'A cold, calculated intent': Haunting video proves local artist was tortured to death in Oakland, DA says

"OAKLAND - A surveillance camera positioned outside apartment number four at 185 15th Street captured Zoe Reidy-Watts' last known act - a final attempt to escape a violent death. The haunting footage, described in court filings, depicts the seriously injured 25-year-old artist lying near the front door, "barely moving" but still alive. A few moments later, a naked man, identified as 29-year-old Victor "Frito" Frieson III, emerges from the unit and drags her back inside. It was about 12:30 a.m. on March 1, 2024."

"Six hours later, police were called to the apartment for a report of a suspicious death; the officer who responded placed Frieson in handcuffs almost immediately, and prosecutors charged him with murder after a cursory view of the evidence. The footage, obtained by police days later, has now been cited by the Alameda County District Attorney to justify a new, additional charge before his trial begins next year: torture."

"Frieson's neighbor testified at the December 2024 preliminary hearing that Frieson introduced her as his girlfriend, and that the two had a "normal" but sometimes volatile relationship that included Frieson remarking he would "beat her (expletive)" over about $10 of marijuana. "I was trying to console him and say, 'Hey, let that go. Humble yourself. It's only weed. You know, it's not worth all of that,'" Frieson's neighbor testified. "And he said, 'You know what, Green? You're right.'""

A surveillance camera outside apartment 4 at 185 15th Street captured Zoe Reidy-Watts lying near the front door, 'barely moving', before a naked Victor 'Frito' Frieson III dragged her back inside at about 12:30 a.m. on March 1, 2024. Police responded six hours later and detained Frieson, who was charged with murder after an initial evidence review. Prosecutors later cited the footage to add a torture charge. Reidy-Watts was a 25-year-old visual artist and poet. Witnesses described an on-again, off-again relationship that could be volatile, and testimony noted prior accusations of sexual assault and domestic violence by Frieson.

Read at The Mercury News