Hospital Staff Believed Husband's Death Was Suspicious. An Autopsy Revealed the Unthinkable
A Georgia woman was sentenced to life in prison last week after being found guilty of poisoning her husband to death with a cocktail that contained antifreeze, authorities say.
Torrii Fedrick was found guilty following a two-year investigation into her husband Phil Fedrick's death in September 2021, the Thomas County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a statement on Thursday, March 27.
Prosecutors said that Phil died from 'ethylene glycol poisoning,' which is a substance commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid, according to the Thomas County Sheriff's Office.
The office said emergency room staff at Archbold Memorial Hospital became suspicious of Fedrick's husband's illness and suspected he was poisoned. Phil died a week after he was rushed to the hospital, according to The Miami Herald. An autopsy later showed he had ingested the chemical often found in antifreeze, the sheriff's office said.
Fedrick was found guilty last Thursday of felony malice murder and aggravated assault, WCTV reported.
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The guilty verdict came after the Fedricks' two children appeared to recant information during court testimony that prosecutors said they previously told police during the investigation into their father's death, according to court reporting by The Thomasville Times-Enterprise.
The defense argued that the victim's death was a suicide. The Fedricks' children — Phil Jr. and Phil'Nesia — told prosecutors they never saw their father drink the cocktail that investigators say Phil Jr. initially described to police during the death investigation, according to the Times-Enterprise.
The newspaper reported that Phil Jr. told prosecutors he had only told investigators what they wanted to hear, an assertion prosecutors pushed back on during his testimony.
Investigators never located the antifreeze or the cocktail that Fedrick allegedly gave her husband the night he died, her defense team argued, according to the Times-Enterprise.
The outlet reported that Fedrick's sentencing comes with the possibility of parole.
PEOPLE reached out to Fedrick's defense attorney for comment this week, but did not immediately receive a reply.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Video shows immigration agents interrogating a Latino U.S. citizen: 'I'm American, bro!'
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Gavidia said in the video. 'What hospital were you born?' the agent asked again, this time recorded in the video. 'I don't know dawg!' he said. 'East L.A. bro! I can show you: I have my f—ing Real ID.' His friend, who Gavidia did not name, narrated the video. As the incident continued, he said: 'These guys, literally based off of skin color! My homie was born here!' The friend said Gavidia was being questioned 'just because of the way he looks. ' Gavidia said he gave the Border Patrol agent his Real ID, but the agent never returned it to him. The agent also took his phone and kept it for 20 minutes, he said, before finally returning it. Even after the agent saw his ID, Gavidia said, he never apologized. In a response to questions from the Times, U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not answer questions about the encounter with Gavidia. The agency said in a statement that it is 'conducting targeted immigration enforcement in support of ICE operations across the Los Angeles area. 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He said he only learned of his cousin's whereabouts on Friday afternoon and said authorities are accusing him of 'resisting arrest, assaulting people.' 'We're still conducting an investigation to really understand and ascertain the facts of the case,' De Jesus said. De Jesus said he called the Metropolitan Detention Center and identified himself as an attorney wishing to speak with his client, but he was told attorneys were not allowed to see their clients at the moment. 'I was not given permission, I was not given access to even speak to him on the phone,' he said. Montebello Mayor Salvador Melendez, who watched video of the encounter with Gavidia, called the situation 'just extremely frustrating. 'It just seems like there's no due process,' he said. 'They're just getting folks that look like our community and taking them and questioning them.' Melendez said he got a call from a resident when immigration agents were on Olympic Boulevard. 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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Reactions to Padilla incident fall mostly along party lines
A day after federal agents forcibly restrained and handcuffed U.S. Sen Alex Padilla at a Los Angeles news conference, leaders of the country's two political parties responded in what has become a predictable fashion — with diametrically opposed takes on the incident. Padilla's fellow Democrats called for an investigation and perhaps even the resignation of the senator's nemesis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, for what they described as the unprecedented manhandling of a U.S. senator who was merely attempting to ask a question of a fellow public official. Noem and fellow Republicans continued to depict Padilla as a grandstander, whose unexpected appearance at Noem's news conference seemed to her security detail to represent a threat, as she tried to speak to reporters at the Federal Building in Westwood. Republicans continued Friday to chastise Padilla, using words like 'launch,' 'lunge' and 'bum rush' to describe Padilla's behavior as he began to try to pose a question to Noem at Thursday's news conference. The Trump administration official was just a few minutes into her meeting with reporters when Padilla moved assertively from the side of the room, pushing past a Times photographer as he moved to more directly address Noem. He did not lunge at Noem and was still paces away from her when her security detail grabbed the senator. Read more: Arellano: Sen. Alex Padilla's crime? Being Mexican in MAGA America Padilla and his staff described how the veteran lawmaker went through security and was escorted by an FBI employee to the room where the press conference was held, saying it was absurd to suggest he presented a threat. Padilla spoke out after the secretary asserted that her homeland security agents had come to L.A. to "liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and the mayor have placed on this country.' The former South Dakota governor would have some reason to recognize Padilla, since he questioned her during her Senate confirmation hearing. A spokesperson at the Homeland Security Department did not respond to a question of whether Noem recognized Padilla when he arrived at her press conference. As has become the norm in the nation's political discourse, Republicans and Democrats spoke about the confrontation Friday as if they had observed two entirely separate incidents. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) said Noem 'should step down,' adding: 'This is ridiculous. And she continues to lie about this incident. This is wrong.' Lujan urged his Republican colleagues to support Democrats in asking for 'a full investigation.' 'This is bad. This is precedent-setting,' Lujan told MSNBC. 'And I certainly hope that the leadership of the Senate, my Republican leaders, my friends, that they just look within. Pray on it. That's what I told a couple of them last night. Pray on this and do the right thing.' Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus went to Speaker Mike Johnson's office to protest Padilla's treatment. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) spoke out on X and on the floor of the Senate. He said the episode fit into 'a pattern of behavior by the Trump administration. There is simply no justification for this abuse of authority …. There can be no justification of seeing a senator forced to their knees.' Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) went on X to repeat the call for an investigation and to say that 'Republican leadership is complicit in enabling the growing authoritarianism in this country.' Most Republicans remained silent, or accused Padilla of being a provocateur. 'I think the senator's actions, my view is, it was wildly inappropriate,' said Johnson, the House speaker. 'You don't charge a sitting Cabinet secretary.' Johnson added that it was Padilla, who should face some sanction. 'At a minimum … [it] rises to the level of a censure. … I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that that is not what we are going to do, that's not how we're going to act.' Rep. Tom McClintock, (R-Elk Grove) zinged Padilla on X, with some 'helpful tips.' '1. Don't disrupt other people's press conferences. Hold your own instead. 2. Don't bum-rush a podium with no visible identification. ... 3. Don't resist or assault the Secret Service. It won't end well.' Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) also sought to reinforce the notion that agents protecting Noem sensed a real threat, having no way of knowing that Padilla was who he said he was. The congressman said on Fox Business that Padilla had obtained "the outcome that they wanted. Now they have a talking point.' Read more: L.A. braces for multiple 'No Kings' demonstrations across the city Saturday None of the officials in the room, several of whom know Padilla, intervened to prevent the action by the agents, who eventually pushed the senator, face down, onto the ground, before handcuffing him. Noem did not back off her earlier statement that Padilla had 'burst' into the room. "Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement Friday. McLaughlin also said that Padilla 'was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands,' though video made public by Friday did not show such warnings, in advance of Padilla's first statement. The senator's staff members said he privately had received messages of concern from several Republican colleagues, including Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) Speaking publicly only one Republican lawmaker sounded a note of distress about the episode. 'I've seen that one clip. It's horrible,' said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). 'It is shocking at every level. It's not the America I know.' Padilla told Tommy Vietor of the "Pod Save America" podcast that Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown is an attempt to distract from many other failures — continued instability with the economy, a lack of peace in Ukraine and Gaza and a federal budget plan that is proving unpopular with many Americans. 'He always finds a distraction," Padilla said, "and, when all else fails, he goes back to demonizing and scapegoating immigrants. … He creates a crisis to get us all talking about something else." Padilla said repeatedly that Americans should be concerned about how everyday citizens will be treated, if forces working for the Trump administration are allowed to "tackle" a U.S. senator asking questions in a public building. On Friday afternoon, he sent a mass email urging his constituents to sign up for the protests planned for Saturday, to counter the military parade Trump is holding in Washington. "PLEASE show up and speak out against what is happening," Padilla wrote. "We cannot allow the Trump administration to intimidate us into silence." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Reactions to Padilla incident fall mostly along party lines
A day after federal agents forcibly restrained and handcuffed U.S. Sen Alex Padilla at a Los Angeles news conference, leaders of the country's two political parties responded in what has become a predictable fashion — with diametrically opposed takes on the incident. Padilla's fellow Democrats called for an investigation and perhaps even the resignation of the senator's nemesis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, for what they described as the unprecedented manhandling of a U.S. senator who was merely attempting to ask a question of a fellow public official. Noem and fellow Republicans continued to depict Padilla as a grandstander, whose unexpected appearance at Noem's news conference seemed to her security detail to represent a threat, as she tried to speak to reporters at the Federal Building in Westwood. Republicans continued Friday to chastise Padilla, using words like 'launch,' 'lunge' and 'bum rush' to describe Padilla's behavior as he began to try to pose a question to Noem at Thursday's news conference. The Trump administration official was just a few minutes into her meeting with reporters when Padilla moved assertively from the side of the room, grabbing a Times photographer by the arm as he moved to more directly address Noem. He did not lunge at Noem and was still paces away from her when her security detail grabbed the senator. Padilla and his staff described how the veteran lawmaker went through security and was escorted by an FBI employee to the room where the press conference was held, saying it was absurd to suggest he presented a threat. Padilla spoke out after the secretary asserted that her homeland security agents had come to L.A. to 'liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and the mayor have placed on this country.' The former South Dakota governor would have some reason to recognize Padilla, since he questioned her during her Senate confirmation hearing. A spokesperson at the Homeland Security Department did not respond to a question of whether Noem recognized Padilla when he arrived at her press conference. As has become the norm in the nation's political discourse, Republicans and Democrats spoke about the confrontation Friday as if they had observed two entirely separate incidents. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) said Noem 'should step down,' adding: 'This is ridiculous. And she continues to lie about this incident. This is wrong.' Lujan urged his Republican colleagues to support Democrats in asking for 'a full investigation.' 'This is bad. This is precedent-setting,' Lujan told MSNBC. 'And I certainly hope that the leadership of the Senate, my Republican leaders, my friends, that they just look within. Pray on it. That's what I told a couple of them last night. Pray on this and do the right thing.' Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus went to Speaker Mike Johnson's office to protest Padilla's treatment. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) spoke out on X and on the floor of the Senate. He said the episode fit into 'a pattern of behavior by the Trump administration. There is simply no justification for this abuse of authority …. There can be no justification of seeing a senator forced to their knees.' Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) went on X to repeat the call for an investigation and to say that 'Republican leadership is complicit in enabling the growing authoritarianism in this country.' Most Republicans remained silent, or accused Padilla of being a provocateur. 'I think the senator's actions, my view is, it was wildly inappropriate,' said Johnson, the House speaker. 'You don't charge a sitting Cabinet secretary.' Johnson added that it was Padilla, who should face some sanction. 'At a minimum … [it] rises to the level of a censure. … I think there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that that is not what we are going to do, that's not how we're going to act.' Rep. Tom McClintock, (R-Elk Grove) zinged Padilla on X, with some 'helpful tips.' '1. Don't disrupt other people's press conferences. Hold your own instead. 2. Don't bum-rush a podium with no visible identification. ... 3. Don't resist or assault the Secret Service. It won't end well.' Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) also sought to reinforce the notion that agents protecting Noem sensed a real threat, having no way of knowing that Padilla was who he said he was. The congressman said on Fox Business that Padilla had obtained 'the outcome that they wanted. Now they have a talking point.' None of the officials in the room, several of whom know Padilla, intervened to prevent the action by the agents, who eventually pushed the senator, face down, onto the ground, before handcuffing him. Noem did not back off her earlier statement that Padilla had 'burst' into the room. 'Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement Friday. McLaughlin also said that Padilla 'was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands,' though video made public by Friday did not show such warnings, in advance of Padilla's first statement. The senator's staff members said he privately had received messages of concern from several Republican colleagues, including Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) Speaking publicly only one Republican lawmaker sounded a note of distress about the episode. 'I've seen that one clip. It's horrible,' said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). 'It is shocking at every level. It's not the America I know.' Padilla told Tommy Vietor of the 'Pod Save America' podcast that Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown is an attempt to distract from many other failures — continued instability with the economy, a lack of peace in Ukraine and Gaza and a federal budget plan that is proving unpopular with many Americans. 'He always finds a distraction,' Padilla said, 'and, when all else fails, he goes back to demonizing and scapegoating immigrants. … He creates a crisis to get us all talking about something else.' Padilla said repeatedly that Americans should be concerned about how everyday citizens will be treated, if forces working for the Trump administration are allowed to 'tackle' a U.S. senator asking questions in a public building. On Friday afternoon, he sent a mass email urging his constituents to sign up for the protests planned for Saturday, to counter the military parade Trump is holding in Washington. 'PLEASE show up and speak out against what is happening,' Padilla wrote. 'We cannot allow the Trump administration to intimidate us into silence.'
