Video Shows Husband Crying During Interrogation After Killing Wife Who Refused to Go on Reality TV Show
David Tronnes was convicted of the 2018 murder of wife Shanti Cooper-Tronnes
After his wife was found bloodied in their Orlando, Fla., home in 2018, David Tronnes broke down in tears while police questioned him.
But one of those investigators, Detective Teresa Sprague of the Orlando Police Department, would soon describe his tears as “fake” as interrogation footage obtained by ABC's 20/20 later revealed.
Tronnes was convicted last October of murdering his wife Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, and the case is the focus of tonight's episode of 20/20, airing on ABC from 9:01-11:00 p.m. ET, and the next day on Hulu. (An exclusive clip is shown below.)
The episode is titled "Killer Renovation" — a reference to the fact that Tronnes killed his wife after she refused to appear on the reality TV show Zombie House Flipping with him, and after he was exposed for lying about inheriting millions, according to reports.
Tronnes initially claimed his wife slipped and fell in the bathtub in the home the couple were reportedly renovating for the TV show. But a medical examiner said that Cooper-Tronnes died from blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation.
Investigators soon learned how a web of deception, lies and desire for fame led to the brutal murder of the 39-year-old woman.
When the couple married, Cooper-Tronnes believed Tronnes had inherited between $4 and $6 million dollars from his father, authorities said, as previously reported by PEOPLE.
But after the wedding, she kept getting stuck with all the bills; her purportedly rich husband didn't even help buy the groceries, people close to her recalled after her murder.
Authorities said Tronnes had predicated the entire relationship on a lie. There was his fictitious finances, for one. There was also the fact that he was going to bathhouses for anonymous sex with men.
“We all thought we knew David Tronnes,” Cooper-Tronnes' friend told PEOPLE in 2020. “Come to find out, what we knew was a facade. He was living a total lie.”
Related: Fla. Man Told Wife He Had a Vast Fortune — and Allegedly Killed Her When She Learned He Was Lying
Tonight's 20/20 goes in-depth into the shocking case, featuring exclusive interviews with Cooper-Tronnes’ ex-husband and her son, who fought for justice after her slaying.
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In the exclusive clip shared with PEOPLE, which features snippets of the initial interview of Tronnes by authorities, the seemingly grieving husband appears to break down as detective Sprague expresses her condolences and begins to ask him questions.
“He was very cooperative,” Sprague tells 20/20 co-anchor Deborah Roberts in an interview. Authorities said in the episode that Tronnes turned over his clothes and provided all the evidence he needed to at the time.
In the episode, Sprague recounts Tronnes' claim about finding his wife dead. He told investigators he returned home to an eerie silence, and when he said “hello” out loud, he claimed he heard nothing but slowly trickling water, Sprague says, adding that Tronnes claimed he'd found his wife in "rose-colored water."
Related: Man Convicted of Murdering Wife for Refusing to Appear on Zombie House Renovations Reality TV Show
The upcoming episode features exclusive interviews with Detectives Sprague and Barbara Sharp; Michael Smith, assistant state attorney; Will Jay, prosecutor; and Dana Duran and Melissa Brzezinski, Cooper-Tronnes' close friends.
Jeff Dow, Cooper-Tronnes' stepfather, and Keith Ori, host of Zombie House Flipping, are also featured in the show.
20/20: Killer Renovation airs on ABC from 9:01 to 11 p.m. ET and streams on Hulu the next day.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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