The police have notified the family of the incident and are waiting for the results of the autopsy before handing over their evidence to the prosecutor. Gilfedder, a freshman student-athlete at Lyon College, was found dead in his dorm room earlier this year. The lawsuit requests compensation for the loss of life, conscious pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death, funeral expenses, and the mental anguish and pecuniary damage of the surviving estate and to recover damages and judgment against the defendants. James was raised in Yucaipa and graduated from Yucaipa High School in 2020. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2023 Hank Nuwer Unofficial Hazing Clearinghouse. "It means a lot to us that our daughter touched so many in her short, but yet wonderful, extraordinary life," she said. The Gilfedders were especially saddened to learn the circumstances surrounding their son's death. Choosing a college major is always tricky so which of the most expensive college majors are actually worth the investment? In These 19 States, Yes, 67 Top Side Hustles for College Students to Make Fast Cash, These Are the Cheapest Colleges in the US. I havent been able to sleep. A primary objective is to try to reconstruct the circumstances and events that led to the death so that a mode (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined) can be established. A 19-year-old Lyon College student was found dead in his dorm on Saturday, Jan. 30, according to police. Read his musings in his column "Golden Heart Tales" in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. (The) kids got alcohol, they got drugs at that house. With no formal autopsy result to determine what happened, , the victims mother, is suggesting that something more sinister is at play because the information presented to them didnt all match up., Somebody did something. Somebody had a lot of hate or something because from what we have seen no one should have ever went through that no one.. The lawsuit said the autopsy revealed the blood alcohol content of Gilfedder was .357% and the cause of death was acute alcohol intoxication.. A 19-year-old Lyon College student was found dead in his dorm on Saturday, Jan. 30, according to police. The filing requests compensation for the loss of life, conscious pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death, funeral expenses, and the mental anguish and pecuniary damage of the surviving estate and to recover damages and judgment against the defendants. 19-year-old James Gilfedder of California was attending Lyon College to play first base on the men's baseball team. Somebody hurt him. When people finally see and hear about this evidence this town is going to be furious and disgusted, Gilfedder said. Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/103.0.5060.114 Safari/537.36, Cedar Ridge to face Earle after win over Ozark Mountain; Pink Out tonight, Flood warning issued until late Monday for Independence County. The home is believed to have been partially owned by Lyon College's baseball coach Jacob Huffman, documents state. Have a news tip or event to promote? Spice up your get-togethers with these top 27 fresh college party themes full of dancing, fun activities, and stunning photos for Instagram. Police said Gilfedder had attended an off-campus party at a residence partially owned by a baseball coach and where several members of the baseball team lived. Somebody killed him," Nikki Gilfedder, James' mother, said. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. (877) WASH-DC-1, Free Phone Consultation Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill told White River Now the results from the Arkansas State Crime Labs autopsy on James Gilfedder were recently received. These men did something to subdue and keep my daughter in their apartment for 10 to 12 hours, Dusty Giles said. Gilfedder had attended a pre-season party at a house on Boles Street in east Batesville, near the Lyon College campus. Gilfedder was a freshman at the. James Gilfedder was supposed to be at Lyon College to play baseball, but instead, his life ended in tragedy after attending a party last weekend. His new book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. Giles mother is planning to fly to California to attend her daughters memorial service. At the time of Gilfedder's death, the president of the. At the time of Gilfedders death, the president of the college shared a news release confirming the death, and confirmed the college was cooperating with the police department. The family of a Lyon College freshman who died in January 2021 after what was believed to be a hazing incident involving large consumption of alcohol filed a negligence and wrongful death suit in . According to the documents, James Gilfedder III was 19 years old when he was invited to a party off-campus on Jan. 29, 2021, at a home in Batesville that was being rented by another baseball player. Somebody hurt him. The California kid was dubbed Big Country by all his friends for wearing a cowboy hat and driving a large truck. An hour and a half later, it was determined that Gilfedder was unresponsive and students notified the resident assistant, the documents state. All rights reserved. While local media outlets have suggested that police believe Giles may have died from a possible overdose, a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Police Department would not confirm that to Oxygen.com and said the investigation was ongoing. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Increase the Penalties for Hazing and End the Culture That Took My Sons Life, Six Years After Hazing Death of Timothy Piazza, Penn State Plans to Drop the Greek Life Oversight It Championed, WSU Students Death Ruled Suicide as Family Says Hazing Left Him At His Breaking Point, Hazing Injury and Death Attorneys in Michigan, Legal Advice For Hazing in Intermediate and High Schools, School and Workplace Shooting Victim Lawyer. (877) WASH-DC-1. were dropped at separate Los Angeles hospitals two hours apart. The person Gilfedder went to the party with said he fell asleep in the car on the way home from the party, court documents state. As a journalist, hes written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. (202) 351-0510 | Lyon College said Friday that the institution cannot comment on pending litigation. Students reportedly checked on him twice the next morning, at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., saying they observed him on the floor and believed he was asleep. After attending the party, where he consumed alcoholic beverages, he was found deceased, lying on the floor in his dorm room. Ive lost so much sleep. And dont forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Email White River Now [email protected]. Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from theFirst Community BankNewsroom onArkansas 103.3. According to Cockrill, multiple interviews with Lyon College athletes have been conducted so far in the course of the investigation Somebody killed him. The autopsy is designed to determine the cause of death, properly document findings, and collect evidence. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Autopsy results released for Lyon baseball player. The College is fully cooperating with the Batesville Police Department and for privacy reasons, we are unable to share any further information at this time, King said. A college degree doesn't need to drain your finances. They dont have one person in jail right now. March 15, 2022 - The Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner will be hosting a table at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology's (USCAP) annual conference to promote it's Forensic Pathology Fellowship. "Somebody did something. Have a news tip or event to promote? Example video title will go here for this video. More information has been released in the death of a Lyon College student found over the weekend on campus. The lawsuit requests compensation for the loss of life, conscious pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death, funeral expenses, and the mental anguish and pecuniary damage of the surviving estate and to recover damages and judgment against the defendants. went to a party with the schools baseball team prior to his death. I mean he wasnt innocent, but that wouldnt have killed him. At the party, various underage baseball and softball players were present and drinking alcohol, and Gilfedder was supplied with alcohol and quickly became visibly intoxicated, which the coach witnessed, the filing alleges. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner saidadditional information and/or testing is needed before authorities can determine a cause or manner of death for Christy Giles. According to the documents, the hazing included, but was not limited to, causing the student to drink "massive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time." Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Investigators are waiting on autopsy results before submitting their evidence to the prosecutor for possible charges. The attorney for the Gilfedder family, Denise Reid Hoggard of Little Rock and Tony L. Wilcox and Chris A. Averitt of Jonesboro, allege that Lyon College and Huffman knew the baseball team was engaged in hazing new players like Gilfedder and had a right to protect those college students. Lyon College Student Found Dead, Family Suspects Foul Play, A student at Lyon College in Arkansas, 19-year-old. The autopsy for model Christy Giles is complete, but authorities are waiting for further testing to determine a cause and manner of death for the California model, whose lifeless body was dropped outside a Los Angeles hospital Saturday. Copyright 2022 KAIT. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. of Little Rock, and Wilcox & Averitt, PLC of Jonesboro. The person Gilfedder went to the party with said he fell asleep in the car on the way home from the party, court documents state. According to documents, James Gilfedder III, 19, was invited to an off-campus party Jan. 29, 2021, at a home in Batesville that was being rented by another baseball player. According to Chief Alan Cockrill with the Batesville Police Department, a 19-year-old Lyon College student was found dead in his dorm on Saturday, Jan. 30. And dont forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. All rights reserved. Giles husband Jan Cilliers believes the two women may have meet with foul play after looking through his wifes final text messages and finding the last text she sent was to Cabrales-Arzola around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, suggesting that they leave, according to KABC. Print Headline: Family sues in student's death, Copyright 2023, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. The resident assistant did not check on him again that night and found him dead the next day, according to the document. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. An autopsy showed that Gilfedder's blood alcohol content was .357% and that the cause of his death was acute alcohol intoxication. Journalist Hank Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The 27-page lawsuit says this is an action for injuries, conscious pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of life and wrongful death.. The documents allege the college and the coach were aware of the hazing of new teammates, including Gilfedder. A student at Lyon College in Arkansas, 19-year-old James Gilfedder, was found dead inside his dorm room on Saturday. A web design company. Yes, I think it was an initiation that went out of control, James said. "Somebody did something.. Nuwer, former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird, finished a stint as managing editor of the Celina Daily Standard to accept a new position as managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.