When friends and family of a Jupiter, Florida, mother began receiving texts revealing she had a serious case of coronavirus, they grew worried. But Gretchen Anthony hadn't talked to anyone and wasn't answering her phone. Was she really sending the text messages? Or was someone using COVID-19 to cover up her disappearance?
It was March 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic was stretching across the country.
"This case really hit differently," says Chrichet Mixon, an assistant state attorney for Palm Beach County. "I mean, we are talking about someone who is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend."
Gretchen Anthony
And someone who seemingly vanished at a point when the world was told to stay home.
Where was Gretchen Anthony? And where was her estranged husband, David Anthony? Did he send those texts pretending to be Gretchen to cover up her murder?
Chrichet Mixon, an assistant state's attorney for Palm Beach County, got involved in Gretchen's case early on.
Chrichet Mixon: There was nothing that Gretchen wouldn't do for her daughter. She hated being away from her.
After her divorce, friends say Gretchen fell in love with David Anthony. The two met at a local gym where he was a trainer.
Peter Van Sant: Was he kind of a rock star at the gym?
Kelly Hanna: Oh … he was the young hot trainer for sure.
Tabitha Hopkins: He has a huge presence.
David was a popular trainer at a gym owned by Tabitha Hopkins. She says he brought in lots of new members.
Kelly Hanna: He was intelligent, well-spoken. He was charming.
Kelly Hanna: She didn't have to tell anybody that there was an attraction there. … There was absolute sparks, there was magic there, no question about it.
That attraction soon led to the couple getting married at an Elvis chapel in Las Vegas in 2015.
Kelly Hanna: They seemed like the happiest couple ever.
Peter Van Sant: Did you feel like she'd found the man of her dreams?
Kelly Hanna: Absolutely. … David by all appearances was a phenomenal stepparent. She called him bonus dad.
Gretchen and David Anthony
Gretchen and David Anthony on their wedding day.
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But friends say the couple's dream life came apart in late 2019, when they separated, and David moved out of their home.
Kelly Hanna: And it kind of sounded like they both … lost themselves a little bit, and they were searching more for their own self-identity.
Now Gretchen's inner circle was dealing with a potential life-or-death situation.
Kelly Hanna: And then all of a sudden, there's bizarre cell phone messages.
Over several days, starting on Monday, March 23, friends and family received a series of texts from Gretchen, who said she was at home in quarantine. She sent this one to her daughter, who was staying with her ex-husband:
PETER VAN SANT [reading texts]: "Good morning. Tested positive for Coronavirus early this morning. That means I have to stay here for at least two weeks …"
Her daughter replied: "OK I really hope you get better"
Chrichet Mixon says there were multiple texts from Gretchen's phone over the next three days, describing her deteriorating condition.
CHRICHET MIXON [reading text]: "I consulted with the virus screening hotline and admitted myself into the Jupiter Medical Center's emergency room …"
Peter Van Sant: So. this is serious stuff. What does the family do with these texts?
Chrichet Mixon: The family finds the text messages that they're getting from Gretchen to be worrisome, alarming.
What disturbed everyone receiving these texts is that no one — not even Gretchen's daughter — had received a phone call from her.
Kelly Hanna: That just — there's so many things that are so wrong.
Including texts claiming that she'd been transferred to an "off-site medical facility being run directly by the CDC" in Belle Glade, more than hour away in central Florida. But there's a problem.
Chrichet Mixon: There is no CDC facility in Belle Glade, Florida.
Peter Van Sant: So, this text message, allegedly from Gretchen's own phone, apparently was not sent by Gretchen.
Chrichet Mixon: It definitely was not sent by Gretchen.
Dave Aronberg, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County agrees.
Dave Aronberg: Clearly, whoever had sent those text messages were trying to take advantage of this pandemic, of the fear out there, trying to exploit the situation.
Kelly Hanna: So, things were not adding up and things were not adding up very quickly.
Chrichet Mixon: The family, along with friends, made the decision to reach out to law enforcement to do a welfare check on Gretchen Anthony.
911 CALL: I need to get help for my friend that's missing. I don't know how to put into words, but I know she's in very grave danger right now.
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