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A Florida man is accused of killing his wife and using coronavirus as a cover story for her disappearance.

David Anthony, 48, was arrested on March 31st in Las Cruces, Mexico, in connection with the disappearance of his wife Gretchen, 51. He is charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping.

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According to a witness, who is not being identified publicly, someone purporting to be Gretchen sent her a “suspicious” text message on March 23rd claiming she had been diagnosed with COVID-19, and was being detained by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Police also said another witness contacted them with a similar story, saying they had received a text from Gretchen claiming she had an “acute” case of COVID-19 and was being “sedated” by a CDC task force.

When contacted by police, officials at the Jupiter Medical Center said there was no one with Gretchen’s name at the hospital. Reports of someone claiming to be Gretchen sending an additional text message to her mother saying she was on a ventilator at a local hospital also failed to check out.

When police arrived at Gretchen’s home, they were unable to locate her. A neighbor informed them that she had heard screams at the residence the previous Saturday, including the sound of a woman yelling “No, no! It hurts.” Upon searching her residence, police found towels in her kitchen containing a “reddish substance” that appeared to be blood, as well as evidence of what appeared to be blood droplets in her bedroom.

According to the Anthonys’ friends, the couple had separated earlier this year, with Gretchen filing for divorce in February. Anthony is currently awaiting extradition to Palm Beach County, Florida.

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