The victim was "hit with such a force that she had two fractures to her skull ... her hyoid bone in her throat was broken ... and her ear was pulled to the point of being almost torn off," said the prosecutor.
The trial of a Florida man accused of murdering his wife is underway in Orlando this week.
David Tronnes, 55, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, who he claims died after passing out in their bathtub while he was out walking his dogs.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Michael Smith told a much different story, alleging that Tronnes murdered his wife over her refusal to appear on the reality television show “Zombie House Flipping.”
This upset her husband, according to Smith, who alleged that Tronnes sunk all his money into renovating the home the couple lived in and believed appearing on the show would increase the home’s value by up to $30,000.
Cooper-Tronnes, 39, had met with the producers of the reality television series a week before her death and ended up walking out of the meeting, said Smith.
"This home show, this 'Zombie House Flipping,' was the lifeline out of this mess with this house that they've dug themselves into and she at that point a week before her murder was not into it," said Smith.
As for Tronnes' claim that his wife passed out in the tub, Smith said that first responders would testify that this did not appear to be an accidental death.
"They could immediately tell this wasn't a fall, this was a violent attack," said Smith. "There are multiple injuries, there's blood all over her face, a huge wound. There's bruising around her neck, there's petechia that you can see and there's scrapes on her legs from being [dragged]."
Smith said that jurors would also be hearing from the medical examiner who performed Cooper-Tronnes' autopsy.
"You're going to hear that Shanti Cooper-Tronnes was beaten to death and she was strangled," said Smith. "You're going to hear that she was hit with such a force that she had two fractures to her skull and that her hyoid bone in her throat was broken as well. You're going to hear that her ear was pulled to the point of being almost torn off."
The couple married in 2017 and moved into the Florida home, which Tronnes purchased with his own money.
From that point on, all financial obligations fell on Cooper-Tronnes, alleges Smith.
"She was the only source of income. The defendant had not worked the entire time he was in Florida," said Smith. "She was the sole bread winner for the household and for the expenses."
Smith claims that this created a perfect storm for both members of the couple.
In the case of Cooper-Tronnes, she was allegedly was preparing to leave her husband and move on with her life, claims Smith.
The trial of Tronnes is expected to wrap up this week. There had been delays due to the fact that Tronnes was not initially deemed competent to stand trial after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to court documents.
Tronnes' lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The defense chose to defer their opening statement until later in the trial.
