David Anthony, at left, and Gretchen Anthony.
Gretchen Anthony’s family “wanted a proper memorial and burial. They did not know where their daughter was,” Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg said at a news conference Monday after the body was recovered.
“We hope that this will bring closure to family now that Gretchen has been located,” said Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr.
In accepting the plea and admitting his guilt Monday in front of Circuit Judge Jeffrey Gillen, David agreed to be sentenced to 38 years in prison, reportsThe Palm Beach Post.
Gretchen, 51, reportedly was last seen March 20 at her home in Jupiter. At the time, the couple was in the midst of a divorce they jointly sought with a court filing on February 28.
On March 26 members of Gretchen’s family reported her missing.
David Anthony.Jupiter Police Department
David, 43, was arrested March 31 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Police said a cadaver dog trained to detect the smell of decomposition picked up a scent inside Gretchen’s home after she vanished. When David was located and arrested, a second cadaver dog also alerted on David’s 2016 black Nissan Frontier pickup.
Security-camera footage from Gretchen’s residence, along with neighbors' statements, further linked David to Gretchen’s death and disappearance, “which was determined to have occurred on March 21,” police said in a previous statement.
Around 6:15 a.m. on that date, according to the arrest report, Gretchen’s door-video device captured a man on her home’s porch as Gretchen stepped out. Muffled shouting followed. A neighbor subsequently reported hearing a “blood-curdling scream” coming from Gretchen’s home.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The next day, neighbors reported they smelled what appeared to be a mix of water and chemicals coming from the garage. Police later found bleach stains in the garage and, in a washing machine inside the house, “towels that had a reddish substance on them that appeared to be blood,” according to the arrest report.
Surveillance video at the medical center appeared to show David there on March 24 parking Gretchen’s vehicle, which tested positive for blood on the steering wheel and gearshift.
But the prosecutor said he considered the outcome a success. “We were able to find her body, which we didn’t have that information before,” Aronberg said.
David will be formally sentenced on Jan. 14.
source: people.com
