Parents search for answers about daughter's killing

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By Barb Ickes | Saturday, February 16, 2008 10:14 AM CST | () comments

Jean and Scotty McFedries talk about their daughter, Agnes "Aggie" McFedries Kennedy. The 51-year-old's body was found in a Davenport alley three days before Christmas. Her parents are contributing $9,000 to a reward fund for information in the case. Buy this Photo

Her parents called her Aggie.

She had her troubles, Agnes McFedries Kennedy. But there was a whole lot more to her than an addiction to crack cocaine.

“When she died, some people looked at her as just another woman on the street,” Jean McFedries said of her daughter, who was found murdered in Davenport three days before Christmas. “She wasn’t just another woman on the street. She was special. She was loved. She was ours.”

McFedries Kennedy’s father, Scotty McFedries, remembers the police knocking on his door at 2 a.m. The rest is a blur.

When the news of their daughter’s death hit their homes, Jean and Scotty called their other children, along with McFedries Kennedy’s four kids. The family broke down together.

“All I remember is that it was snowing like blazes, and then there was absolute turmoil,” Jean said. “Everyone was crying and wanting to know why. Then the shock got worse.”

At the funeral home a week later, the McFedrieses peered into their daughter’s casket and immediately ordered it closed. An open casket was too much. There had been an autopsy. And her hair wasn’t right.

“Then I looked around at the funeral home and said, ‘Why are they giving us this big room?’” Jean remembered Thursday. “And then I saw all the flowers. Then all these people started pouring in — all of this support from this community — and I was overwhelmed.

“I don’t remember what I said to anyone.”

Many of the mourners were longtime friends and acquaintances of the McFedrieses — people they have met during the 30 years they have owned and operated Scotty’s Auction Service in Davenport. Their daughter knew a lot of people in the Quad-Cities, too. Some of them were not the kind of people that parents would approve of.

The McFedrieses strongly suspect it was someone — probably more than one person — from the victim’s tight circle of drug-addicted friends who killed her.

“If it wasn’t for the drugs, she wouldn’t be where she was,” her father said. “She’d be living a good life.”

And how her parents tried to help her live a good life. They got her into rehab several times. They had her committed. The crack cocaine was stronger.

“I’m mad at the drugs,” Jean said. “I always have been. They are the ruination of our society, and they break families.

“I was often mad at her, too. I ask her in my mind, ‘What in the hell were you thinking about, Agnes? Don’t you care about anything but that damned drug? What about this little boy who loves his mom?’”

In fact, Jean McFedries adopted the youngest of her daughter’s children about six years ago. Now 14, he is struggling with his loss. His grandparents struggle, too. They are deep in mourning, and they are nearly frantic to see the killer or killers caught.

“The only comfort it would give me is that getting this bastard off the street will save another girl’s life,” her mother said. “These people don’t stop at one or two. There will be another one.

“These people are vicious and malicious. Aggie was never vicious or malicious. But I don’t think she went down easy. I think she put up a fight.”

The 51-year-old’s body was found Dec. 22 in an alley in the 1800 block between West 7th and 8th streets. Her parents and police have said she likely was killed elsewhere and her body dumped there. Her mother cannot help but wonder about her final moments.

“I can’t stop my imagination,” she said. “I think sometimes, my God, what were the last 15 minutes of her life like?”

Police have warned Jean, she said, that she needs to “toughen up” when the time comes to find out what really happened. If there are arrests, they’ve warned, a trial will be painful.

The arrests have to come first. To help get there, the McFedrieses have put up a $9,000 reward, along with the $1,000 offered by Crime Stoppers, for information about the slaying.

“I’m sure it’s difficult for the detectives because there are so many liars and thieves,” Jean said. “The police have been outstanding, completely dedicated. Fortunately, I haven’t had much to do with the police department up to now, except to sell their bikes.”

The hope is that the $10,000 reward will be enough to encourage someone who knows something — anything — to come forward.

Davenport Police Capt. David Struckman said that the drug culture that is associated with the case can work for police and against them when money is involved.

“For people involved in these drugs, money is very important to them,” he said. “It keeps them going. On the other side of that, some of these drug addicts can’t remember what happened yesterday.”

Their desperation also can induce them to be dishonest in their accounts, hoping for a payday. Either way, the victim’s parents just want something that could lead police in the right direction.

“They can write me an anonymous letter or just leave a message on my phone,” Jean said.

“Remember: The Crime Stoppers call is totally confidential,” Scotty added. “We don’t need to know who you are, only what you know.”

It hasn’t even been two months since the McFedrieses lost their daughter. Their tears come as easily as their anger. As they grieve, they find themselves thinking about other parents who have lost children.

“Look at the (Adrianne) Reynolds incident,” Jean said. “Or you see children missing. At least we know what happened. Our child is gone. She’s not missing. The parents of missing kids, their imaginations must be hell.”

Sometimes, though, the pain of it is almost unbearable.

“She was smart, good looking, and she cared about people, especially the underdog,” her mother said. “I remember when she met a woman who was in a domestic violence shelter with her four children. They didn’t have anything, and Aggie went and bought them all hats and mittens.

“There is one thing that is worst of all,” she said, reaching for a Kleenex. “There are moments when I realize that I’ll never see her again.

“Oh, God. I’ll never see her again.”

Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or bickes@qctimes.com.

What happened to Agnes McFedries Kennedy?

The parents of Agnes McFedries Kennedy are adding $9,000 to the $1,000 Crime Stoppers reward fund for information about their daughter’s slaying. The $10,000 reward is available to anyone with information about the 51-year-old’s death.

Information can be given confidentially by calling Crime Stoppers at (309) 762-9500.

McFedries Kennedy’s body was found Dec. 22 in Davenport. Police and family members have said they think she was slain elsewhere and her body dumped in an alley in the 1800 block between West 7th and 8th streets.