Four years have passed since the sudden death of Freddie McKee. Since then, his mother has worked restlessly, conducting her own investigation to find out what happened after two conflicting toxicology reports contradict everything she knows about her son.
Suggested Reading
As The Root previously reported, around 2:45 a.m. on July 8, 2020, a neighbor called authorities to report a shirtless man in her trash who said he was looking for his phone. Around 6 a.m, police received another call but from Freddie Gardner, McKeeโs father, reporting that his son was dead on his front porch.
Now, Freddieโs mother, Doressia McKee, is suing the Columbia Police Department for racial discrimination after she says they didnโt fully investigate her sonโs manner of death. Instead, she says they wrote him off as just another statistic: a drug addict.
Hereโs what we know.
What the Autopsy Found...
University of Missouri Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Stacyโs handwritten autopsy notes cite several abrasions (a superficial rub or wearing off of the skin), contusions (ruptured bruises), and scars on Freddieโs back and the back of his legs.
McKee believes, based on the reports, that there was a struggle preceding her sonโs death and that McKeeโs body was moved or in motion before the police arrived. The Root reviewed both an EMS and police report that confirms his arm was raised off the ground when authorities arrived on the scene. A paramedic wrote they attempted to move the arm but confirmed Freddieโs body was in rigor mortis.
The Original Toxicology Report
A July 26, 2020, toxicology report shows Freddieโs blood tested positive for caffeine, olanzapine (used to treat psychotic disorders) and Celexa/Lexapro (used to treat depression). His mother tells The Root she received a call from Detective Steve Wilmoth in August 2020 claiming he was given the name of another drug found in her sonโs system and alleged Freddie, a business owner and Black history buff, died of an overdose.
โMy son ainโt never been no addict. Please, if I knew about any of that, I would be sitting at the rehabilitation [center] with my son making sure he would overcome whatever kind of issue,โ Ms. McKee told The Root. Freddieโs medical records show no evidence of drug abuse.
McKee described Freddie as kind and non-confrontational. She admits he may have mixed with a bad crowd when he was younger, but did not fit the profile of what the cops were trying to push. She insisted Freddie did smoke marijuana, but โnever raised his voice, never cursed, never talked back โ heโs always been a good kid.โ
The Contradicting Second Toxicology Report...
Per McKee, not only did Wilmoth not specify how he identified the cause of death prematurely, but a letter Dr. Stacy filed to a judge that August claimed the cause of death was still โpending.โ
McKee said a second toxicology report was mysteriously issued despite never being contacted by the medical examiner about the retesting of her sonโs blood. The second โcorrectedโ report, obtained by The Root, detailed extensively the evidence of injury from the original autopsy.
Dr. Stacy concluded Freddieโs official cause of death was an โaccident caused by eutylone toxicity.โ Another toxicology report, nearly identical to the first, included a new compound listed as a โspecial request findingโ which Freddie tested positive for: eutylone, a stimulant similar to Bath Salts. Who exactly requested the new test is unclear.
She called out the police who deemed her โa liarโ who โknew about my sonโs drug abuse.โ She added: โHow do you come to a death scene and you know already, on that day, that my son is an addict? Where did you get that information from?โ
Overdose? Or Exaggeration?
According to the report, Freddie tested positive for 5500 ng/ml of eutylone. However, his autopsy noted all of his internal organs were โunremarkableโ or absent of any damage. His heart, specifically, had no flaws.
โI didnโt read anything about anything about his nose, like if he was snorting. They took his brain out and everything. So, for them to come back and for everything to be โunremarkableโ then how the hell are the police going to say that he had a history [of drug abuse]?โ said McKee.
What Does the Death Investigator Have to Say?
The Root asked Boone/Callaway County Medical Examinerโs Office death investigator Stacey Huck about an โexpanded panelโ in cases like Freddieโs. He revealed that the test may run if the first test includes an โout of scopeโ finding. Expanded panels are where synthetic substances specifically are tested.
When asked to detail the amount of eutylone found, Huck couldnโt explain exactly what the results meant but said it implies a โreally high number.โ Despite the scientific findings, McKee wasnโt convinced and pushed to find her own answers.
And Outside Experts?...
The Root reached out to an expert to review the two autopsies. They also compared the findings to a globally known police brutality case that brought forth the same concerns.
What they had to say in Part 2 may surprise you...
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.