Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
ABC 20/20 looks into Shanti Cooper-Tronnes’ murder by her husband, David Tronnes, over a home renovation project. The upcoming episode titled “A Killer Renovation” will air on the network this Friday, February 23, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
The Guardian stated David claimed he found Shanti dead in the bathtub of their house after she fell in April 2018. However, a medical examiner found eye bruises, facial injuries, and “blood evidence” on Shanti, and this did not support her husband’s story. A medical examiner later found that she died from blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, reported People Magazine.
Authorities investigated Shanti’s mysterious death for about four months before charging David Tronnes with her murder. They believed that David fatally beat and strangled Shanti and then tried to clean up the crime scene. Prosecutors alleged that the couple was fighting over their home renovation project that had spiraled out of control. The investigation also revealed that he had lied to the victim about being a millionaire before their marriage, and she was stuck paying all the renovation bills.
Who was the suspect convicted of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes’ murder?
Shanti’s husband, David Tronnes, was convicted of her murder in 2023. CBS News reported that Shanti and David, while he lived in Minnesota, first met on Match.com in 2013. The two started a whirlwind online romance, following which David moved to Orlando and bought a house on East Copeland Drive in 2015.
After moving, David paid over $600,000 for the house, and the couple married in 2017. Then, Shanti believed that David had inherited between $4 and 6 million dollars from his father, reported People Magazine. However, he did not mention her name in the deed and they soon decided to have the house renovated.
According to CBS, David Tronnes did not work while Shanti Cooper-Tronnes ran a lucrative financial software business out of her home office upstairs. The former was overseeing the renovation process while Shanti paid all the bills. In 2017, Shanti and David reportedly started fighting over their home renovation project. Friends and relatives told police that the victim married him for his money but “bought everything.”
The Guardian reported that the couple’s home renovation project was falling apart and straining their marriage. David used to sleep in a garage, while Shanti stayed in a one-bedroom studio on the property. Eventually, David called a local house renovator who appeared on a reality TV show, Zombie House Flipping, in an attempt to minimize their losses.
Keith Ori, the renovator, told CBS that filming was to start in May 2018, and he met the couple one final time in April. He said, “They both agreed and said, ‘Yes, we understand.’ And then she [Shanti Cooper-Tronnes] took off immediately. I got a sense that she was pissed off at him.” A few days later, the murder occurred.
David Tronnes received a life sentence after murder conviction
On April 24, 2018, David Tronnes called 911, telling them that he found his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, dead. He claimed to have found her in the bathtub. However, when police arrived at the scene, they found that the tub was dry, reported CBS News. Shanti’s autopsy later confirmed that she died of blunt-force trauma to the head and strangulation.
People Magazine stated that while investigating Shanti’s death, authorities claimed she had learned her husband did not have the millions he claimed he did. They also alleged that David Tronnes had a penchant for going to bathhouses for “anonymous sex with men.” One of his friends told the outlet, “We all thought we knew David Tronnes. Come to find out, what we knew was a facade. He was living a total lie.”
The Guardian reported authorities established that David fatally beat and strangled Shanti Cooper-Tronnes in her bedroom. He then tried to clean up the crime scene and lied to authorities about having found her in the bathtub. The investigation continued for months until authorities arrested David in August 2018. They then charged him with first-degree murder.
Years later, in October 2023, a Florida jury convicted David Tronnes of his wife’s murder. They believed he committed the crime in rage after Shanti refused to go on the home renovation show. He received a life sentence following the guilty verdict, reported The Guadian and other sources.
ABC 20/20 episode on Shanti Cooper-Tronnes’ murder case will air on February 23, 2024.
