The Murder of Jeffrey Dryden: The Grim Truth Surrounding Male Domestic Abuse (11 page)

Chiquita’s aunt, the main bulk of her
support, gazing at Paula through the whole ordeal, gawking at her
as if her hurt was faked, as if her agony, her sadness was nothing
compared to the heartache her son had placed upon their minds by
the actions Chiquita alleged she was forced to take that
night.

It was sickening to see such hatred,
such disregard and malice directed at her by the family of Jeff’s
Killer. Appalling to see such rage misguided; unfocused from the
true culprit they were too unwilling, too ignorant to blame…
disgusting to see such hate burning with desires of malevolence
from those that would later call themselves, “Children of
God…,”

Sitting there with pen in hand, I
watched as Fizer, (Chiquita) entered the courtroom dressed in full
blue prison garb, her hands in cuffs, ankles in irons as she walked
towards her table, her head gazing only at her auntie and mother in
the front row.

Never once, did she look towards the
family of the true and only victim, never once did she allow
herself to gaze upon the tears of sadness and torment her actions
caused. Never once showed signs of remorse for the life she took
that early summer morning.

After a few seconds passed, the Public
Defender (hereinafter as Defense) made it an issue to request a few
tissues for the accused, as tears ran down the side of her
face.

“
Crying for whom I
wondered,” as I heard my family and friends sigh coarsely, the
anger they were feeling growing with mutual intent. “Crying for
Jeff… his family and friends, or crying for yourself,” I thought,
knowing that the answer was surly the latter, for those that abuse
and kill could never know the pain they force upon the family of
their victims. Never heed to think, nor wonder or care, nor deem to
know the pain of their infliction above their own.

PRELIMINARY TRIAL
BEGINS

The preliminary trial began at 110 in
the afternoon on August 19, 2010 at the city courthouse of Wyoming
Michigan, in the matter of The People vs. Chiquita Rena Fizer,
Judge Timmers presiding.

Prosecutions First
Witness:

Wyoming Police Officer Ross
Egan

Officer Egan stated that when he first
arrived on scene (Crossroads Apartment Complex) he saw one white
male on the ground appearing to be unconscious as one white female
was kneeling down towards him applying emergency medical treatment
to the left side neck of the male victim (Jeff). Officer Egan
stated that the scene appeared secure, and that from what he saw
right away it was a “bloodied mess” as he saw blood everywhere,
specifically on the doorway leading into the apartment complex, the
sidewalk, and the grass around the immediate area.

Officer Egan stated that there was
another female of African-American descent, standing a few feet
away from the victim in hysterics. On approach of this female he
stated that she had blood all over her clothing but that she did
not appear to be injured and that the blood on her did not appear
to be hers. Egan stated that the black female made a statement;
however, he was unsure if the statement was directed towards him or
a statement in general, the female stated, according the officer
Egan, “She had the knife, that they were fighting over it and the
knife fell.” Egan stayed with the victim, as the black female was
out of his sight for a few moments, until other officers arrived on
scene.

Officer Egan conveyed this information
to his commanding officer when he arrived a few minutes later on
site. Jeff was declared dead on scene while Egan was transporting
the accused to the Wyoming Police Station. The information of his
passing remained between the officers and medical techs; no one
else at that time was informed that the victim had
expired.

Cross Examination of Police
Officer Egan

“
When you first saw the
defendant, what was she wearing at that time?” the Defense asked.
“She was wearing a tank top and very short shorts.” Officer Egan
replied. “At any time, did you see her change her clothes or was
she wearing the same clothing when you transported her to the
Wyoming lockup?” The Defense asked. “I believe that she was wearing
the same clothing in lock up as she was when I first came upon the
scene,” Egan stated.

“
Was there any testing done
on her clothing at that time to see if the blood on her person was
hers or if it could have been someone else’s blood?” the Defense
asked. “At that time, no, not to my knowledge, though it may have
been done later on in the investigation, it was not done at that
time,” Egan stated.

“
Prior to transport, did
you talk with Mrs. Fizer, the Defendant at any time?” Defense
asked. “I talked with Fizer in the doorway, at that time she was
not under arrest so no notice of her Miranda warnings was needed as
the defendant gave the information to my questions freely.” He
stated. “What was her demeanor at that time?” The Defense asked.
“She was calm at times when it seemed to matter but then broke into
tears at other times; this went back and forth in the course of my
questioning her,” Egan Stated.

“
During the initial
questioning in the doorway, what did you ask?” “I asked the
defendant what had happened and she stated, ‘We got into a fight,
he was holding the knife, and we started fighting over a steak
knife and the knife slipped and Jeff was cut.” Officer Egan stated
to the court.

“
Now going back a bit,” the
Defense said, “where were you located when you first received the
call?” he asked. “I was at the Galewood Bar, located on the corner
of Burton and Godfrey.” Egan stated. “And what did you do when the
call came through your dispatch?” Defense asked. “I went all out
with flashers and sirens and arrived approximately 2-3 minutes
later.” He stated. “2 to 3 minutes later?” The Defense repeated his
question, “Yes sir, 2 to 3 minutes later, it was only about 3 to 4
miles away.” Egan stated.

“
Alright… now going back to
the time you took the Defendant into custody and was in the process
of transporting her to the Wyoming lock-up; did you question the
Defendant any further on the incident?” Defense asked. “Yes I did,”
Officer Egan said as he paused, continuing with his answer,
“Dispatch called back and informed me that the Defendant was
currently on probation for a prior domestic assault against the
victim less than 2 months prior and in that assault the defendant
had used a knife against him as well.” He stated, as members of my
family as well as some of Fizer’s supports gasped to the
enlightened statement.

“
Um…,” the Defense stated
as he quickly went back to his table, thumbing through his notes as
if surprised by Officers Egan statement. “Was…,” the defense
stumbled with his words, “Was she wearing a watch?” the Defense
asked, as Egan answered, “Unknown sir.” “I see,” the defense
stated, “and what was her demeanor when you arrived at the police
station?” Defense asked, “Still crying.”

“
Did she know that Jeff was
dead or at any time did you tell her?” Defense asked, “No, I did
not tell her what his status was and she never asked, though she
acted as if she already knew.” Officer Egan stated before being
told by the Defense that he had no further questions at that
time.

Prosecution 2nd
witness:

Detective Tim Pols, 12 years as a
detective for the Wyoming Police Department

Detective Pols received the initial
call about the stabbing a little after three that Sunday morning,
at that time he was not made aware of the status of the victim. His
first contact with the only suspect and witness of the stabbing
took place in a holding room with one other detective about an hour
later. Prior to that, he did not review the crime scene first hand
but instead, was informed of what the officers that arrived on
scene had observed, as well as other witness statements taken by
the neighbors that tried valiantly to save the young man’s
life.

Walking into the holding room that
morning was the first time, he gazed upon the only witness and
suspect of the murder. Introducing himself and the other detective
to Chiquita, he advised her of her Miranda Rights and had her
signed the statement stating that she understood and waived her
rights at that time.

In the course of the questioning, Fizer
told the detectives that her and Jeff were in a dating relationship
but that the relationship was not going well (perhaps sleeping with
other guys while Jeff was at work was to blame). On that night she
stated that, Jeff was over at his brothers and that she had gone
off to bed. Prior to that, she and Jeff were having a texting
argument between each other. This argument was over the fact that
she asked him to pick her up from her mother’s house, which Jeff
went to go get her.

However, after waiting in the driveway
for some time he discovered that she was not there, (she did not
tell the officers nor state where she was) but that Jeff was pissed
that he had gone over there for no reason after she had asked
him.

Fizer stated that once Jeff got home,
he immediately went to the bedroom and began fighting with her
accusing her of cheating, but that she pretended to be sleeping, as
she did not want to argue with him at that time. She stated that he
grabbed her private area, and then grabbed her cell phone and
walked out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. She followed him and
when she got into the kitchen, she stated that Jeff was holding a
steak knife that he got from the drawer in his left hand and her
cell phone in his right hand.

They argued some more until Jeff threw
her cell phone to the ground smashing it, but still kept the knife
in his hand. Fizer stated that Jeff did not assault her nor did she
feel threatened by him having the knife in his hand nor did he use
it in a threatening way. (No self-defense if one does not feel
threatened or their life in danger at the time of the alleged
occurrence) It was then that she went for the knife and according
to her, “We struggled over it with my hand on his wrists.” Fizer
stated that during some course of the struggle the knife “slipped”
and “he got cut.” During clarifying questions to try to figure out
how the knife slipped, Fizer could not answer those questions in a
light that was not unfavorable to her description of the
events.

When asked, “What happened after Jeff
was “cut,” Pols stated that Fizer told them that, “I guided him out
of the apartment, knocking on doors as they made their way outside
asking for people to call 911.” Furthermore, Fizer stated, “Jeff at
that time took his cellphone from his pocket, gave it to me, and
told me to call 911, which I did.” However, it was reported by Pols
that several neighbors before then had already called 911 about the
incident. Additionally, when one takes into account the damage
inflicted upon his neck and throat by the knife, the possibility
that Jeff was even able to speak is questionable.

Fizer told Detective Pols, that she was
unsure where the knife was after the stabbing occurred. The initial
interview took approximately 30 minutes from the time she signed
her acknowledgement and subsequent waiver of Miranda until the time
of the clarification questions about how the knife slipped, it was
only after these questions were asked that Fizer invoked her right
to stop answering questions.

It was at that time the Prosecution
entered into evidence the 911 call made by Fizer on the night in
question. The Prosecution then played the tape before the court. In
the tape, you can clearly hear Fizer state, “He went crazy… I had
the knife, he grabbed it and it slipped.” The cellphone was then
taken away from her by what was presumed to be a male neighbor who
began to tell the dispatcher what was going on.

Interestingly enough, on the tape,
Fizer is screaming into the receiver at times, but when she speaks
about Jeff going “Crazy” and that “the knife slipped,” her voice is
very clear and direct. Whether or not this means anything is really
a matter of personal opinion though it does go along with officers
Egan testimony about how Fizer, when asked questions seemed to be,
“calm at times when it seemed to matter but then broke into tears
at other times.” That said however, the purpose of the tape being
entered into evidence was to discredit the previous statements
Fizer made to Detective Pols, by using her own words as a witness
against her, when she originally stated that Jeff had the knife
through the entire altercation.

When asked to continue by the
Prosecution, Pols said that after the initial interview with the
suspect, he reviewed the 911 calls, the crime scene photos; spoke
with the officers on site, and the neighbors that witnessed parts
of the incident. “I also made the death notice to the family of the
victim, informing his mother of the possible murderer of her son,”
he said, pausing for a brief moment before continuing. “Afterwards
I was ready for a second interview with the suspect, Chiquita
Fizer.”

According to Pols, Miranda was still in
place and she was made aware of this. He stated that when he
entered into the holding room this time he noticed that her
character had changed from the previous interview. “Fizer’s
demeanor was clam, calculating and she answered her statements to
our questions in ‘matter of fact’ way,” he stated.

“
When I informed her about
the 911 call and told her the statement that she made about her
having the knife, she said, ‘that’s a lie, I never said that at any
time.” Pols looked her dead in the eyes, and told her once more,
“The 911 call you made, clearly has you stating that you had the
knife and that Jeff went for it not you,” he said, only to hear her
again state that she never said she had the knife. It was only then
that her demeanor changed yet again, this time becoming flustered,
she refused to talk about the incident any further, Pols
stated.