An evil killer will likely die behind bars after being convicted of brutally murdering his California artist girlfriend and dragging her back inside their apartment as she fought to escape after a date night.
After a two-week trial, an Alameda County jury found 30-year-old Victor “Frito” Frieson III guilty of murder and torture Monday for the killing of ceramic artist and poet Zoe Reidy Watts, according to the Mercury News.
Prosecutors said the fatal attack unfolded after the couple returned to Frieson’s Oakland apartment following a date at Johnny Foley’s Irish House in San Francisco on March 1, 2024.
The pair had posted videos from the outing to an Instagram account where they occasionally shared restaurant reviews and other content.
Investigators later used those videos to establish the timeline, noting Reidy Watts showed no visible bruises or cuts before the couple left the restaurant.
They rode Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) back to Frieson’s apartment at 185 15th St. in Oakland, arriving around 10:45 p.m.
Surveillance footage showed Reidy Watts “was walking but was clearly struggling to maintain her balance, at one point falling sideways into the street,” according to court filings.
Prosecutors said Frieson attacked her around midnight on March 1 or shortly before midnight the following night, leaving her covered in bruises, multiple cuts and a gash to her neck.
During the assault, Reidy Watts tried to escape the apartment, but surveillance video captured her final moments as she staggered outside naked and badly injured before collapsing just beyond the doorway, according to court records.
The footage then showed Frieson dragging her back inside by the arm and shutting the door.
At his trial, Frieson testified in his own defense. His lawyers admitted he committed domestic violence against Reidy Watts but argued he was not guilty of murder or torture.
After the attack, prosecutors said Frieson went to a neighbor’s apartment, said he needed help and led the neighbor to Reidy Watts’ body while implying he did not know how she had died. Prosecutors also argued he cleaned the apartment before seeking help, calling it another sign of guilt.
Jurors also heard that Frieson had assaulted previous romantic partners and that Reidy Watts had tried to get protection from him just months before her death.
The couple met in 2023 while Reidy Watts was a student at San Francisco State University and living in her grandparents’ apartment on Turk Street in San Francisco.
At the time, she was building a name for herself as a visual and performing artist, working as a ceramicist, clothing designer and arts instructor.
Deputy District Attorney Nick Homer wrote in court filings that friends and family started noticing injuries on Reidy Watts soon after she began dating Frieson.
Just six weeks before the killing, she filed a domestic violence report with Oakland police. Homer wrote officers documented “two black eyes, and her legs were covered in deep bruises.”
Frieson’s sentencing is tentatively set for mid-September.