Darrell Frederick was sentenced to death by the State of Oklahoma for the murder of his mother
According to court documents Darrell Frederick would beat his mother to death with a brick. The victim was a 85 year old woman who was deaf and mute
Darrell Frederick would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Darrell Frederick is incarcerated at Oklahoma State Penitentiary
Darrell Frederick Case
On March 26, 2011, between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., Da’Jon Diggs arrived at the home of her grandmother, Connie Frederick (hereinafter referred to as the deceased). The deceased was 85 years old and had been deaf and mute her entire life. She lived in the same house in northeast Oklahoma City in which she had raised six children. Ms. Diggs attended college in another city but frequently stopped by to check on the deceased. Ms. Diggs, like much of her family, communicated with the deceased through sign language. Also living at the deceased’s home at the time was Appellant, her fifty-five (55) year old son. He had been living with the deceased since his release from prison in 2009.
¶ 3 Ms. Diggs entered the home to find Appellant and the deceased “fussing” in the kitchen. Ms. Diggs later explained that despite being mute for speech purposes, the deceased could still make some sounds and was “yelling” at Appellant through guttural noises and sign language involving exaggerated movements with her hands. Ms. Diggs saw Appellant aggressively grab food out of the deceased’s hands. Appellant called the deceased a “bitch” and told her to get out of the kitchen. He then shoved her against the kitchen counter. Ms. Diggs intervened and took the deceased to her bedroom, where she was able to calm her.
¶ 4 Meanwhile, Appellant had retreated to his own bedroom. When Ms. Diggs returned to the kitchen to get the deceased a drink of water, Appellant appeared and told her not to take anything to the deceased. Ms. Diggs ignored this warning and took something to eat and drink to the deceased. The deceased wanted juice instead of water and tried to go to the kitchen. However, Appellant prevented her from entering the kitchen. Ms. Diggs then volunteered to go to the store for some juice.
¶ 5 While out of the house, Ms. Diggs phoned both her mother, who lived out of state, and her uncle, Tobias Frederick, to discuss her frustrations with Appellant. Both were the deceased’s children and Tobias Frederick was an Oklahoma City Police Officer. Ms. Diggs told both her mother and her uncle that she was afraid Appellant would seriously hurt her or the deceased. When Ms. Diggs returned to the house, she heard Appellant answer the phone. Ms. Diggs was able to determine that it was her uncle Tobias that had called. He told Appellant that he had to leave the deceased’s home and find another place to live. Appellant replied angrily, “man, I ain’t got time for this” and hung up the phone. Ms. Diggs could hear Appellant yelling into the phone. Ms. Diggs headed for the deceased’s bedroom and told her to stay in the bedroom no matter what happened. Ms. Diggs then shut the bedroom door.
¶ 6 Ms. Diggs headed into another room to retrieve her phone and call police when Appellant charged at her yelling, “oh, you have a problem with me too? I’ll take you bitch.” Appellant attacked Ms. Diggs, shoving her against the wall. The struggle moved from room to room with Diggs attempting to defend herself. Eventually, she was able to push Appellant off of her, causing him to stumble and she ran out of the house. Appellant chased after her.
¶ 7 Outside, neighborhood kids were playing. Seeing Appellant chase after Ms. Diggs, they shouted at her that Appellant had a brick or rock in his hand. Appellant chased Ms. Diggs around the yard, waving the brick or rock at her. Ms. Diggs ran to the neighbor’s home and borrowed a phone to call the police. Appellant, who was dressed only in pajama pants, shouted at the neighborhood children and ran inside the house. He returned a few minutes later, fully dressed. By the time police arrived, Appellant had run around the back of the house. Bystanders heard the rattle of a chain link fence and Appellant was not seen or heard from the rest of the day.
¶ 8 Ms. Diggs followed police into the deceased’s home. They found the deceased lying face down on the floor in her bedroom. The deceased had severe bruising and swelling on both sides of her head to the extent that one eye was nearly swollen shut. When asked who injured her, the deceased signed the letter “D” which she used to identify Appellant. The deceased was taken to the hospital. Once there, she was immediately operated on to reduce the pressure in her brain. She had developed a significant subdural hematoma on the left side of her skull. The deceased survived the surgery but never regained consciousness. She passed away two to three weeks later. The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head.
¶ 9 Appellant was located a day after the deceased’s beating. He was found walking along the street approximately three blocks from the deceased’s home. When approached by police, he initially gave a false name but soon admitted his identity. His right hand was significantly swollen and his right finger was cut and bleeding. There was blood on his clothes. Bloodstains were also found in his bedroom at the decedent’s home. Further facts will be set forth as necessary
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ok-court-of-criminal-appeals/1862949.html
