Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Furious Father Freaks Over Daughter's Murder: 'You Woke Up a Beast!'

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

Logan Federico, 22, was shot and killed during a burglary in Columbia, South Carolina in May. A man labeled a career criminal, Alexander Dickey, is charged with. murdering Logan during a crime spree. Logan's father, Steve Federico, testified passionately in front of the U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee earlier this week about failures in the criminal justice system and became angry when Rep. Deborah Ross confused Logan for murder victim, Iryna Zarutska. The Ukrainian refugee was murdered in August in Charlotte on a train. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talks with Steve Federico in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Steve FedericoProducer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. You woke up a beast and you pissed off the wrong daddy. A grieving father lets lawmakers know just how angry he is after his daughter's senseless murder during a burglary. It's all she ever wanted to do was visit friends. And she literally was executed while on her knees. begging for her life. I talk with Steve Federico about the murder of his daughter, Logan,

why it was entirely preventable and the big gaffe from a congresswoman that set him off. Oh, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanet Levy. It's been nearly five months since Logan Federico's parents found out that their beautiful daughter, Logan, had been senselessly murdered in Columbia, South Carolina. Logan was just 22 years old and an aspiring teacher from North Carolina.

She went to Columbia for the weekend to hang out with friends. It's something kids do. She never came home. And police say a man with a long rap sheet murdered Logan during a burglary. Logan's dad, Steve, is going to join me here shortly to reveal new information that he's learned about her case. Now, Logan was in a house with friends back in May when Columbia police say Alexander Dickie broke in and shot Logan during this burglary spree. Before murdering Logan, police said Dickie had stolen a car and broken into another house. I told you back in July about the missteps

uncovered by a news outlet in South Carolina related to Dickie. He actually has 39 arrests, some for burglary dating back to 2014. WIS TV reporter said, Cynthia Beasley first discovered missteps with Dickie. He was charged in 2015 with burglary and then the next year with burglary. And one of those charges was actually dropped. And he pleaded guilty to a first offense third degree burglary, despite pleading guilty months earlier in another case. Then in 2023, Dickie was arrested for burglary again and got a light sentence. Solicitor Rick Hubbard issued a statement earlier this year saying, Like all prosecutors, our assistant solicitor who handled the 2024 burglary third charge

relied on Dickie's rap sheet. For some reason unknown to us, Dickie's rap sheet does not include any prior burglary convictions. Other agencies are responsible for the data on rap sheets. Therefore, our assistant solicitor proceeded on the burglary third as a first offense. There was no sentencing negotiations on this charge. Dickie was facing a potential sentence. of up to five years. Sentencing was in the judge's discretion. So let's say that Dickie had gotten that five-year sentence. Logan Federico would likely still be alive today. There's been a lot of finger pointing back and forth between agencies about why Dickie's criminal rap sheet appeared to be incomplete, not showing some of the arrests out of Lexington and Lexington County because he received

these lighter sentences based on that. While South Carolina's law enforcement division said it didn't receive his fingerprints from some of his arrests, so Dickie's rap sheet wasn't updated. This week, Logan's father, Steve, testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee, and he did not hold back. How many of y'all have kids? I'm just curious. Here's what I need you to do. When I tell you this story, think about your kids. Think about your child coming home from a night out with their friends, laying down, going to sleep.

feeling somebody come in the room and wake them and drag her out of bed naked forced on her knees with her hands over her head begging for her life begging for her hero her father me that couldn't be there she was five foot three she weighed 115 pounds bang dead gone why because alexander divante dicky who was arrested 39 times 25 felonies was on the street how about that How good are we doing for our family? How good are you doing for your kids? He should have been in jail for over 140 years for all the crimes he committed. You know how much time he spent in prison? A little over 600 days in 10 years.

He's only 30 years old. He was committing 2.65 crimes a year since he was 15 years old, but nobody could figure out that he couldn't be rehabilitated. Well, you'd have to put him in prison to see if he could be rehabilitated. Isn't that the idea of prison? But no, my daughter wanted to be a teacher. She finally figured it out two weeks before she was executed. Steve Federico's testimony continued and he directed his anger at lawmakers who he believes have weakened laws to hold criminal is accountable. Executed while on her knees begging for her life.

Her name's Logan Federico, not Irina. And you will not forget her. I promise you, you will be sick and tired of my face and my voice until this gets fixed. I will fight until my last breath for my daughter. You need to fight for the rest of our children, the rest of the innocence, and stop protecting the people that keep taking them from us. Please, you have the power. We put you in the power to do what you have to do. We're asking you.

We're begging you all to stop this. 39 crimes in 10 years 25 felonies can anybody here explain to me how possibly he could be on the street possibly be on the street how is it possible I could sit down a room and I can explain

the whole process of how it failed how South Carolina failed Logan how lack of communication what y'all did you woke up a beast and you pissed off the wrong daddy because I'm going to put it out there and I'm not going to be quiet until somebody helps Logan deserves to be heard

getting injured can be very scary and if it ever happens to you you might need a lawyer who can fight for you Morgan and Morgan is a law firm with more than a thousand lawyers because they went a lot recovering millions and millions of dollars for their clients in the last few months a client in Florida I got $12 million after the insurance company offered just $350,000.

In Pennsylvania, a client was awarded $26 million. That was 40 times the insurer's $650,000 offer. And in another case, a client in PA received $29 million after being offered only $500,000. Even if you think your case is not worth millions, why not start a claim and fight for what you deserve? Morgan and Morgan makes it truly so easy. start a claim from your phone right here in just eight clicks. It's just that easy. So if you're ever heard, start a claim at for the people.com slash crime fix or click the link below or scan that QR code that you see right there on your screen. Steve Federico, he was very angry during that

hearing on Monday and it made him even angrier when Congresswoman Deborah Ross confused Logan with another murder victim who lived in North Carolina. Her name is Irena Zerutska. She's a refugee from Ukraine, whose throat was slit on a train in Charlotte in August. Police say the person who killed her was DeC Carlos Brown, a man with a very long rap sheet whose family claims he has a history of mental health issues. I also want to express my gratitude to those of our witnesses who have lost loved ones to crime or who were victims themselves. Your courage in telling your stories and having your voice.

is heard is so, so important, and my heart goes out to you. Before I get started, I also want to express my deepest, deepest condolences to the family of Irina Zerutska. What happened to her is simply unimaginable and unconscionable. And I hope that we will take to heart her family's request, not to remember her by her last moments or politicize her death, but instead to remember her as the vibrant and exceptionally kind person she was. And I'm thrilled that we have a picture of her in that state right in front of us. So here's the problem. It was not Irene's photo. It was Logan's photo that Congresswoman Ross was referring to, and that did not sit well with Steve Federico, who corrected her moments later. Take a look. To be honest, and for our victims, this hearing is too

little too late. We should have been doing more to prevent crime and address the lack of mental health care long before this hearing, particularly. Oh, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I am so sorry. Thank you so much for bringing that. Thank you. Thank you, sir. I am so sorry for you. And she was before, I'm so, I'm so sorry for your loss and my heart goes out to you. My heart goes out to you. How dare you not know her. So we should have been doing things to prevent Logan's death and Irina's death, and I am so sorry. So I want to bring in Steve Federico. He is Logan Federico's father. And Steve, thank you for coming back on. I know we have spoken once before. Tell me,

how are you doing? Because I know you said this has been a difficult morning. You had a difficult Monday in front of that subcommittee for the House Judiciary Committee. So how are you doing right now? because I know this does not get any easier as the days pass. It actually gets harder, but, you know, the more I talk about it, and more I relive it, it just kind of beat you up mentally every day, but it's something I have to do. The committee meeting was big. It turned a little different for me.

It got a little intense. I was well prepared for a meeting. I had a team that helped me prepare for the meeting. Had a very well-written statement that I really wanted to read, but when one of the committee members mistakenly took Logan for arena, it kind of set me off into another dimension. not only was it offensive to me and my family that was there but can you imagine being there and you hear these people arguing for irena about you know lack of money lack of DAs and lack of

everything else and here's this here's this representative on the community looking at Logan she doesn't even recognize irena I felt I felt horrible for my daughter but it felt even worse for arena. I mean, it was absolutely pathetic. Especially for somebody who's somebody who, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but she represents the state of North Carolina. My point is exactly. Her point exactly, you know, her mistake in Logan, I guess, is okay, but Logan lives in North Carolina. She's a southern bell born and raised here. She was executed in South Carolina. I get it, but I tell you one thing. I did my homework before I went there. I knew who every witness was and I knew

every witness's story. Okay. Because I wanted to make sure I was part of that team. Okay. I knew who I knew who Mary was. I knew who Mr. Campbell was. Okay. That wasn't my job to do, but everyone on that committee knew should have known exactly who each and every one of us was. And there was 95% of them that did and two that really didn't okay that committee was for victims of violent crime okay especially with the repeat offenders and right off the bat it started about money and how the trump organization wasn't giving them enough money wasn't given this well you know what examine look yourself in the mirror first about your soft on crime laws and then look at my daughter and look at irena worry about that first because that's the most

important they participated in taking two beautiful women out of this world they have blood on their hands just like a lot of people in south carolina you've kind of taken up a cause now i mean because you don't want logan to have been killed in vain or at least for her death to have been in vain. I mean, there was no excuse for what happened to her whatsoever. It was horrific and disgusting. But you want changes. So talk to me about what changes you want to see with with these policies. Well, look, we've got to, and my, the only one of my can put is we have to blow up the system and start over. Okay. And this isn't rocket science. Okay. This, and I've said this and I'm going to keep saying this, okay? Prisons are meant to be for people that cannot live in a lawful

society. And yes, they're supposed to be put in prison so they can be rehabilitated. I will tell you this, 66% of people that come out of prison within three years are back in prison. Okay, in six years, that jumps up to about 78%. Okay, in 10 years, that jumps up to 83%. percent. So if you take that time period, they're going to have to do more than 10 years in prison whenever you're sentenced. But the problem is, we'll never know if rehabilitation works in prisons because we don't put people in prisons anymore. And we don't put the right people in prisons anymore. Okay. If we don't have enough beds in prisons and cells, we need to build more prisons. We have to rehabilitate people.

don't believe most are rehabilitative. I think that is their lifestyle. I think that's what they chosen. It's a personal choice. Alexander Dickey made 39 personal choices, okay? And the three-strike rule went, apparently went out the window and became a 40-strike rule, which nobody kind of clued me in, okay? He graduated every time he committed a crime, okay? There were crimes he used weapons in. Then he made a personal choice to literally, and I mean literally, execute Logan. okay the evidence shows that he made her and forced her on her knees with her hands out in front of her up in the air okay and jammed a frigging 12-gauge shotgun in her left rib cage underneath her left breast and pulled the trigger that is a choice that's not an accident and this is the person that these judges let out on the street

we have one that let him out three times that he would have been doing 25 years for okay it's going to come out they can't deny it they can't hide it's public record we'll have a list of every judge every solicitor every assistant solicitor every sled mistake the only positive thing about what happened to logan it's going to force change It's going to force change. This was a House judiciary subcommittee. So Logan, obviously, she was murdered in South Carolina, but she's from North Carolina. So there's also a problem with what happened with her case on the state level and the county level in South Carolina. So what would you like to see done there? because there can be changes at the federal level, but something needs to be done to fix what happened

on the state and county level in South Carolina. And I'm sure this is not the first time this type of weird mishap, stupid stuff has happened. You know, I'm sure it's happened in other communities and other states too. Well, that's the beauty part of this. Our attention is to uncover everything, is to uncover how many of these possibly are out.

Can you imagine how many Alex Ziggins and Dickies are out in the United States of America. Okay. And I'm going to read something real quick that I want to start with. And it's just kind of some bullet points. And it's mandatory fingerprinting and complete record. You know, every rest must include fingerprints and it has to be confirmed. Accountability and plea bargains and probation.

If you're giving plea bargains and probation, whoever's doing it has to be accountable for. Okay. And oversight and communication. audits of these plea deals and communications with defendants, their attorneys and everyone else, with the AG, with the assistant AG, all this stuff should have to be approved by people other than magistrate judges. And I'm sure there's a few magistrate judges that are really good. But imagine being an elected judge, what your really back goal is.

Okay. You know, review of probation in early release programs. That's a big one. because Alexander Dickie was released early from a parole. Okay, he was supposed to do five years in prison. I think he did 411 days. And then he did another stint, but then was early released for compliance. And if he wasn't, guess who he would have never met?

I'll give you, I'll give you three guesses. Logan. Exactly. Okay. Then you look at a comprehensive background check and information sharing through all the states and all the communities and all. districts and all the counties everybody in the united states or in the world has to go through the fbi when you get arrested somebody should be able to put your name in a database and show

your criminal resume from when you started until when you finished that should be the base of whether or not you get released or whether you go to jail for the rest of your freaking life Steve, I just want to go back to, like, how angry did it make you when basically the congresswoman didn't know the difference between Irene Zerutska and Logan? I mean, I know it made you angry. I saw it. But obviously, it just felt, I'm sure, to you as a father, like this woman was just reading from a script potentially and not really invested in what was going on. She disrespected my daughter She made her feel like nothing She made her feel like she didn't matter And we weren't sure about bringing a picture

But I'm so glad I did because I found out the truth I found out the truth That somebody that represents North Carolina First had no idea who Logan Federico was. And then on top of that, had no idea who Irene was. How much Irene has been on the news? Granted, Logan, you got no coverage whatsoever until now,

until my interview with Trey Gowdy. And you and other people. But Trey Gowdy really kind of kicked this thing off. But I really got coverage two weeks after the fact, which was two weeks too late, okay? but arena has been all over the news all over the world news and she didn't recognize her and then for that to have a victim arena's family wasn't even there and then she knew i i i emailed we had we had to get a hand in an written statement

okay that was given i assume to all the committee members and it was powerful and it was Logan all over it how can somebody whether she wrote her statement or not or whether her committee did or the people to work for how can you not do your homework

how irresponsible can you be to neglect Logan Federico and not know who she is she was just assassinated Steve, what is the status of the case with Alexander Dickey right now? I know that the last time we spoke, you were saying you want the prosecutor, the solicitor, to pursue the death penalty. So is that going to happen?

Well, I want to make the first I want to make something really clear. I think every punishment has to fit the crime. Okay. I'm not a raw, raw death penalty. on the guy and either is my family and either there's team logan but what i want is this i want the law to be followed okay if this checks all the boxes and i am told by many legal sources that this is probably one of the most powerful evidentiary cases for the death penalty around in a long time okay so all i want is to follow the law and the law dictates you ask for the

penalty it goes to a trial goes to a jury we'll have to live with whatever happens but don't humiliate and embarrass my family and my daughter and disgrace her and disrespect her by not following a law because of maybe personal beliefs i don't know i don't i haven't talked to anyone in the district and that's okay i think they're pursuing the case and i'm sure we'll hear hear something soon. I'm hoping. Our attorney is great. He's on top of it. He's asked me to do my thing and make sure that Logan's name is out there. And that's what we're doing. So as of right now, I don't know where it stands, to be honest. Has the, but yes, we don't do that penalty. I think it, I think this case warrants it. Has the solicitor not been keeping you up to date or have they been reaching out?

No, not. I've made that perfectly clear. I haven't heard from Byron in five months, five months tomorrow. But look, I've also heard that they're working on it. You know, they're gathering evidence and they're investigating. And I have to understand that. And, you know, I don't want to be disrespectful to anyone. And I know it's a tough task and it's a job. But I think the family just deserves a little bit more communication, don't you? I think. we kind of deserved to know where, where we stand. But, you know, at this point, if there hasn't been a decision made, then there's nothing really much to talk about, is there? Who gave you those facts about what happened to Logan? Did the solicitor tell you about that or did? No, no. We met with Brian Sterling and our attorney had to put a brief together because we want Brian Sterling to take the case over federally or an AG of some sort and we were hoping Todd Blanche would get involved so just before the meeting I read the statement which I didn't know any of that which kind of blew me away and listen I understand why I wasn't told some of that stuff by some of the

legal part of it some of the officers they're great men they were trying to they're protecting me you know, and I get it, and I understand that they, I have no, nothing negative to say about the Lexington or Columbia Police Department. They were outstanding. But we found out that through that statement, what exactly happened to Logan? And I really can't go into the details of it, because obviously it's an open, open case. But finding out that what he did to her was absolutely heartwrenching. I'm so sorry. And it was senseless, senseless. Honestly, Dick and I think have developed a relationship that will stand in the test of time. I consider him a friend.

I think him and his staff, they just care about Logan. You know, you could see it. You can see the fight. You could see when we met with Ryan Sterling and his team. You could see how much work they put into their argument, you know. So there is a. anybody else I would rather have on this thing other than him right now, to be honest with you. And I can't thank him enough for everything he's done up until this point.

Steve Federico, I really appreciate your time. We will keep an eye on this. And again, we are so sorry for what, I'm so sorry for what happened to Logan. It's just disgusting. She's such an innocent victim and it was totally unnecessary and preventable. And I'm sorry. Thank you so much. And you know, I'm always here for you.

But the more I get Logan's story out there, just realize this. This goes nationally and out throughout the world. Just imagine how many lies we can save together. Yeah, definitely. That's what we have to do. We have to do it together. Thank you. Thank you.

The solicitor, Byron Gibson, told a local news outlet that he has updated the family and their attorney. A trial date has not yet been set for Alexander Dickey. being held in the Richland County Jail. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.