Murder of Gretchen Anthony

Gretchen Stoughton Anthony (January 8, 1969 – March 21, 2020) was an American woman from Jupiter, Florida, who was murdered by her estranged husband, David Ethan Anthony, in the early morning hours of March 21, 2020. David Anthony had attempted to persuade Gretchen Anthony to travel with him to Costa Rica, where he believed they could escape the COVID-19 pandemic. When Gretchen declined, David entered her house in Abacoa, Florida, and stabbed her to death in her garage. He then discarded her body in a nearby wooded area before fleeing the state.

Murder of Gretchen Anthony
Location	Abacoa, Florida, U.S.
Date	March 21, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-03-21)
Attack type	Homicide by stabbing
Deaths	1
Victim	Gretchen Crain Anthony, aged 51
Perpetrator	David Anthony Deutsch
Charges	Second-degree murder Kidnapping
Sentence	38 years imprisonment

David Anthony was apprehended in Las Cruces, New Mexico, less than a week later. He was initially charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping; however, the charges were lowered to second-degree murder and kidnapping after David revealed the location of Gretchen's body. Per the conditions of a plea agreement, David Anthony was sentenced to 38 years in prison on January 14, 2021.

Background

People involved

Gretchen Stoughton Anthony (January 8, 1969 – March 21, 2020) was born Gretchen Stoughton Crain in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She grew up in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and attended Shore Regional High School. At the time of her murder, Gretchen was 51 years old and had a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.^[1] She worked at a utility company.^[2]

David Ethan Anthony, originally David Anthony Deutsch, was a fitness trainer. He served a brief stint in jail after holding up a Blockbuster video store with a squirt gun. Anthony was fired in 2017; his manager allowed him to return in 2020, though was forced to fire him again. Anthony's manager subsequently warned Gretchen to stay away from him, to which Gretchen responded that David was crazy.^[3] David was 44 years old at the time of Gretchen's murder.

Gretchen and David met at a gym where David was a trainer. The two were married at a chapel in Las Vegas in March 2015.^[3]

Events prior to murder

Gretchen and David separated in late 2019, and David moved in with his mother in November 2019.^[4] They filed for divorce on February 28, 2020. Gretchen later installed cameras after David returned to her house.^[3]

Just over a week prior to Gretchen's murder, the COVID-19 virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. David, believing the pandemic to be an "end-of-the-world prophecy", unsuccessfully attempted to convince Gretchen to travel with him to Costa Rica, where he believed they could escape the pandemic.^[5]

A week before Gretchen's murder, David was reported to have been following teenage girls at a shopping center. He was charged with resisting arrest with violence after slamming a car door on the arm of a responding officer. David spent a few days in jail before posting $3,000 bond; he was released three days before Gretchen's murder.^[6]

Murder

In the early morning hours of March 21, 2020, David, dressed in dark clothing, entered Gretchen's home in Abacoa, Florida. Surveillance footage captured David lurking on Gretchen's patio. The footage also captured muffled audio from Gretchen, who unsuccessfully attempted to call 911 through Amazon Alexa. A neighbor of Gretchen's later claimed to have heard a woman screaming "No! No, it hurts!" Additional footage captured David subsequently loading items into Gretchen's car.^[3]

Investigation

Gretchen's family became aware of her disappearance after she missed lunch with a friend on March 21 and failed to report to work on March 23.^[7]

On March 23, Gretchen's family began to receive text messages, supposedly from Gretchen, that corroborated David's claims, stating that she would be quarantining for two weeks. Gretchen's coworkers claimed to have received an email from her with the same information on March 24.^[2] Gretchen's vehicle, which contained her purse, was discovered in the parking lot of a medical center in Jupiter, Florida.^[3][4] The Jupiter Medical Center informed police and Gretchen's family members that she had not been a patient there since 2008.^[6] The vehicle tested positive for blood on the steering wheel and gearshift.^[8]

During a search of Gretchen's home, law enforcement discovered signs of a struggle, including a broken picture frame, shards of glass on Gretchen's bed, and a stained towel.^[3][9] They also found bleach stains on the garage floor and bottles of cleaning agents in the kitchen.^[10] Following the search, law enforcement contacted David, who claimed that Gretchen had become infected with COVID-19 and was receiving treatment at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) facility in Belle Glade, Florida, despite there not being a CDC facility in that location.^[3][5][11]

David's mother told police that he had packed up his truck and left for Costa Rica with his dog on March 24. He stopped at jewellery stores to sell Gretchen's jewellery, telling one store owner that it had belonged to someone who died from COVID-19.^[3]

Gretchen's cell phone pinged in Pensacola, Florida, shortly after noon on March 25,^[12] and later pinged in Texas.^[8] David's cell phone pinged in Pecos, Texas, on March 27, and in Las Cruces, New Mexico, the following day.^[3]

Arrest

David Anthony was apprehended in Las Cruces on the evening of March 31, 2020, while he was walking his husky.^[5][11] David was arrested at a gas station and charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Gretchen's disappearance.^[13] He was held without bail at a detention center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.^[14] Authorities believed that David was planning to relocate to South America.^[15] He was extradited to Jupiter on May 14.^[2][16]

David insisted that Gretchen was still alive, claiming that she was "on the run" because she discovered illegal activities at the company for which she worked and feared that someone was after her, and was travelling with him to El Paso until they separated. However, as part of a plea agreement that reduced his charges to second-degree murder and kidnapping, David admitted to stabbing Gretchen to death in her garage and discarding her body. On December 21, 2020, Gretchen's remains were discovered about three miles from her home, in a grassy area behind a Walmart and near a retirement home.^[3][11][17] She had been stabbed in her neck and torso.^[7]

Sentencing

At his sentencing hearing, David Anthony claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic had predisposed him to commit a crime because he thought it was an Armageddon from which he had to escape. According to family members, David had been suffering from bipolar disorder for years.^[5]

Per the conditions of his plea agreement, David Anthony was sentenced to 38 years in prison on January 14, 2021. He is scheduled to be released in 2058, when he would be 81 years old.^[3]

See also

• List of solved missing person cases