Departing Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed notice Monday that her office would not seek the death penalty against several accused killers, including Anthony Todt, the Colchester physical therapist accused of killing his wife and three children last year in their home in Celebration, Florida.
In a notice filed in court Monday, Ayala said that concerns about Todt’s mental health played a factor in her office deciding against seeking his execution — reversing course from an earlier announcement that prosecutors would seek the death penalty in the case.
“[A]fter due consideration of the facts and law applicable to this case, including serious concerns regarding the mental health of the defendant, it is not in the best interest of the people of the State of Florida to pursue the Death Penalty as a potential sentence,” Ayala wrote.