Hospital Staff Believed Husband's Death Was Suspicious. An Autopsy Revealed the Unthinkable
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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Miami Herald
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Yahoo
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