James and Nikki Gilfedder, the parents of the victim, spoke in an interview with KATV that aired on Thursday night. 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. 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. A student at Lyon College in Arkansas, 19-year-old James Gilfedder, was found dead inside his dorm room on Saturday. 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." . 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. 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. Just after 12:30 pm Saturday afternoon, he was found unresponsive in his dorm room and later pronounced dead. Free Phone Consultation 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. James Gilfedder, 19, of Lyon College in Arkansas was found dead in his dorm room from alcohol intoxication. 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of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The suit alleges Gilfedders death could have been part of a hazing on the night in question (Jan. 30, 2021), causing him to drink a massive amount of alcohol in a very short period of time, the suit said. Investigators noted that the social gathering took place at a residence on Boles Street owned by Huffmania Ventures, LLC which was co-owned by one of the baseball coaches. For COVID-19 information from the Arkansas Department of Health,click here. 2023 Hank Nuwer Unofficial Hazing Clearinghouse. Learn how your comment data is processed. Somebody killed him. Now the family is left with just their memories, anger and so many questions. On Saturday, around 12:30 p.m., a friend went to check on Gilfedder, but found him dead in the same spot he was left. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. For information from local physicians about COVID-19 vaccines,click here. Police in Batesville have now released the name of the person found dead in a dorm room at Lyon College this weekend. The home is believed. The documents say the college and the coach were aware of the hazing of new teammates, including Gilfedder. An hour and a half later, it was determined that Gilfedder was unresponsive and he was blue and purple in color, so students notified the resident assistant, the documents state. 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. The family said that Rainwater Holt & Sexton to are set to represent them. Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_6) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/15.5 Safari/605.1.15, Cedar Ridge to face Earle after win over Ozark Mountain; Pink Out tonight, Flood warning issued until late Monday for Independence County. The reality star, 42, cracked up as she joined departing . Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from theFirst Community BankNewsroom onArkansas 103.3. Gilfedder died in early 2021 after he was found dead in his dorm room. 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. Here's the list! James "Big Country Gilfedder" played for Yucaipa HS his senior year, 2020. The documents do not specify a quantity or a time frame of the incident in question. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! A medicolegal autopsy differs from a hospital autopsy. The lawsuit said the 27-page filing was an action for injuries suffered, conscious pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of life, and wrongful death. The documents say the college and the coach were aware of the hazing of new teammates, including Gilfedder. A web design company. I mean he wasnt innocent, but that wouldnt have killed him. More information has been released in the death of a Lyon College student found over the weekend on campus. 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. Sunday's cornhole tournament was all about celebrating his life and raising funds for the family. A college degree doesn't need to drain your finances. The bruised body of James Gilfedder is undergoing an autopsy at this time while his teammates continue to play. The move is a sort-of coming home for us, said Nuwer. LITTLE ROCK (KATV) 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. I feel like I participated in his murder because I brought him here, James said. Lyon College declined to comment Friday, citing pending litigation. Has your state launched one yet? When reached for comment, Lyon College officials referred to its statement from January 2021 from then-President W. Joseph King about the situation. Cabrales-Arzola allegedly responded Yes. Somebody killed him," Nikki Gilfedder told the Little Rock TV station. In Arkansas, it is the public policy to protect minors as a special class of citizens from the adverse consequences of alcohol consumption, the lawsuit says. Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill said the. 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. Therefore, a person or entity can be held liable for providing alcohol to a minor for damages sustained by the intoxicated minor.. He was born in Palm Springs, California on July 19, 2001 to parents James II and Nicole Gilfedder. The suit does not cite a specific monetary figure. Oct. 1, 2021 - Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department is enforcing strict health protocols to . The Gilfedder family is also asking Lyon, Huffman and Huffmania Ventures to respond to the lawsuit within 30 days. To find out more about the aforementioned records, call the California Department of Public health at 916-445-2684. An autopsy showed Gilfedder's blood alcohol content was 0.357% and that the cause of his death was acute alcohol intoxication. If you have yet to be immunized against COVID-19, White River Now urges you to talk to your trusted local physician or pharmacist about the COVID-19 vaccine. Batesville police told KATVs content partner KAIT Region 8 News, that student-athletes were interviewed and there are three persons of interest. All rights reserved. Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill said an autopsy showed Gilfedder died of severe alcohol intoxication and that the. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. Hank Nuwer Unofficial Hazing Clearinghouse, U.S. Hazing Deaths Database Part 1: 1838-1999, Hank Nuwer Author Page; Hazing Deaths Database. were dropped at separate Los Angeles hospitals two hours apart. 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. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. Gilfedder died in early 2021 after he was found dead in his dorm room. The resident assistant said Gilfedder was found "very intoxicated" and wandering the campus, so he was brought back to his room, the document states. The family believes that Gilfedders death is the result of a hazing event that went wrong. An autopsy showed that Gilfedder's blood alcohol content was .357% and that the cause of his death was acute alcohol intoxication. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed to People that the case is . Students reportedly checked on Gilfedder twice the next morning, at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., and said they observed him on the floor and believed he was asleep, according to the court filing. Due to an ongoing police investigation, an autopsy and pending toxicology report, there is not yet an official cause of death. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. went to a party with the schools baseball team prior to his death. Hot Springs police respond to shots fired, one injured, A look at what bills could become laws in Arkansas next week, Your Arkansas weather forecast from THV11, School bus crash causes traffic delays on I-630, Two arrested in connection to Lonoke County homicide, Man killed after shooting incident on Arkansas Highway 367, police say, Little Rock residents say 911 dispatch is too slow at answering emergency calls. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. All rights reserved. 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. 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. And the witnesses that havent spoke up, I suggest you speak because I dont want to see you guys in prison, Gilfedder said. After attending the party, where he consumed alcoholic beverages, he was found deceased, lying on the floor in his dorm room. Found deceased was 19-year-old James Gilfedder III of Yucaipa, Cal., a freshman on the Lyon College baseball team. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Investigators say they have identified three persons of interest, but there were no signs of foul play at the scene. (NWA Media). (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal). Its a secret and these kids are being told to keep quiet. 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.