“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.” These are the raw, defiant words of Stephen Federico, a grieving father from Waxhaw, North Carolina, whose world shattered when his 22-year-old daughter, Logan Federico, was brutally murdered in a University of South Carolina (USC) rental home on May 3, 2025. 😱 The alleged killer, Alexander Dickey, a 30-year-old career criminal with a staggering 39 arrests, including 25 felonies, wasn’t supposed to be free. Yet, he was—slipping through the cracks of a justice system Stephen now calls “broken beyond repair.” 💔
Logan, a vibrant college student with dreams of teaching and a heart full of Taylor Swift lyrics, was gunned down execution-style during a burglary gone wrong. Her father’s grief has ignited a crusade, not just for justice but for systemic change to ensure no other family endures his unbearable pain. Stephen’s emotional plea, delivered at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing in Charlotte on September 29, 2025, has become a rallying cry, echoing across the nation. “I am Logan Haley Federico’s father… her hero. That day, I could not be her hero,” he wept, his voice a mix of anguish and resolve. 😭 This is more than a story of loss—it’s a father’s unrelenting fight to honor his daughter’s memory and fix a system that failed her. Buckle up, readers: this emotional journey through tragedy, betrayal, and a father’s unbreakable vow will leave you heartbroken and inspired to demand change. 🗣️
Logan’s Light: A Dreamer Stolen Too Soon 🌟🎶
Logan Federico was the kind of person who lit up every room she entered. At 22, she was a senior at UNC Charlotte, studying education with a passion for shaping young minds. “She loved kids—she wanted to teach them to dream big,” Stephen shared at a candlelight vigil in Waxhaw on May 10, clutching a photo of Logan in her high school graduation cap, her smile radiant. Her Instagram was a collage of joy: Taylor Swift concerts, Jersey shore sunsets, and goofy selfies with her little brother. “Logan was our family’s heartbeat,” Stephen told Fox News. “She’d blast ‘Shake It Off’ and make us all dance, even on our worst days.” 😊
Born in New Jersey, Logan grew up in Waxhaw, a tight-knit Charlotte suburb where she cheered for the Eagles and volunteered at local schools. Her dream was to become an elementary school teacher, inspired by mentors who saw her potential. “She had this way of making every kid feel special,” her high school principal recalled at her memorial. Friends described her as fiercely loyal, always the first to plan a group hangout or send a heartfelt text. Her love for Taylor Swift was legendary—she’d saved for months to attend the Eras Tour in 2023, trading friendship bracelets with strangers who became friends. 🎤
On May 2, 2025, Logan flew to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit her boyfriend at USC. It was graduation weekend, a time of celebration and promise. She partied with friends, dancing under neon lights, unaware that her final hours were ticking down. Around 3 a.m., she crashed in a bedroom at a rented house on Cypress Street in Old Shandon, a vibrant student neighborhood. The house was quiet, filled with sleeping friends, when Alexander Dickey, a meth-fueled predator, slipped inside. 😈
A Nightmare Unfolds: The Brutal Murder 😱🔫
Alexander Dickey wasn’t a stranger to crime. His rap sheet, spanning a decade, included 39 arrests—25 felonies—for robbery, drug possession, larceny, and burglary. In 2023, he was sentenced to five years for burglary but was paroled early, his probation set to end in June 2025. “He should’ve been locked up for 140 years,” Stephen raged at the Charlotte hearing, citing South Carolina’s mandatory minimums for first-degree burglary. Yet, due to plea deals, botched fingerprints, and systemic glitches, Dickey was free, prowling the streets like a ticking time bomb. 🕰️
On May 2, high on methamphetamine, Dickey fled a USC police traffic stop after crashing his car. He embarked on a burglary spree, targeting student rentals. At the Cypress Street house, he crept in, stealing credit cards, a car key, and a 12-gauge shotgun from an earlier heist. Upstairs, Logan stirred—perhaps hearing a creak or sensing danger. Her scream shattered the silence, but no one woke. Alone, terrified, she was allegedly forced to her knees, naked and begging for her life. “She was pleading, hands up, defenseless,” Stephen recounted, his voice breaking as he addressed lawmakers. Dickey fired once, a single shot to the chest, and fled in a stolen car, using Logan’s cards for a reckless spending spree across state lines.
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook called it “a random act of savagery.” Logan wasn’t targeted; she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Paramedics arrived at 3:45 a.m., but it was too late. Logan Haley Federico, the dreamer who wanted to teach the world, was gone. Her boyfriend and housemates, asleep feet away, woke to sirens and horror. “No one came to her aid,” Stephen lamented. “Her scream should’ve been enough.” 😢
Dickey was arrested days later in Gaston, South Carolina, after setting a friend’s house ablaze to evade capture. Dragged from a window, he faced charges: murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, grand larceny, and financial card theft. He’s held without bail at Lexington County Detention Center, awaiting trial in 2026. But for Stephen, justice feels like a distant mirage. “He executed my daughter,” he told The Daily Mail. “I want the death penalty.” ⚖️
A Father’s Heartbreak: From Hero to Crusader 💪😭
Stephen Federico is no ordinary dad. A 60-hour-a-week worker in construction, he raised Logan and her brother with fierce love and constant warnings: “Keep your head on a swivel. There are bad people out there.” Logan, ever optimistic, would laugh, “Dad, it’s not that bad.” But on May 3, Stephen’s worst fears came true. The 5 a.m. call—“Your daughter’s been shot”—sent him racing to Columbia, only to identify her body. “I was her hero,” he sobbed at the hearing. “That day, I failed her.” 😔
His grief is a wildfire, burning through every moment. At home in Waxhaw, Logan’s room remains untouched—her Swift posters, lesson plan notebooks, and a half-knit scarf still there, frozen in time. “I can’t mourn yet,” Stephen told Fox News. “Fighting for her is my second full-time job.” His fury targets a justice system that let Dickey slip through: plea deals that shaved felonies to misdemeanors, fingerprints never processed from 2013-2015, and a parole board that freed him after 411 days of a five-year sentence. “Nobody can tell me why this lunatic was out,” he roared. 😡
Stephen’s crusade began the day Logan died. He hired Richard Harpootlian, the attorney who defended Alex Murdaugh, to push for federal charges under the Hobbs Act, citing Dickey’s use of Logan’s cards across state lines. He’s lobbied Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling, and South Carolina AG Alan Wilson, who called the case “a travesty” on October 1. Rep. Nancy Mace wrote to AG Pam Bondi, demanding the death penalty. “The state blew it,” Mace said. “Logan’s not here.” Stephen’s response? “Buckle up. I’m not going away.” 🗣️
At the Charlotte hearing, Stephen’s testimony was a gut punch. “It’s not rocket science—keep criminals locked up!” he told lawmakers, slamming Solicitor Byron Gipson for “soft” policies and silence. Gipson’s office countered, claiming they met Stephen days post-arrest, but the dad’s unmoved. “Four months, no real answers,” he posted on X. His proposed “Logan’s Law” demands interstate data sharing, mandatory felony sentencing, and repeat-offender tracking. “You will be sick and tired of my face,” he vowed, eyes blazing. 🔥
Systemic Failures: A Justice System on Trial 🤦♂️📉
Logan’s murder is a glaring symptom of a diseased system. Dickey’s 39 arrests should’ve buried him in prison. South Carolina’s first-degree burglary carries a 15-year minimum—yet he served peanuts. “Plea deals and glitches,” Stephen fumed, citing SLED’s admission that Dickey’s fingerprints were never sent from 2013-2015. In 2023, treated as a “first-time offender,” he got time served. “Ten minutes could’ve uncovered his record,” Stephen told lawmakers. “Why didn’t they?” 😤
The stats are damning: South Carolina’s recidivism rate hovers at 23%, per a 2023 Department of Corrections report. Plea deals resolve 95% of felony cases, often reducing charges. Bail reforms post-2023 aimed to detain repeat offenders, but backlogs and underfunding persist. AG Wilson’s pushing for $10 million to speed murder prosecutions, inspired by Logan and Iryna Zarutska’s similar killing. “Iryna’s Law” fast-tracks appeals and expands executions, but Stephen wants more: “Build prisons, lock up monsters, fund mental health.” Critics like Rep. Deborah Ross blame budget cuts; Stephen calls it “excuses.” The blood on the system’s hands? Logan’s. 🩸
Logan’s Legacy: A Spark for Change 🌈🙏
Logan was more than a victim—she was a force. Her obituary paints a vivid picture: summers at the Jersey shore, cheering for the Eagles, knitting scarves for friends. “She left love everywhere,” her best friend posted on X. Vigils at USC and Waxhaw drew thousands, candles flickering to “Love Story.” A scholarship in her name now funds education majors at UNC Charlotte. “She’d want kids to keep dreaming,” Stephen said, tears falling. 💐
But the betrayal stings: housemates slept through her screams. “No one came,” Stephen mourns, fueling his fight. Logan’s death mirrors Iryna Zarutska’s—another young woman killed by a repeat offender. “Before Iryna, there was Logan,” Stephen told The Daily Mail. “Nobody cared.” Now, they do. Petitions for “Logan’s Law” hit 60,000 signatures; #JusticeForLogan trends daily. USC’s auditing campus safety; NC-SC task forces are forming. Stephen’s voice—hoarse but unyielding—leads the charge. 🗳️
A Nation Hears the Cry: Will Justice Prevail? 🇺🇸🔔
Stephen’s plea has ignited a movement. Mace’s letter to Bondi demands federal action; Stirling’s “motivated”; Wilson’s all-in. Trial looms in 2026—state or federal? Death penalty or life? Stephen’s clear: “He executed her. He deserves the same.” Dickey, silent in jail, faces a mountain of evidence: cards, shotgun, arson. But for Stephen, it’s not enough. “I should be mourning, not fighting,” he told SC Daily Gazette. Yet fight he does—for Logan, for Iryna, for every child at risk. 😢
His message to parents: “Be horrified. Teach vigilance.” To lawmakers: “Fix it, or answer to her spirit.” Logan’s photo—smiling, alive—sits by his bed. “You will not forget her,” he vows. And we won’t. Her legacy is a father’s roar, a nation’s awakening. Will we lock the door on monsters like Dickey? Or let another Logan fall? Share your voice—demand justice. For Logan, for all of us, let’s fight until our last breath. 💪🌟
