Women Behind Bars Tuesdays at 10p|9c

Anita Gonzales


Inmate Name: Anita Gonzales Charge: first-degree murder and armed robbery Sentence: 2 life sentences Prison: Lowell Correctional Institution, Florida Anita Gonzales was born in 1959, and grew up on the coast of northern Florida. From an early age, Anita tested her parents and defied their rules. She dropped out of high school before graduating. And at age 17, she got pregnant and married the father; in 1977 gave birth to her son, David Shane Tate. She divorced three years later, due to alleged abuse from her husband. During the next 10 years, Anita alleges that she underwent 12 operations due to a work related injury, and admits that she became addicted to pain killers. By the time Anita was 32, she was on her fourth marriage to Todd Wagner who had a three-and-a-half-year-old son, Sean, from a previous marriage. One night, Sean was rushed to the hospital, after swallowing 30 tablets of medication that Anita used for her depression. But the doctors could not save him, and he passed away. Police charged Anita with neglect, and prohibited her from being around children or the elderly. Anita denied any wrongdoing in Sean’s death but there would be more brushes with the law. By the mid 1990s, Anita’s son David Shane Tait was also racking up a criminal record. In 1994, Anita met Edward and Donna Riesdorph, an elderly couple living in Melbourne, Florida. The three became close, but police believe the Anita had an ulterior motive for striking up the relationship. Addicted to painkillers and deeply in debt, authorities assert Anita conspired to rob the Reisdorph’s with her 18-year-old son and two acquaintances. On January 25, the foursome drove to the Riesdorph residence. Donna was away visiting her mother, so that left Ed Riesdorph alone in the house. While at the house, Anita’s son Shane allegedly bludgeoned Ed to death in his garage. The defendants left the lifeless body on the garage floor. They dumped the wrench used as a murder weapon in the river, and the clothes on a dirt road. Anita went back to the Riesdorph home and stole a check. She then took the boys on a spending spree with a credit card she had allegedly taken from Mrs. Riesdorph months before. The next day Anita tried cashing the forged check for $11,000. But the clerk at the check cashing company became suspicious when, calling to verify, a man with a young man’s voice identified himself as Mr. Riesdorph. Anita left, but the clerk called law enforcement who discovered Ed Riesdorph’s body lying in his home. While officers processed the scene, a SWAT team stormed Anita’s residence. Her son and one of the other accomplices were found hiding in the attic, and taken into custody. The fourth defendant was brought in as well. In a surprising turn of events, Anita volunteered to come in to police headquarters and speak with the detective. Although she tried to blame Mr. Riesdorph’s death on one of the other co-defendants, Anita and her son were charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. At her trial, Anita was found guilty and sentenced to two life sentences. Anita’s son pled not guilty. He claimed he was asleep when the murder happened. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Anita has since admitted that she was involved in the burglary but still maintains that she had nothing to do with the murder. Currently, Anita is ill and serving her time in the medical unit of the correctional facility.