Naman Shrestha
ABC’s ’20/20: A Killer Renovation’ delves deep into the mysterious murder case of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, a successful businesswoman who was killed in her home in 2018. With her husband, David Tronnes, being the prime suspect, the authorities dug deep into the married couple’s relationship and his previous marriage in order to compare the two and find any important details. Besides covering interviews with Shanti’s family and officials involved in the case, the episode also focuses on the suspect’s former love life.
Carole Tronnes’ Health Issues Began After Her Marriage to David
Many years before David Tronnes married Shanti Cooper, he crossed paths with Carole Tompkins on a blind date in 1997. Her first impression of him was that he was handsome and smart. With everything going right in their relationship, even after a couple of years of dating, they decided to take the next step and tied the knot in the presence of their loved ones in April 1999. The couple resided in Minnesota and stayed in wedlock for about 14 years before they decided to part ways amicably. Looking back, Carole described their marriage as a loving and healthy one. However, from the perspective of their mutual friends, things were a whole lot different.
The conversation regarding this was held in an interview with Carole, who was questioned about her marriage with David by Orlando Police Detective Teresa Sprague and Assistant State Attorney Ryan Vescio. During the interview, Detective Teresa said, “Your friends have described you back (before the marriage) as vibrant, a little shy, fun, always active…and that all changed when you got married to David Tronnes…You quit (your job) pretty quickly, you moved away pretty quickly, you stopped communicating with them pretty quickly within that first year.”
As an explanation of her behavior, Carole cited her health issues as the reason for how things turned out to be with her friends. She described her former husband as stubborn instead of controlling and manipulative. Talking about her health, the detective and attorney poked the subject to get more information as some similar health symptoms were found in Shanti. She admitted that her health began deteriorating about a year after their marriage. It was stated that Carole reportedly felt nauseous on a regular basis and suffered from weakness.
In order to get hold of her health and improve it, Carole focused on her diet. Although she said that David used to cook most of their meals, she did not think that he was poisoning her as her health problems persisted even after their divorce. During the same confrontational interview, Teresa and Ryan asked her about her state of mind during the divorce and if she wanted any kids. In response, Carole invoked spousal privilege, indicating that she did not want to disclose such intimate details of her marriage.
Possibly Residing in Minnesota, Carole Tronnes Doesn’t Believe David is the Killer
Following their divorce, Carole and David stayed in touch and talked every once in a while. In 2018, when she found out about Shanti’s tragic demise, she even called him and expressed her condolences. In the following months, records suggest that they exchanged 36 text messages and 5 phone calls, during which they reportedly also talked about the case once, according to Carole. She also testified that he had another theory for Shanti’s death, as he believed it was possible that a random person came and killed her. Not believing that he is capable of murder, she stated, “He was not a violent person. It just doesn’t fit to me that he would do that.”
The investigators found it strange that even after getting divorced in 2013, Carole and David Tronnes shared a bank account, which reportedly consisted of nearly half a million dollars in recent years. She simply told them that she forgot to take her name off the account and had not used it after their divorce. However, they remained suspicious and alleged that she might be helping David manage his finances while he was behind bars. After Shanti’s death, one of David’s attorneys reached out to Carole and asked her to hold a 1% stake in an LLC, which he possibly put together for his estate planning. As of writing, Carole is seemingly still residing in Minnesota and is likely keeping track of her ex-husband’s trials.
Read More: Shanti Cooper-Tronnes: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
