Home Renovation Homicide
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(upbeat music) - Aaron, this is Florida, nothing strange here. (whistling) - The house was beautiful. It was 4,000 square feet. It had a pool, a garage apartment. It was a great house. The only problem was upstairs. Some of the rooms were too small and just the functionality did not work for some families. I could understand why they'd want to renovate it. - When did you first meet Shanti and David? - Dave just called me on the phone and asked if I'd come by and take a look at the project. He said that they had done some work. I wasn't at all prepared for what I saw when I got there. They had fully disassembled this house who had agreed that I'd never seen before. It was rather astonishing. It was largely wide open, like you're inside of a giant shoebox. - This house became more than just a project to David Trontus. It was his life. He obsessed on it. This houses the center point to the story and ultimately led to Shanti's demise. - This case all started with a call to 911, placed at approximately 3.51 p.m. on April 24th, 2018 by Dave Trontus. (laughing) - Hello. (laughing) - And David says that he came home and found Shanti floating in the bathtub. - Why is he, why is he stop breathing? - Did that story make sense? - Absolutely not. - Shanti was extensively beaten. - It makes me emotional. I feel bad for her family and for her son. It's upsetting that she won't get that life with him. - Clearly Dave Trontus, from the very beginning, is a suspect. - Absolutely. - Dave was asked to go to the station and voluntarily remain there for hours. - Just have a seat there. It'll be a little bit. - He did not request counsel.
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Did an out of control home makeover lead to murder? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates.