TAMPA, Fla. – A judge set a new trial date Tuesday for former professional caregiver Rebecca Fierle following her mistrial. ended in a jury trial last month.
Fierle will next appear in Hillsborough District Court the week of March 20, 2023.
She is charged with elder abuse and neglect of an elderly person in connection with the death of Stephen Stryker, 75, in May 2019.
Investigators allege that while serving as Stryker’s professional caregiver, Fierle plugged his feeding tube and demanded a “do not resuscitate” order, causing him to choke to death days later.
Stryker’s death drew statewide attention and led to a new law requiring guardians to get a judge’s approval before requesting a DNR order.
After a four-day trial in September, a judge declared a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict after two days of deliberations.
More than a dozen medical experts and Stryker’s daughter testified at the trial.
Stryker had a history of mental illness and was listed on Florida’s sex offender registry after he came forward in 2000 in Brevard County.
He also had medical problems that made it difficult for him to swallow solid food.
This made it difficult for Firle to place him, as nursing homes wouldn’t take him in because of his sex offender status and residential homes couldn’t care for his tube.
Several doctors and counselors testified at Firle’s trial that Stryker wanted to take every possible measure to continue living, even though his quality of life had been compromised in the months leading up to his death.
A status hearing will be held on November 28 to ensure medical experts are available to testify.
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