A Martin County (Fla.) judge sentenced Steven Williams to 35 years in prison for the death of Willams’ ex-wife, Tricia Todd.
Williams appeared before Martin County Circuit Judge Lawrence Mirman Oct. 7 as Todd’s family, friends, Stevens’ family and Martin County Sheriff William Snyder sat in the courtroom. A mental evaluation of Williams revealed he was competent to go forward with sentencing.
Williams was sentenced to 35 years in prison for second-degree murder, and five years, to be served concurrently, for child neglect by Mirman.
Todd, a hospice nurse, was last seen by her ex-husband on April 26, according to authorities. For a nearly month, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and search groups scoured areas of Hobe Sound and surrounding areas hoping to find Todd. On May 25, Williams confessed to killing Todd and disposing of her body. Williams pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and a 35-year sentence in exchange for leading investigators to her remains.
Investigators uncovered a plastic tub filled with acid and part of Todd’s remains in Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area along the border of Palm Beach and Martin counties. Later, authorities found several teeth and saws disposed of nearby.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations team comprised of members from the 7th Field Investigations Region, 2nd Field Investigations Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Md.; Detachment 216, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base - Pope Army Airfield, N.C.; Headquarters Strategic, Programs and Requirements; the 4th FIR, Det. 411; and Technical Services Operations worked in concert with the Martin County Sheriff’s Department on the case.
Judge Mirman said while the sentence was “clearly less than full justice,” for the family and Todd, without the plea they would not know what happened to her. While some may criticize how quickly the plea was out in place, he said it was the best choice to help answer questions and reveal the “true horrific nature of the crime.”
David Todd spoke before the sentencing to the courtroom and said he was thankful for the opportunity to speak with Williams. He said he has forgiven him for what he has done to his daughter and prays for him every night. He said he doesn’t need to for his daughter anymore.
“She doesn’t need any more prayers, she’s in a place of bliss,” David Todd said.
After the sentencing, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said no one is happy with anything in the case, but he is satisfied because there were able to provide “some measure of justice” for the family.
Snyder said there was initially a question about whether they were lead to all of Todd’s remains. He said a lab was able to reconstruct the method Williams used and found out that for the amount of time her body had been in the acid, they believe what they found out in Hungryland is all of her remains.
During the summer, Williams’s defense had asked for a mental evaluation of him due to the fact he was on suicide watch while in jail. The defense said they knew he was competent when he made the plea, they just wanted to make sure everything was ok going forward. The evaluation found Williams to be competent for the sentencing.