Rare News Desk
[protected-iframe id=”f296b758fa3ebce4651504da05f61a2b-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F&show_text=0&width=560″ width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
Videos by Rare
In April of this year, Tricia Todd, 30, an Air Force veteran and hospice nurse, of Hobe Sound, Florida, vanished without a trace.
Her car was found parked in a neighbor’s driveway with her purse still inside. Her cell phone was turned off, and no pings were being transmitted from the device.
Her community rallied together, searching every corner of their small town, holding prayer rallies and making sure her name never left the news. Everyone hoped that she had just left, possibly overwhelmed by life and needing a break.
RELATED: Police in Michigan make a horrifying discovery when a father of four called to confess to a murder
Suspicion automatically fell on her ex-husband, Steven Williams, 30, whom she had been with the night of her disappearance, but according to police, he passed a lie detector test and everything about his story supposedly checked out.
Finally, though, after tireless work by the Martin County Sheriff’s Department, the pressure grew too great, and Williams confessed to murdering his ex-wife.
He told the investigators that he had murdered her during an argument and then dumped her body along the road, all while leaving their 2-year-old daughter alone.
After more searching had yielded no results and no body, the Florida State’s Attorney offered Williams a plea deal of 35 years in prison if he led authorities to her body.
Todd’s family agreed to the deal along with Williams, and he led them to Hungryland Preserve in a remote area on the Martin-Palm Beach County line, approximately 10 miles from where Todd originally disappeared.
However, what they found was a scene no one was prepared to handle. Todd’s partial remains were found in a container filled with acid, and her teeth, a chainsaw and a reciprocating saw were found at the bottom of a canal located near her remains.
After finding only partial remains, investigators automatically started working on rescinding the plea deal and asked for sentencing to be postponed until September so they could determine if his actions nullified the plea deal.
Today, however, during a hearing at a Martin County courthouse, the community learned that the plea deal was not able to be rescinded and that Williams would serve, at most, 40 years in prison.
Williams will serve 35 years for the murder of Todd and five years for child neglect.
The communities’ reaction to the sentence was swift and strong.
The comments section on the live feed from the courtroom was filled with angry individuals aghast at his light sentence.
[protected-iframe id=”b788fcc857627c48c38eda9342b5b8c9-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/comment_embed.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F%3Fcomment_id%3D1072330852862961&include_parent=false” width=”560″ height=”141″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
[protected-iframe id=”a71467107124db77fde0b8b808f58675-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/comment_embed.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F%3Fcomment_id%3D10154594343333384&include_parent=false” width=”560″ height=”121″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
[protected-iframe id=”630c802ff94f62de4caa5a439529a73c-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/comment_embed.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F%3Fcomment_id%3D10154594365793384&include_parent=false” width=”560″ height=”186″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
[protected-iframe id=”739ec8e008536837513b60d205bccbbd-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/comment_embed.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F%3Fcomment_id%3D10154594376298384&include_parent=false” width=”560″ height=”121″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
[protected-iframe id=”a38604606b321587d170e973ab92c643-46934866-40689585″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/comment_embed.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWPTV5%2Fvideos%2F10154594318243384%2F%3Fcomment_id%3D10154594340698384&include_parent=false” width=”560″ height=”121″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
However, some members of the community were still able to find solace in the fact that at least some sort of justice was served.
Heather Holden, a Todd family friend who helped organize search efforts, told Rare that, although his sentence was light, she felt the plea deal was the only way they could learn the truth.
“The truth is, without the tireless dedication and dogged determination of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s willingness to offer a plea bargain, we would most likely still be searching for Tricia and Steven may have gotten away with it all,” Holden said. “I take comfort in knowing he still has a military court to face.”
Williams, who was serving in the United States Air Force at the time of the murder, will also face military discipline, but according to Todd’s family, no details regarding his military trial have been released.
The most surprising part of today’s sentencing hearing was Todd’s father’s response.
Todd’s father, David Todd, stood up and looked at Williams, but instead of condemning him, he said he was praying for Williams and apologized for not praying for him sooner.
“I never prayed for you. I prayed for all my children, but I didn’t pray for you […] You are now fourth on my prayer list […] I’m sorry that I didn’t pray for you […] I pray that God will touch your heart,” Todd told an expressionless Williams.
Williams will begin serving his sentence immediately.
