THOMASVILLE- Torrii Fedrick was found guilty by a jury of her peers on Thursday morning for the poisoning and ultimate death of her husband, Phil Fedrick in 2021. She was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Gregory Voyles to life with the possibility of parole for the charge of malice murder. Her other charges, felony murder and aggravated assault will be served together as part of her life sentence. 

Torrii was accused of serving Phil a cocktail laced with antifreeze, resulting in his untimely death at only 40 years old. 

On Wednesday, the defense argued Torrii was not responsible for the death of Phil, that his death was the unfortunate result of a suicide he had attempted. 

Torrii’s and Phil’s children both testified on their mother’s behalf, recanting previous statements made to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge Zach Johnson about their mother’s involvement in the incident. 

Eldest daughter Phil’Nesia Fedrick, 20, took the stand first, sharing details about the days leading up to her father’s death. 

Phil’Nesia told the courtroom that she, her brother, Phil Jr., and her father had attended the Thomas County Central vs. Thomasville football game on Friday night before they drove straight home. On Saturday afternoon, Phil went to work at Flowers Bakery, before returning home, but began to feel unwell on Sunday. 

Phil’Nesia said her father stayed in his bedroom all morning, before eventually coming out to share a Sunday lunch made by her mother. The family all ate the same meal. However, her father ate the meal in his room, claiming he was feeling unwell. He also did not drink the pineapple lemonade Torrii had specially made, instead drinking a canned Pepsi, something the State would later question. 

After being in his room for quite some time, Phil came out to speak with Phil’Nesia and Phil Jr. sharing how proud he was of them. Phil’Nesia would soon be graduating and Phil Jr. was entering high school. Phil’Nesia said this was not unusual to receive such compliments from her dad, but this particular speech felt different, causing her to record her father’s last conversation with her. 

After the conversation, Phil’Nesia said her father re-entered his bedroom and did not exit for the rest of the night. The next time Phil’Nesia saw her father was Monday morning, when he was face down in the bathtub, unconscious. 

District Attorney Brad Shealy told Phil’Nesia he was sorry for her loss, but wanted to revisit some of the statements she just provided the court. He explained to the court that Phil’Nesia had called the GBI nearly one year after her father’s passing, asking to speak with ASAC Johnson to provide additional details. 

During her interview with Johnson, Phil’Nesia told them she had lied about her dad being sick on Sunday, that he was actually fine; he was just hoarse from screaming during Friday night’s game and did not even “seem or look sick.” 

Shealy asked Phil’Nesia if she recalled saying that to ASAC Johnson, but Phil’Nesia said she could not recall that conversation, nor did she ever remember asking to speak to ASAC Johnson about her father’s case. She also claimed not to be a doctor, saying no one “looks sick,” so there was no way to know if her father was sick or not. 

Shealy had no further questions for Phil’Nesia, with her brother Phil Jr. then taking the stand. 

Phil Jr. confirmed to the courtroom he attended the game with Phil’Nesia and his father on Friday night, and his dad went to work on Saturday. He also recalled his dad feeling unwell most of the day on Sunday and spending the entire day in his room, beyond coming out for the Sunday meal and conversation with him and his sister. 

However, Phil Jr. had a different recollection of events of the night his father became seriously ill. 

Despite his dad being sick, Phil Jr. had a long tradition of watching fights with his dad, and he didn’t want that Sunday night to be any different. He told the court he went into his dad’s bedroom and watched the Jake Paul fight until midnight. While in the room, his dad became extremely unwell and woozy, but Phil Jr. believed his dad may have COVID-19 and didn’t think more of it until the following morning, when he helped Torrii get his dad back into bed after finding him face down in the bathtub without clothing. 

Shealy, again, apologized for Phil Jr. having to find his father like that, saying he knew this was tough, but asked about a cocktail he revealed he saw his mother give to Phil. 

In an earlier interview, Phil Jr. had told ASAC Johnson he saw his mother make what she claimed to be a cocktail in a water sports bottle he had never seen before. She gave the drink to Phil on the bedside table, which he drank while watching the fight. 

Shealy asked Phil Jr. if he recalled this conversation, which is when Phil Jr. began to fidget on the stand. Phil Jr. said at the time he was just a kid and mad at his mother for dating someone new only eight months after his dad had passed away, so he said what the GBI would want to hear. He told Shealy on the stand that he never actually saw his mother make a cocktail, and if she did, then why did the GBI never find the water bottle, he questioned. 

Shealy found this to be preposterous, asking Phil Jr. how old he was at the time. Phil Jr. was 14 at the time of his father’s death, so Shealy then asked how a 14-year-old knew what a GBI agent wanted to hear, especially considering Phil Jr. asked them how his father died. 

Phil Jr. told Shealy it wasn’t “rocket science; he just knew.” 

Phil Jr. was reminded he was under oath, but he insisted he was telling the truth now. 

With that, he was dismissed from the stand, and ASAC Johnson re-took the stand. 

Johnson affirmed he had regular contact with Phil’s family during the course of the year-long investigation. During one of those conversations, Phil’Nesia asked Johnson to come meet with her at Kennesaw State University, she had details she needed to provide in person. During that in-person interview, she shared she had a conversation with her brother, and Johnson should interview him, telling Phil Jr. that she said it was “okay.” 

Johnson said he followed up on the lead, speaking with Phil Jr. the following day, where he learned about the cocktail. Phil Jr. said his mother went to the store, where she bought a mixture of items. Johnson told the courtroom, investigators found receipts with items including Robitussin, Vitamin C, and orange juice, but no antifreeze. 

Failure to locate the antifreeze or the supposed cocktail left the state with only circumstantial evidence. Torrii’s attorney, Karla Walker said this circumstantial evidence was not enough of a burden of proof, asking for a full acquittal of her client. 

Voyles disagreed, leaving the jury to decide Torri’s fate. 

As both sides closed their arguments, Walker told the jury that Phil was a hard-working, family man, who was proud of his children. Despite this, he was a sick man, who sometimes pressed on in adversity. He was afraid of doctors, resulting in him not seeking treatment for his common cold and possible suicidal thoughts. Walker told the jury that Phil was closed up in the room all alone and no one beyond Phil knew what happened in that room. 

“He was isolated and wearing a mask,” Walker said. “He only came out to have a special conversation with his children.” 

Walker concluded Phil ingested antifreeze as a way to take his own life away from his family, asking the jury to see it for what it was and find her client not guilty. 

However, the state’s closing argument painted a different picture. 

Shealy claimed “Poison is the only way for a weaker person to kill a stronger person,” and that is what Torrii did. 

Shealy asked the jury to consider if Phil had tried to commit suicide, why would he have gotten undressed and been found unconscious face down in the bathtub with no water, and more than that why didn’t Torrii want an investigation done when he was rushed to the ER after he was found that way. 

After staying until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and returning on Thursday morning to deliberate, the jury ultimately found Torrii guilty of poisoning her husband.