I Blame My In-Laws For My Wife’s Death — So I Fought to Protect My Daughter | PEOPLE — Transcript

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1. 0:00As I tell the story now, you know, over
2. 0:012 years later, it's still shocking to
3. 0:03me.
4. 0:05The day Leda was born, that was the
5. 0:06happiest day of my life.
6. 0:09The worst day of my life was the day
7. 0:10Sherri died.
8. 0:12Sherri was
9. 0:14controlled and manipulated by her
10. 0:16parents from a
11. 0:18very young age. They engaged in behavior
12. 0:21that was consistent with Munchausen by
13. 0:23proxy.
14. 0:24That's why Sherri died.
15. 0:26I am fighting for justice and I will not
16. 0:29stop.
17. 0:30In 50 states exist some form or another
18. 0:33of a grandparents visitation law. In my
19. 0:36opinion, being a grandparent is a
20. 0:37privilege. I had to step up and do
21. 0:41what was in my daughter's best interest
22. 0:42because the court wasn't doing it.
23. 0:49People use the term
24. 0:51love at first sight. I thought she was
25. 0:53the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
26. 0:57We got married during COVID. It was
27. 0:59right in our backyard. We got married on
28. 1:01our patio. It was so special.
29. 1:04When I first met Sherri's parents, they
30. 1:05seemed like great people, accomplished
31. 1:08doctors.
32. 1:10We got along really well. It was nice to
33. 1:12have them around to help out, you know,
34. 1:14during her her early cancer diagnosis.
35. 1:18We had been together for less than a
36. 1:19year and uh Sherri got diagnosed within
37. 1:22that first year.
38. 1:24That was difficult. You know, that
39. 1:28that'll put any relationship to a test.
40. 1:31Right before she was diagnosed, we had
41. 1:33talked about having kids and it was just
42. 1:35something the two of us always wanted to
43. 1:37do.
44. 1:38Given Sherri's
45. 1:40diagnosis of breast cancer, it was a
46. 1:42decision that had to be made
47. 1:44uh
48. 1:45because Sherri couldn't have a child
49. 1:46naturally because of the medication she
50. 1:47was going to be on.
51. 1:50Surrogacy is extremely expensive process
52. 1:53and
53. 1:54Sherri's parents did help us a lot
54. 1:56financially early on. We had an egg
55. 1:59donor and they they did help throughout
56. 2:01that process.
57. 2:05Going through what she had gone through,
58. 2:08we had gone through as a couple.
59. 2:10That day was like a
60. 2:12like the biggest victory. That was like
61. 2:14the culmination of everything
62. 2:17that she had fought for. That was the
63. 2:20happiest day of my life and I know it
64. 2:21was the happiest day of her life, too.
65. 2:25When Layla was born is when things
66. 2:27changed. Sherry's mother
67. 2:30did babysit Layla a good amount. You
68. 2:33know, they were here a lot more.
69. 2:35But the real shift, I would say would be
70. 2:38around Christmas
71. 2:40of 2023 leading into 2024 is when things
72. 2:43really started to
73. 2:46change.
74. 2:48They had basically moved into our home.
75. 2:49They were interjecting in our
76. 2:51conversations. I would go to Sherry time
77. 2:54and time again
78. 2:56and communicate about boundaries and how
79. 2:58this was becoming toxic to our family
80. 3:00and toxic to our marriage. You know, she
81. 3:02wouldn't listen to anything I had to say
82. 3:05and she was only listening to her
83. 3:07parents.
84. 3:11I remember coming home, it looked like
85. 3:13she was having a stroke. The right side
86. 3:14of her face
87. 3:16was drooping. She could barely move her
88. 3:17right arm.
89. 3:19I said, "It looks like you had a stroke.
90. 3:20We need to get you to the hospital."
91. 3:22Her mother stood up.
92. 3:24Her mother stuck her hand in my face
93. 3:26like this, between my face and Sherry's
94. 3:28face, stuck her hand.
95. 3:31She said, "You need to back up.
96. 3:34You're not a doctor. You don't know what
97. 3:36you're talking about.
98. 3:38You're stressing her out. Back up." She
99. 3:41had been
100. 3:42uh
101. 3:43being told by her parents that it was
102. 3:46her symptoms were related to Prozac
103. 3:48withdrawals and that's what they told
104. 3:50me.
105. 3:51And they were so forceful
106. 3:54the way they told me. They they I just
107. 3:57you just believe them. We believe them.
108. 4:01The day Sheri went to the hospital,
109. 4:02April 13th, 2024,
110. 4:06she had an MRI.
111. 4:09And that's
112. 4:10that's when I found out her cancer was
113. 4:11back.
114. 4:15Knowing your wife's going to die and
115. 4:17waiting for that moment,
116. 4:20you can't explain
117. 4:24Sheri's parents never came to the
118. 4:26hospital.
119. 4:27Hours before she died, I called them.
120. 4:30I said, "Sheri's going to die and
121. 4:33you need to come to the hospital."
122. 4:37They said, "I think we'll pass."
123. 4:41Those were their exact words.
124. 4:42"I think we'll pass."
125. 4:49Sheri's parents didn't attend her
126. 4:50funeral.
127. 4:51Her mother didn't attend her wake.
128. 4:53They never gave me an explanation as to
129. 4:55why they weren't there.
130. 4:57She shouldn't be dead.
131. 4:59That's the tough part.
132. 5:02She shouldn't be dead.
133. 5:05Going through her phone after her death,
134. 5:08Sheri's parents had been giving her
135. 5:10medical advice.
136. 5:12They encouraged her to not seek medical
137. 5:15attention.
138. 5:17They engaged in behavior that was
139. 5:18consistent or is consistent with
140. 5:20Munchausen by proxy.
141. 5:22It's a culmination of evidence that's
142. 5:24led me to that.
143. 5:26It's about control.
144. 5:29I
145. 5:30truly and firmly believe that
146. 5:33but for
147. 5:35Sheri's parents' medical care and
148. 5:38intervention in her medical care and
149. 5:39medical advice, that we wouldn't be
150. 5:41having this conversation
151. 5:43because Sheri would still be here.
152. 5:47There's one incident that will forever
153. 5:50be ingrained in my brain.
154. 5:53And it was on the day Sherri died.
155. 5:56Our house,
156. 5:58that we're sitting here now, was full of
157. 5:59mourners, friends,
158. 6:01neighbors.
159. 6:02Sherri's parents came here.
160. 6:05They pinned Layla to the ground by her
161. 6:07shoulders and her chest
162. 6:09with her back flat against the floor.
163. 6:12And forced
164. 6:13a
165. 6:14oral syringe full of prednisone
166. 6:18down her throat.
167. 6:19Sherri's mother holding her shoulders.
168. 6:22Sherri's father had one hand on the
169. 6:24middle of her chest.
170. 6:26Without my permission,
171. 6:29without my consent, she just did it.
172. 6:32For what reason?
173. 6:34I don't know.
174. 6:35She wasn't sick.
175. 6:38This became a legal battle on July 18th,
176. 6:422024,
177. 6:44when Sherri's parents filed a petition
178. 6:47in the Rhode Island Family Court to
179. 6:49force court-ordered visitation. Even
180. 6:52while Sherri was in the hospital, I
181. 6:53believe they had begun this campaign to
182. 6:55basically undermine me and essentially
183. 6:58take Layla away from me, make me look
184. 7:00like an unfit parent.
185. 7:02My daughter, prior to the age of three,
186. 7:05while Sherri's father was her
187. 7:07pediatrician, was prescribed 36
188. 7:10prescription medications.
189. 7:12She had 56
190. 7:14office visits.
191. 7:15I filed
192. 7:17several complaints.
193. 7:19I filed a complaint with the Department
194. 7:21of Health and State Medical Board.
195. 7:24I filed reports with my local police
196. 7:27department here in Portsmouth, Rhode
197. 7:29Island, with the Portsmouth Police
198. 7:30Department. I filed reports with the
199. 7:33Rhode Island State Police,
200. 7:34the DEA, the FBI, and with our health
201. 7:38insurance carrier, Blue Cross and Blue
202. 7:40Shield of Rhode Island in regards to
203. 7:43suspected insurance fraud.
204. 7:47Instead of taking accountability
205. 7:49in the face of facts,
206. 7:51they chose to shift the blame
207. 7:53and blame Sherry. They didn't take
208. 7:55accountability for telling her not to
209. 7:57seek treatment.
210. 7:58They blamed her for it. They also blamed
211. 8:01me. They told me that Sherry's death was
212. 8:03my fault
213. 8:05because it was all the stress
214. 8:07that I put on her the last 3 months
215. 8:10of her life.
216. 8:14Legally speaking, I did win in court.
217. 8:18I think there are broader implications
218. 8:21for this case across this whole country.
219. 8:24>> Daddy.
220. 8:25>> This is a case about parents' rights.
221. 8:29As a fit parent, you have a fundamental
222. 8:31right to raise your child.
223. 8:33>> Can I help you?
224. 8:34>> Oh, yeah.
225. 8:35>> This case, I'm hopeful will be a
226. 8:37landmark case throughout this country.
227. 8:41Layla right now is thriving.
228. 8:44>> I can do it.
229. 8:45>> I do everything I can to make sure she
230. 8:47has no knowledge of what is going on at
231. 8:51all.
232. 8:53She sees the cameras, she thinks it's
233. 8:54picture day because her daddy loves her
234. 8:57and he has pictures taken of her all the
235. 8:58time.
236. 9:00She is
237. 9:02I say that I'll use the word blissfully
238. 9:04unaware.
239. 9:06And that is how I'd like to keep it for
240. 9:07as long as possible.
241. 9:09>> I got to clip it.
242. 9:10>> Being a girl dad is really
243. 9:12incredible. Those hours after school are
244. 9:15really special for us. She calls it
245. 9:17Daddy and Layla time.
246. 9:21So, this here
247. 9:25is
248. 9:27Sherry used to play this for Layla.
249. 9:30And is
250. 9:32sing her the song.
251. 9:37Layla
252. 9:39understands
253. 9:39>> that her mother isn't here. She says
254. 9:41mommy's in our hearts.
255. 9:43>> Mommy.
256. 9:44>> We look at pictures all the time.
257. 9:46>> You're looking at mommy.
258. 9:48>> There's a big portrait of her in the
259. 9:49hallway and she'll pull her stool from
260. 9:51her bathroom sink out to the hallway and
261. 9:53she'll talk to the picture.
262. 9:57They say I miss everything. I do. I I I
263. 9:59miss her every day.
264. 10:01Every day.
265. 10:03I miss coming home to her.
266. 10:05I miss like her her perfume.
267. 10:07From the littlest things to the big
268. 10:09things.
269. 10:11That's tough.
270. 10:13Any type of
271. 10:16reconciliation with Sherry's parents
272. 10:18would have to start with accountability.
273. 10:22What I'm in search of is something
274. 10:23simple.
275. 10:25Justice.
276. 10:26Because I will never find peace
277. 10:28until I've exhausted every option
278. 10:31to obtain accountability for what has
279. 10:33happened.
280. 10:35That's how I will find peace one day.