Florida man convicted of murdering wife in dispute over ‘Zombie House Flipping’ appearance

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been found guilty of murdering his wife after a dispute over whether they should appear together on a home-renovation television show.

David Tronnes was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday for the 2018 death of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, who prosecutors said was beaten and strangled to death in their Orlando house. Tronnes was sentenced to life in prison immediately after jurors returned the guilty verdict following almost five hours of deliberations.

According to prosecutors, Tronnes had spent thousands of dollars on home renovations in hopes of appearing on the A&E reality show “Zombie House Flipping,” which is filmed in Orlando. Cooper-Tronnes refused to appear on the show, which upset Tronnes and led to arguments.

Cooper-Tronnes was killed in the bedroom, and Tronnes attempted to clean up the scene before police arrived, according to evidence presented at trial. Tronnes claimed he found his wife in the bathtub after spending the day cleaning and walking his dogs.