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During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, family and friends of Gretchen Anthony, a Jupiter, Florida, mother, received a string of suspicious messages claiming she had contracted the virus. It was immediately after this that she went missing.
The texts, however, indicated foul play and a search of her house confirmed her disappearance when she was nowhere to be found. Moreover, officials found signs of a struggle at her house and other evidence suggested it was a crime scene that someone had tried to clean up.
Gretchen's estranged husband David Anthony was soon declared a prime suspect in the case. All suspicions were soon confirmed when surveillance footage came to light and the victim's missing phone was found in his loaded-to-the-brink truck. He eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and led investigators to his dead wife's remains at the end of the year.
ID's Calls From the Inside will take an in-depth look at Gretchen Anthony's disappearance and subsequent murder case. The all-new episode, titled The Covid Killer, is scheduled to air on Tuesday, January 17, at 9 pm ET.
The synopsis reads:
"In March 2020, Gretchen Anthony disappears after texting loved ones that she was diagnosed with COVID-19; when a search of her home suggests foul play, investigators rely on recorded jailhouse phone calls to unravel the mystery of what happened."
Pieces of glass were found in Gretchen Anthony's bed
Gretchen Anthony, a well-liked Florida mother, left her friends and family with suspicious text messages in the early months of the pandemic, stating that she had an "acute" COVID-19 infection. Family members and friends who thought Gretchen wasn't the one sending those texts contacted the police for assistance when they couldn't get in touch with her.
The police went to Gretchen's residence and realized that the house was empty since nobody answered the door and found what may have been a crime scene. According to reports, it seemed like the house had recently been cleaned in a hurry, with a soapy substance found on the driveway.
Inside the house, authorities discovered a stained towel on top of the washing machine. Later tests revealed that a blood-like substance was present in the stain. Additionally, they discovered pieces of glass in Gretchen's bed and a shattered picture frame.
Witnesses claimed to have received the same text from Gretchen, stating that she had been moved to Jupiter Medical Center. However, the hospital denied having a record of any such patient. Moreover, her car was found in the hospital's parking lot.
One of her next-door neighbors then reported hearing screams coming from inside her house on March 21. Some worried neighbors even shared pictures of a black Nissan pickup that was parked close to her home that same night. Further investigation revealed that the truck belonged to Gretchen's estranged husband David Anthony. The couple was reportedly on the brink of divorce.
Gretchen Anthony's estranged husband pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December 2020
Surveillance footage acquired from the hospital parking lot showed David Anthony parking the victim's vehicle there. Footage from Gretchen Anthony's house also captured the suspect acting suspiciously.
Authorities tracked David and Gretchen's phones, locating them both in Pensacola, from where they were then further tracked to Texas. By that point, police were certain that the victim's estranged husband was behind her disappearance.
David Anthony was eventually spotted in New Mexico on March 31, 2020, where, after searching his vehicle, investigators found sufficient evidence to arrest and charge him with murder and kidnapping. The victim's broken phone, Amazon speakers with recordings of her crying for help, and security cameras from her home were used to implicate David.
The accused pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December 2020. As part of the plea deal, he led authorities to Gretchen Anthony's remains on December 21, 2020. Her lifeless body was found three miles from her Abacoa, Florida, home. David was given a 38-year jail term in January 2021.
Catch the full case on ID's Call From the Inside this Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
