Ex Allegedly Confesses to Killing Missing Florida Mom

Air Force vet Tricia Todd was last seen in late-April
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2016 5:35 PM CDT
Ex Allegedly Confesses to Killing Missing Florida Woman
Tricia Todd   (Martin County Sheriff's Office)

A US airman has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a Florida mom and Air Force veteran last month, NBC News reports. Authorities say 30-year-old Steven Williams, the ex-husband of Tricia Todd, confessed to killing her on Tuesday and was arrested. Despite "gross inconsistencies" that "only got worse with time" during multiple interviews with police, Williams passed a polygraph test and had nothing tying him to Todd's disappearance, according to CBS News. Sheriff William Snyder says he's unsure why Williams confessed. "People's conscience weighs on them," he says. "Oftentimes people really want to get something off their chest." The Palm Beach Post reports Williams has been charged with murder and child neglect.

Williams had said Todd was supposed to pick up their 2-year-old daughter from him April 27 but never showed up. Her car was later found abandoned near her home. There is still no evidence tying Williams to the murder, but Snyder says authorities have a “strong circumstantial case” against him. Snyder says Todd's daughter was "around" for the murder of her mother, though no other details were given. No motive has been identified, but there are reports of domestic violence and money troubles in Williams and Todd's marriage. Authorities say Williams has not told them where her body is. A search is ongoing. In a statement quoted by NBC on Wednesday, Todd's family calls her apparent murder “beyond heart-breaking and indescribably painful." (More murder stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X