A SUSPECTED KILLER’S CONFESSIONS, AS JURY SELECTION BEGINS, COULD BE THE KEY TO THE “Disney dad” TRIAL, A LEGAL EXPERT SAYS.

Anthony Todt was accused of murdering his wife, three children, and the family dog in 2020 and then hiding their decomposing remains in the family’s Disney vacation house for weeks.

According to the criminal complaint, he was discovered by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office in Florida on January 13, 2020, during a welfare check with the bodies.

The chamber where Todt reportedly massacred his family and slept with their decomposing remains has been seen in horrific crime scene images.

When first responders spotted the father, he was “barely able to stand and shivering,” and informed paramedics that he overdosed on Benadryl in an attempt to commit suicide, according to Todt’s lawyers in court filings.

According to legal records, Todt confessed to the crimes while in the hospital.

However, Todt’s defence team claimed that he was not properly informed his Miranda rights at the start of the questioning before police took a 50-minute break.

When the cops arrived, they read Todt his rights again, but the defence claimed that the whole exchange, as well as his January 15, 2020 comments, should be thrown out since they were contaminated.

The court filings did not disclose what Todt stated.

In March, the Florida judge presiding over the trial approved the defense’s petition in part, dismissing Todt’s comments before the cops took their break.

However, anything following the break, as well as remarks made on January 15, 2020, will be permitted.

According to legal expert Don Jones, the remarks might “strike like an artillery shell” to the defense’s case.

“That’s the effect it’ll have on the defence,” said a law professor at the University of Miami. “The chess game over the confessions will very certainly dominate the whole trial.”

“It’s game over,” Jones warned if the jury accepts Todt’s confession as proof.

However, if the defence can persuade the jury that the remainder of his statements to police were contaminated and that he did not fully grasp the rights he renounced, Todt has a chance to win the case, according to the legal expert.

There’s the question of his mental condition and if he was drunk, according to Jones.

“If you’re drunk and make a confession, that’s a relevant fact,” he explained.

“You may make that case to the jury, which will have to assess the weight and reliability of the confession.”

“However, this has no bearing on admissibility.”