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In April 2016, Tricia Todd, a 30-year-old Air Force veteran and hospice nurse from Hobe Sound, Florida, went missing after she did not come to pick up her 2-year-old daughter, Faith, from a babysitter. This led to a large-scale search involving hundreds of volunteers, helicopters, and bloodhounds through woods, parks, and beaches. Her car was parked at home with the keys left inside, but Todd and her phone were nowhere to be found.
The authorities did not have anyone in mind when they were first investigating, but the case changed direction when her former husband, Steven Williams, owned up to killing her during an interrogation. He confessed to having killed her during a fight, chopping the body using a chainsaw, dissolving some of the parts in acid, and then hiding the pieces in a remote wildlife reserve called Hungryland Preserve. The reason was due to differences over child support and custody.
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Williams brought authorities to partial remains as a condition of his plea agreement. Viewers can watch the case in Investigation Discovery's show The Tragedy of Tricia Todd, a special aired on October 6, 2025, on the ID channel.
Background of Tricia Todd and Steven Williams
Tricia Todd was raised in Hobe Sound, Florida, one of eight children in a tight-knit family. She enlisted in the U.S. Air Force following high school, serving as a medic, and met Steven Williams while both were teenagers at a nearby Christian academy. They both served in the Air Force, marrying in 2005 in North Carolina, as per ABC News.
Their child, Faith, was born in 2014. Todd left the service to become a nurse and worked at Treasure Coast Hospice, where she was loved by patients for her kindness. Their marriage was troubled, and Williams' unfaithfulness resulted in their divorce early in 2016. However, they remained in touch for co-parenting, with Todd holding primary custody and Williams providing child support from his North Carolina residence, according to ABC News.
Tricia Todd recorded some details of their marriage in a private journal, which later showed patterns of emotional and physical tension, although she tended to concentrate on good aspects such as religion and motherhood. Todd's friends characterized her as adventurous and committed to her child, often taking beach strolls.
Williams, a fellow Air Force veteran, seemed cooperative at first but had a pattern of controlling behavior documented in investigations. The divorce was seemingly friendly on the surface but was fraught with tension over money and custody issues. This set the stage for the events in April 2016, when Todd disappeared while Williams was visiting Faith, according to ABC News.
The disappearance and initial search efforts
Steven Williams said she left soon afterward she visited, but Tricia Todd never came home. The next day, she did not arrive to collect Faith from the babysitter, which was not typical for her. Her family reported her missing when they discovered her car parked miserably at her home, with groceries sprawled out, lights on, and purse and keys still in the car.
The Martin County Sheriff's Department initiated a large-scale search, including marine patrols, helicopters, ATVs, and bloodhounds, to search thousands of acres of state parks, beaches, and wooded trails that Todd used to frequent. Hundreds of volunteers passed out flyers, and officials pored over hours of security footage. Initial leads were a sighting of a man seen walking in the area, but no suspects turned up right away, according to ABC News.
Tricia Todd's phone was gone, and her tank was almost dry, fueling the mystery. The community came together, holding prayer vigils, as her family pointed to her love of Faith and work.
Also Read: The Tragedy of Tricia Todd on ID - Who was the killer of Tricia Todd and where is he now?
Investigation and key discoveries
Investigators from the Martin County Sheriff's Office interviewed dozens of people, including a local pastor Todd confided in during walks and a ventriloquist she briefly dated, but both were cleared. Attention turned to Steven Williams, the last person to see her. He cooperated at first, passing a polygraph, but inconsistencies arose. Todd's online journal revealed a history of abuse in their marriage, including beatings and control, providing context to their relationship, as per ABC News.
Williams returned to North Carolina with Faith, planning to seek full custody. In late May 2016, detectives confronted him there, leading to a partial confession of an "accidental" killing during a money argument. Flown back to Florida, he fully admitted to intentional murder, possibly by strangulation or beating. Evidence showed premeditation: he bought acid, a chainsaw, and tools beforehand, as per OSI.
As part of a plea, he directed authorities to Hungryland Wildlife Preserve, where a hazmat team recovered partial remains in an acid-filled plastic container, along with nine teeth and dismemberment tools. DNA confirmed the remains as Tricia Todd's, though not all were found. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations assisted but let local authorities lead. This breakthrough ended the month-long search, revealing the crime's brutality, OSI reported.
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Legal proceedings and family aftermath
Steven Williams was charged with second-degree murder, evidence tampering, and neglect of a child, since Faith witnessed the episode. In June 2016, he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for a 35-year sentence, escaping the death penalty or life in prison by disclosing the location of the body. Sentenced in September of that year, he is being held at a Florida prison with an exit date in 2049, as per OSI.
Prosecutors later regretted the leniency of the deal upon learning the severity of the dismemberment and the use of acid, pointing to premeditation. Williams confessed in a prison interview that the motive was that he did not want to pay child support and gain custody, affirming he strangled and beat Todd. Todd's family, her mother Rebecca Hasselbach and brother Jonathan, forgave Williams publicly, instead concentrating on healing through faith.
Faith, 11, was taken in by Jonathan's family. An account funds Faith's future. Police said the low crime rate within the community made the incident surprising, but it highlighted the importance of vigilance in post-divorce situations, according to OSI.
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