The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Thursday night they believe they have located the partial remains of Tricia Todd buried at Hungryland Preserve in Martin County.
Sheriff William Snyder said the remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition.
On Thursday night, detectives said Todd's former husband, Steven Williams, directed them to the location after pleading no contest to second-degree murder in exchange for a 35-year prison sentence.
Williams said he and his ex-wife got into an argument over money and he pushed her, causing her to fall and fatally hit her head.
Williams said he then put her body in her car and drove to her house. However, he said he turned around when he saw lights on at the home.
Williams said he then drove along Bridge Road, turned on a dirt road and dumped her body.
Deal in jeopardy?
Snyder said Williams did not disclose a second location of Todd’s remains, putting the plea deal in jeopardy.
The sheriff says he will meet with the state attorney to see if Williams violated his plea deal.
WPTV legal analyst Michelle Suskauer said there are three options in the case:
- Another plea offer can be negotiated with the state
- Williams could enter a plea in court and be sentenced by a judge
- Williams could go to trial
“Clearly we’re not satisfied with what we have tonight, this is a wrinkle or a hurdle that we could not have anticipated, and the family with our agreement entered a negotiated plea, so we could recover Tricia Todd’s remains,” said Snyder.
Without the plea of no contest, the sheriff maintains that they would have never found Todd’s remains.
Snyder said a fresh team of detectives and a forensic anthropologist will continue the search Friday morning.
Steven Williams pleads no contest to Tricia Todd's murder to receive 35 years in prison, leads MCSO to site of body pic.twitter.com/3NsSmAZ5l8
— MartinCountySheriff (@MartinFLSheriff) May 26, 2016
MCSO locates possible site of Tricia Todd's body. Hungryland Preserve, Pratt Whitney Rd. Press Conf 8pm, outside state park.
— MartinCountySheriff (@MartinFLSheriff) May 26, 2016
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Martin County Sheriff's Office has released an arrest affidavit that reveals new information about the ex-husband of Tricia Todd, who is charged with her murder.
Steven Williams, 30, is currently being held at the Martin County Jail without bond.
Williams confessed to killing Todd but has not specifically said where the body is, according to the sheriff's office.
According to the affidavit, Williams said he and Tricia were arguing over finances and she became increasingly aggressive.
He claims he eventually pushed her away and when she "got in his face" again he pushed her and she fell and struck her head and did not get up, according to the report.
Williams says when he couldn't wake her up he put Tricia into her car and drove to her home. But as he got closer he saw lights on and a car at the house and he felt uncomfortable leaving her body and car there, the report states.
Eventually he says he was in a daze, drove down SE Bridge Road and turned onto a dirt road where he placed her body, according to the affidavit.
In the report Steven said that Tricia "looked so peaceful like he remembered her, and although he hoped that she wasn't dead he did admit that she was."
During their investigation Martin County detectives interviewed Chanie Smith, the mother of Williams.
She told detectives that she remembered a conversation she had with Tricia in which Tricia revealed that Steven despised her.
Smith also said that she spoke with Williams about the time of his divorce and he stated at the time that, "Tricia can poof disappear," according to the affidavit.
Smith also recalled a March 13 phone conversation in which Williams stated repeatedly that, "he hated Tricia," according to the police report.
Deputies were searching for Todd's remains both east and west of I-95 along Bridge Road Thursday.
Volunteer groups have also brought in their own K-9s to help with the search.
