On Monday, David Anthony pled guilty to the murder of his wife Gretchen Anthony, 51, nine months after she went missing, PEOPLE reported.
Gretchen’s family “wanted a proper memorial and burial” but did not know where she was, Pal Beach State attorney Dave Aronberg said during a news conference following the discovery of her body.
It’s still unclear how she died, but authorities agreed to charge the husband with second-degree murder and kidnapping if he cooperated with them and led them to her remains.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen sentenced David to 38 years in prison after entering his plea of guilt on Monday.
The couple was on the brink of a divorce that they jointly sought with a court filing on February 28. Almost one month later, on March 20, Gretchen was last seen alive. Six days later, her family reported her missing.
Between March 23 and 24, “suspicious” text messages were sent from her phone to at least five people. The person behind those messages claimed that Gretchen was suffering from an “acute case” of the coronavirus and stayed at a CDC-approved task force. One message sent said she was being “quarantined for two weeks.
Authorities determined that David left Gretchen’s Mini Cooper in the Jupiter Medical Center parking lot—the hospital she supposedly checked out of before going to the CDC-approved Task Force facility—by the surveillance cameras.
David, 43, was taken into custody on March 31 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Cadaver dogs could detect the smell of decomposition inside Gretchen’s home after being reported missing and in David’s 2016 Nissan Frontier pickup.
Other evidence found that David was seen on security-camera footage and by neighbors who linked him to his estranged wife’s death, which occurred on March 21.
Video footage shows a man on Gretchen’s porch as she stepped outside. Shouting was followed, and a neighbor reported hearing a “blood-curdling scream” coming from her home.
A second video obtained by police shows recordings from Gretchen’s garage. A person with light color hair—Gretchen was blonde—was seen as not moving. A nearby water jug appears to have blood on it, and then David can be seen with a gloved hand reaching to pull down the camera.
The following day, neighbors reported smelling a mix of water and chemicals coming from Gretchen’s garage. Police discovered bleach stains and “towels that had a reddish substance on that that appeared to be blood” inside the washing machine.
The Mini Cooper left in the parking lot hospital also tested positive for blood.
The next day, the victim’s cell phone “pinged” near Pensacola; this was before David tried to pawn women’s jewelry at a store. Then her phone was pinged in Texas.
Regardless of what else police uncover regarding Gretchen’s case, prosecutors cannot charge him with any additional or upgraded crimes. Still, prosecutors feel the outcome was a success.
“We were able to find her body, which we didn’t have that information before,” Aronberg said.
“We hope that this will bring closure to family now that Gretchen has been located,” said Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr.
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