From: jcs
In late April 2018, 50-year-old stay-at-home husband David Tronis, who desperately wanted to appear on reality television, secured a spot on the show Zombie House Flipping [00:00:01]. He was to be featured renovating his newly bought house with his then-wife, 39-year-old financial consultant Shanti Cooper [00:00:13]. Shanti, however, was not interested in being on TV and refused to sign off on the program [00:00:23]. This refusal led to David beating and strangling her to death in the early hours of the following morning [00:00:28]. He called 911 approximately 12 hours later at 3:51 p.m. [00:00:33].
Initial Response and Suspicion
Police and paramedics arrived at the residence to find a hysterical David performing CPR on Shanti in the living room [00:00:52]. His immediate explanation was that he found her unconscious in a partially filled bathtub, bleeding from the nose and mouth [00:01:00].
David was then taken to the police station as a witness [00:01:05]. There, his bloodstained clothing was swapped for a custody suit, and he was provided with water, a blanket, and tissues [00:01:09]. He was taken to room six, where he was told someone would be with him shortly [00:01:15]. He was left alone for 4 hours and 9 minutes before knocking on the door to use the bathroom [00:01:22]. His overly polite and apologetic demeanor for a simple request, combined with his lack of urgent questioning about his wife’s status, raised suspicion among observers [00:01:37].
The Interrogation
The interrogation began at 9:08 p.m. with Detectives Teresa Sprag and Barb Mclland [00:02:05]. Despite their sympathetic and non-confrontational tone, the detectives were already certain that David had committed either first or second-degree murder [00:02:36]. Their goal was to obtain a confession as they lacked sufficient evidence for an immediate arrest [00:02:42]. David was still free to leave at this point, so the detectives maintained a facade of believing his role as a grieving husband [00:02:47].
David exhibited what the video narrator describes as 11 instances of “fake cries” throughout the interrogation [00:03:57]. These acts peaked in intensity before steadily diminishing as Detective Sprag made it clear she knew he was lying [00:04:09].
Background Information and Discrepancies
Detectives began by collecting basic information. David stated he met Shanti online in 2013 [00:05:33]. They moved in together about five months later, remaining a couple for approximately five years until Shanti’s death [00:05:40]. David claimed they were “so happy” and “never been more in love” [00:06:02].
When questioned about their house, David revealed it was placed in a trust under his and his mother’s names, excluding Shanti, for “planning and financial reasons” [00:07:32]. He asserted this was a mutual decision, though whether Shanti was fully aware remained unclear [00:07:49]. He claimed they had only two minor arguments during their relationship, both while living at Brier Cliff, which involved Shanti being “overworked and tired” [00:08:05]. He denied any physical altercations [00:20:45].
The House Flipping Show and Shanti’s Reluctance
Keith Ary, the producer of Zombie House Flipping, provided testimony regarding David’s interest in the show [00:09:28]. David was described as the primary point of contact and seemed to treat participation in the show as a “full-time job” [00:09:50]. David’s professional background was unclear, as he had given conflicting accounts of working in a chemical company or sales, neither of which were true [00:10:10].
Ary insisted on a formal meeting with Shanti to ensure her full consent for the show [00:10:25]. Six days before her murder, this meeting took place [00:11:09]. Ary observed that Shanti was “unhappy” and “tense,” and she left the meeting as soon as she could [00:10:52]. Despite this, David claimed Shanti “loved the vision” for the house and was happy about the show, even wanting to quit her job once the renovation was complete [00:11:14]. David minimized his role on the show, claiming the hosts were the “stars,” but he was expected to be featured prominently as the main builder [00:13:25].
David’s Account of the Morning of the Murder
David described a typical Sunday family day with Shanti and her son, going to bed early on a “school night” [00:13:49]. He stated that on Tuesday morning, Shanti went upstairs after 7:00 a.m. [00:14:40]. He then claimed to have last seen Shanti alive around 9:15 a.m., when she was going to the dentist and he was going for a walk [00:15:29]. After returning, he fed the dogs [00:15:55].
David recounted finding Shanti’s body in the bathtub. He described hearing “water trickling” [00:16:16]. He found her “laying with her head in the right hand corner” of the tub [00:17:32]. He stated the water was “rose colored” with blood [00:18:28]. He pulled her out by her arm, noting her body felt “stiff” and “cold” [00:18:45]. His detailed recollection of finding his wife’s limp, lifeless body while casually eating a snack was noted as “unnerving” [00:18:56].
Escalating Pressure
Detective Sprag intensified the questioning, focusing on Shanti’s injuries, which she described as “significant, more significant than from a soft tissue fall” [00:21:14]. She directly accused David: “I absolutely think that she was deceased before you left to go to the park” [00:21:47]. She further stated: “You’ve left some stuff out… something got out of hand. Maybe you didn’t mean for it to happen… but there’s something that happened between the two of you before you left that house” [00:22:13].
David denied harming Shanti, choking, strangling, beating, or hitting her [00:23:00]. He claimed his only injuries were scratches from plants he had trimmed [00:23:17]. Detectives noted a single diamond earring on the nightstand, speculating that Shanti was attacked on the edge of the bed where blood was found, implying she was surprised [00:23:35].
David agreed to take a polygraph test [00:24:11]. However, instead of administering the test, detectives left him alone for over two hours, then returned to further ramp up the confrontation [00:24:29]. They highlighted the “unusual” living arrangement where David primarily slept in the garage with the dogs while Shanti slept upstairs in what was essentially a one-bedroom apartment [00:25:16]. This arrangement had been going on for over a year [00:30:38].
The detectives pointed out the lack of water or blood on the carpet, which contradicted his story of pulling her from a partially filled tub [00:26:38]. Finally, Detective Sprag directly accused him: “David, you killed this woman” [00:28:04]. She dismissed his cooperation as an attempt to “pull the wool over our eyes” with “flowery, fancy language” [00:28:12]. She highlighted that he had “fake cried for about seven or eight hours today” but “not one tear came out of your eyes” [00:28:29]. She expressed her “losing patience” due to his “not a lick of remorse” [00:28:56].
Arrest and Trial
The investigators left the room at 4:56 a.m. [00:29:31]. After two more hours, David asked to go home [00:29:36]. He cheerfully agreed to have his photograph taken [00:29:42]. Four months later, a grand jury indicted him, and he was arrested at his mother’s house [00:29:50]. Upon learning he faced life imprisonment and the evidence against him was overwhelming, David “started acting crazy” and pursued an insanity defense [00:29:57]. He spent five years in a maximum-security psych unit before being ruled competent to stand trial [00:30:03].
His trial began on October 12th and lasted six days [00:30:13]. David maintained his plea of not guilty, claiming he was walking the dogs when an unknown intruder broke in and murdered Shanti [00:30:17].
The prosecution argued that the “intentional killing” was premeditated [00:30:40]. They highlighted the severe beating Shanti endured, including injuries to both sides of her face, a fractured skull, a swollen eye, and intense bruising [00:31:02]. They stressed that a random stranger would not take the time to strangle someone, move them to a tub, take nothing, and leave no fingerprints or DNA [00:30:44].
The defense attempted to evoke empathy for David, portraying him as a stay-at-home husband reliant on Shanti’s income [00:31:41]. They argued the prosecution’s case was based on “circumstantial evidence, pure supposition,” and a “hunch” by Detective Sprag, who they claimed “prejudged this case” based on David’s “crocodile tears” [00:31:53]. They accused the detectives of a “rush to judgment” and “confirmational bias,” asserting they “worked him over” during his 16-hour interrogation [00:32:26].
Verdict and Sentencing
On October 18, 2023, the jury found David Tronis guilty of first-degree murder as charged in the indictment [00:33:09].
Shanti’s son, Jackson, delivered a heart-rending victim impact statement, expressing how much he missed his mother and the simple times they shared [00:33:27]. David Tronis declined to speak prior to sentencing [00:34:12]. The court adjudicated him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment [00:34:25]. He is currently housed at the Graceville Correctional Facility in maximum security [00:34:36].