'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAcACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABiAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQgQAAEEAQMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAwQFAAYHIRESEzJxAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFEQACAQQDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBEAAiExIiNR/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCRp6TpUNt62TMgA9YQK+IQSFZEjZ6gvj7DXlOUzHl24sm5sXj9nJj5l9I1XGMOTthlvJPO3Z9E0m8ZVRwB1HQ3Biv/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In January 2021, a Jupiter, Florida, resident named David Anthony pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in connection to the perplexing disappearance of his estranged wife Gretchen, who went missing during the initial stage of COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. He then led authorities to her remains in December 2020.
The accused, 44, was given a 38-year prison sentence with credit for 295 days already served after he admitted to committing the murder in December. Investigators initially used surveillance footage and other evidence found in his truck when he was first spotted during the missing person investigation. Allegedly, he ambushed his estranged wife inside her house and then disposed of her body.
According to reports, David Anthony is currently serving time at the Martin Correctional Institution in Florida.
An upcoming episode of Call From the Inside on ID is scheduled to chronicle Gretchen Anthony's case this Tuesday, January 17, at 9 pm ET. The synopsis for the all-new episode, titled The Covid Killer, reads as:
"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."
Disclaimer: Graphic details of a sensitive case ahead. Read with discretion.
Months after estranged wife's disappearance and murder, David Anthony pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge
In connection with Gretchen Anthony's disappearance on March 21, 2020, David Anthony pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping before Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen. He confessed to the crime in exchange for lesser charges. Sources stated that investigators claimed he killed his estranged wife and disposed of her body at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the plea deal, David then provided investigators with the location of Gretchen's remains, which were found about three miles from her Abacoa home nine months after her initial disappearance, after an hours-long search.
According to sources, David Anthony was connected to Gretchen Anthony's disappearance through surveillance footage from her house, neighbors' accounts, and several other pieces of evidence. Also, on March 21, a neighbor reported hearing screams coming from the victim's house.
Additional footage captured by a camera in the garage of the house revealed a head with light hair and a water container with what seemed to be blood on it spotted nearby. Following that, David Anthony was seen in the footage reaching for the garage camera while wearing gloves and tugging it down.
The next day, neighbors reported smelling a mixture of water and chemicals coming from Gretchen Anthony's garage. The garage had significant bleach marks, and authorities discovered what seemed to be blood in different spots inside the house. They also discovered shattered glass, blood on the wall, and towels smeared with a blood-like substance inside a washing machine.
David Anthony sent text messages from estranged wife's phone in the days following her murder
David Anthony's pickup was seen leaving the victim's home on a neighbor's security camera footage. It was also revealed that he sent texts from Gretchen's cellphone days after the murder in an attempt to conceal his crimes. According to a text message, she was being "quarantined" for two weeks after contracting an "acute case" of the coronavirus.
The text reportedly claimed that she was at the the Jupiter Medical Center, where police subsequently discovered his wife's abandoned blue Mini Cooper. But there were no records of Gretchen being admitted to the hospital.
Authorities initially tracked Gretchen's cellphone to Pensacola and again, for a second time, in Texas. Anthony was subsequently arrested in New Mexico on March 31 and his car was seized for further investigation.
David was held under murder and kidnapping charges until December 2020 when he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder in exchange for disclosing the whereabouts of Gretchen's remains. Then, on December 21, 2020, he led authorities to Gretchen's remains, which were located three miles from her Abacoa house, close to Bush Road and Indiantown Road in Jupiter, Florida.
Based on his plea agreement, David was given a 38-year jail term in January 2021. He is currently serving time at the Martin Correctional Institution in Florida.
