though, he has more maturity than a lot of adults. His ability to stay strong, to not give up hope is something I really admire about him. And I really loved this small detail, but one of the detectives actually gave him a coin shortly after his mom died and told him that she wouldn't stop until she got her justice.
59:38 Kendall Rae? And I imagine that is where he placed a lot of his hope. He even got up there and gave a victim's impact speech, which I can't imagine how hard that must have been for him to do at that age. And while he does get very emotional during it, he really stayed strong, held his composure. It's so impressive and I really can't explain it well enough. So I just wanted to play it for you guys today.
1:00:01 Speaker 04 My mom was the best person I ever knew.
1:00:07 Speaker 04 She worked a lot, but she never put her family over work. Early 2018, she was taken from me and my family. It's like a hole in my heart that I can't fill or fix.
1:00:18 Speaker 04 She didn't die peacefully. She did not deserve anything that happened to her that night.
1:00:24 Speaker 04 My family and I have been waiting for about five years for justice. I miss her so much.
1:00:32 Speaker 04 I would have never thought the day before was the last time I would see my mother alive.
1:00:38 Speaker 04 I miss the times where we would go to Universal or just the simple times like walking the dogs or going to the park. She was the best mom I could ever ask for.
1:00:50 Speaker 04 That's it.
1:00:52 Kendall Rae? I also wanted to play a clip of her ex-husband Jim's statement as well, so here is that.
1:00:57 Speaker 05 Your Honor, when Shanti and I were married, we tried for years to have a child, no success. It was an extremely difficult time for us. And we were about to give up when we got the wonderful news in early 2009. We did our best to raise him together, but as you know, in life, it is not without its curveballs and heartaches. And when we divorced, as difficult as it was, one thing we never fought or wavered on was raising Jackson the best we could. He's tall like his dad, but he got his brains, his compassion, and his outlook on life from his mother. And her and I moved forward and continued raising a wonderful son. When this parasite came into our lives, he took something from us and most importantly,
1:01:42 Speaker 05 from Jackson. And what he took is not replaceable. It is something that I struggle with every day. He lost a good parent. As I've struggled to understand to this day, the only word I come back to is evil. After today, her name will be spoken every day by someone who knew her and loved her. She will be remembered and thought of every single day because of who she was and is. People will know her, will look at him and know she is inside him and smile. And because of all this, she will never be forgotten and she will always be with us.
1:02:19 Kendall Rae? Lastly, Shanti's stepdad also spoke, and I wanted to play that for you as well.
1:02:24 Speaker 05 This has been a long, long, long time for us to see justice done.
1:02:31 Speaker 04 What this has done to me personally, this was more than my stepdaughter. This was my daughter. And what I go through every day, it's hard to put into words, but yet I need to express. I suffer so much with PTSD. This has affected me so much that it withdrew me from my grandson. Because every time I thought of Shanti or my grandson, the last time I saw my daughter, we were together. Every time that I think of Jackson, it brings to my mind my daughter, and it upsets me. And all I can pray is that now
1:03:13 Speaker 04 that we can go forward, from this day forward, we can rebuild our relationship that we had. I suffer so bad. I was a happy-go-lucky person, laughed, joked all the time with everybody. Now, I am in constant, constant anger. That, not really anger, but I just lash out at, sometimes at anybody or everybody for no reason at all, because I am so angry and deep inside, hurt, with the injustice that was done to my daughter.
1:03:50 Kendall Rae? So in the end, I'm so happy to tell you that David was sentenced to life in prison, which is a fraction of what this monster deserves, in my opinion. And I know I say this a lot, but for as great as these guilty verdicts and tough sentences are, it doesn't bring the victim back at the end of the day. Nothing will bring Shanti back. Jackson will have to live without his mom forever. And I'm just so glad that he has his father, who is committed to keeping Shanti's memory alive. But it just doesn't take the pain of her loss away, and it never can. There has actually been an effort to get that house put into Jackson's name, so that when he's older, he can decide what he wants to do with it. And I think that is really beautiful. Whether he wants to tear that house to pieces,
1:04:34 Kendall Rae? or maybe he wants to renovate it in his mother's honor, he should be the one that gets to make that choice. But God, losing Shanti is just a terrible loss. And what's so heartbreaking about it is there was just no reason for it, just pure selfishness, and really just...
1:04:52 Kendall Rae? Evil, in my opinion. It's such a horrible loss. It was so senseless and so unnecessary. And now so many people will have to live their lives without her forever. And it's just horrendous. I wish I had a more hopeful note to end on. I mean, obviously, I'm very happy that justice was served in this case and that he will rot until the day he dies behind bars, which is awesome. But at the end of the day, that's just the horrible reality of this case is she was murdered in a horrible way and it never should have happened. Again, I do think there is that glimmer of hope and happiness that Jackson still has his father, who seems to be wonderful and very involved in his life.
1:05:36 Kendall Rae? And I just hope they can really lean on each other as this has been horrible for both of them.
1:05:47 Kendall Rae? That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.
1:06:15 Kendall Rae? Have you ever ordered an ice cold Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and told yourself, "I'm just going to take one sip while I wait for my food"? But somehow, the first sip turns into a second. And then, before you know it, your meal arrives and you're looking at an empty glass. Well, we've all been there. That's the thing about Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. It has a delicious Coca-Cola taste you love with zero sugar. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, real Coke taste, zero sugar. It's too good to wait.
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