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. While still waiting for the autopsy results, Gilfedder's family suspects his death is the result of a hazing event gone wrong. (877) WASH-DC-1, Free Phone Consultation Various underage baseball and softball players were present and drinking alcohol at the party, and Gilfedder became visibly intoxicated after being supplied with alcohol, which the coach witnessed, the filing states. The court filing noted that the Gilfedder family is represented by two law firms: Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, P.A. Lyon College, coach accused of negligence in 21 incident, The Lyon Building on the Lyon College campus in Batesville is shown in this December 2005 file photo. were dropped at separate Los Angeles hospitals two hours apart. 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. 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. The family of James Gilfedder III filed suit Thursday, Jan. 27 in Independence County Circuit Court against Lyon College, Huffmania Ventures, LLC, Jacob Huffman (a pitching coach at Lyon College), five John Doe Insurance Companies and 10 John Does in the case. Email White River Now atnews@whiterivernow.com. 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. These boys are out here playing baseball. The house was being rented by other members of the baseball team. 19-year-old James Gilfedder of California was attending Lyon College to play first base on the men's baseball team. Please read our Terms of Use or contact us. Therefore, a person or entity can be held liable for providing alcohol to a minor for damages sustained by the intoxicated minor.. 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. Authorities say they conducted multiple interviews with student-athletes at Lyon College, it was determined the victim had attended an off-campus party where drinking was involved the evening before he was found deceased. Gilfedder, a freshman student-athlete at Lyon College, was found dead in his dorm room earlier this year. The family said they havent received many answers. James Gilfedder, 19, of California was found unresponsive on Saturday around 12:38 p.m. according to Cockrill's statement. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. A web design company. Somebody hurt him. The documents do not specify a quantity or a time frame of the incident in question. As a journalist, hes written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Lyon College said Friday that the institution cannot comment on pending litigation. Found deceased was 19-year-old James Gilfedder III of Yucaipa, Cal., a freshman on the Lyon College baseball team. The resident assistant said Gilfedder was found "very intoxicated" and wandering the campus, so he was brought back to his room, the document states. Here are 67 side hustles perfect for hard-working college students with tight student budgets! All rights reserved. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Its a secret and these kids are being told to keep quiet. The resident assistant did not check on him again that night and found him dead the next day, according to the document. 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. He had a lot of trauma on his face and all over his body and we knew that there was a different story, James said. Gilfedder was a freshman at the. Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill said an autopsy showed Gilfedder died of severe alcohol intoxication and that the death was ruled as accidental. James "Big Country Gilfedder" played for Yucaipa HS his senior year, 2020. The home is believed to have been partially owned by Lyon College's baseball coach Jacob Huffman, documents state. "Somebody did something. On January 30th, 2021, while attending Lyon College (Bastesville, Arkansas) we learned of his tragic death. 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. A 19-year-old Lyon College student was found dead in his dorm on Saturday, Jan. 30, according to police. The two friends had reportedly gone to a warehouse party in Los Angeles on Friday night when Cabrales-Arzola met a guy, who invited her to an after party in the Hollywood Hills, 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, 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. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Lyon College has not responded for comment yet. . The family believes that Gilfedders death is the result of a hazing event that went wrong. Gilfedder, a freshman student-athlete at Lyon College, was found dead in his dorm room earlier this year. Somebody killed him," Nikki Gilfedder, James' mother, said. 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. Region 8 News will have more details as they become available. Mystery continues to surround the model and aspiring actress death after the 24-year-old and her designer friend, Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26. Ive lost so much sleep. An hour and a half later, it was determined that Gilfedder was unresponsive and students notified the resident assistant, the documents state. Cilliers said their iCloud account shows that no further messages were sent or checked from Giles phone. Print Headline: Family sues in student's 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. A 19-year-old Lyon College student was found dead in his dorm on Saturday, Jan. 30, according to police. Looking for James Gilfedder online? While still waiting for the autopsy results, Gilfedders family suspects his death is the result of a hazing event gone wrong. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. 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. TCU Fraternity on Probation After Investigation Into Car Crash. Material from the Associated Press is Copyright 2023, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He died in a dorm. Gilfedder was a freshman at the. James Aaron Gilfedder III, 19, of Batesville, Arkansas, formerly Yucaipa, California, passed away on January 30, 2021. I am deeply saddened to share that this morning, one of our students passed away. 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. BATESVILLE, Ark. . Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. (NWA Media). They dont have one person in jail right now. Im just sick to my stomach. Batesville police told KATVs content partner KAIT Region 8 News, that student-athletes were interviewed and there are three persons of interest. Choosing a college major is always tricky so which of the most expensive college majors are actually worth the investment? Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from theFirst Community BankNewsroom onArkansas 103.3. The third death, unconfirmed as a hazing but under review as toxicology reports are underway, involves the alcohol-related death of James Gilfedder, a baseball player at Lyon College in. He was born in Palm Springs, California on July 19, 2001 to parents James II and Nicole Gilfedder. Police say three people of interest have been developed, after interviews were conducted by police on student athletes at Lyon College. Here's the list! After attending the party, where he consumed alcoholic beverages, he was found deceased, lying on the floor in his dorm room. A student at Lyon College in Arkansas, 19-year-old James Gilfedder, was found dead inside his dorm room on Saturday. (877) WASH-DC-1. All rights reserved. He said the family is waiting on a death certificate before they can bring their sons remains home with them to California. I feel like I participated in his murder because I brought him here, James said. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. Various underage baseball and softball players were present and drinking alcohol at the party, and Gilfedder became visibly intoxicated after being supplied with alcohol, which the coach witnessed, the filing states. Region 8 News reached out to Lyon College for comment about the lawsuit. 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. Get the latest news about higher education in the US straight to your inbox. KATV asked James if he believed it was a hazing event. Gilfedder (pictured below) was a freshman baseball player at Lyon College. 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. When reached for comment, Lyon College officials referred to its statement from January 2021 from then-President W. Joseph King about the situation. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Gilfedder naming as defendants: Lyon College; the property owner where the party was held, Huffmania Ventures, LLC; the baseball pitching coach at Lyon College and alleged part-owner of the company who owned the house where the party was held, Jacob Huffman; five John Doe insurance companies; and 10 John Does in the case. 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. The documents say the college and the coach were aware of the hazing of new teammates, including Gilfedder. LITTLE ROCK (KATV) The Batesville Police Department has identified a Lyon College student that was found dead in his dorm room over the weekend. 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. The house was being rented by other members of the baseball team. 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. We were hoping because it was a dry county, no alcohol, that things were going to be good, Nikki said. According to the family, Giles lifeless body was dropped at a Southern California Hospital nearly 12 hours later by men seen in a video concealing their identities and driving a vehicle with no license plate. The resident assistant claimed they found him very intoxicated and wandering the campus, so they brought him back to his room, the document states. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! When the family arrived in Arkansas from California, they said the pieces didnt all match up. Cockrill said the teen was pronounced dead at the scene. 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. The resident assistant said Gilfedder was found "very intoxicated" and wandering the campus, so he was brought back to his room, the document states. Ill call an Uber. 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. He only drank a fifth of vodka that would not kill my son, Nikki said. Who can say no to quick money? Found deceased was 19-year-old James Gilfedder III of Yucaipa, Cal., a freshman on the Lyon College baseball team. 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. 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. James was raised in Yucaipa and graduated from Yucaipa High School in 2020. Investigators say they have identified three persons of interest, but there were no signs of foul play at the scene. Batesville Police Chief Alan Cockrill said an autopsy showed Gilfedder died of severe alcohol intoxication and that the. Stone Foltz, 20, of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, died after drinking. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. However, no proof of foul play has been confirmed as of now, since Batesville police and Lyon College have not released any new information. I havent been able to sleep. Students claim they left Gilfedder passed out on the floor of his Lyon College dorm room around 2 a.m. Jan. 30, 2021. 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. 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. 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. The documents do not specify a quantity or a time frame of the incident in question. Batesville police say he had last attended an off-campus party at a home rented by a few of his teammates. Copyright 2022 KAIT. Have a news tip or event to promote? Somebody did something.

Lawrenceville, Georgia Obituaries, Where To Donate Books In Sydney, Articles J