Pediatrician complained of feeling ‘drugged’ in weeks before husband allegedly murdered her and set body on fire while couple’s young daughter slept nearby, investigators say
Investigators say paediatrician Julia Pederson told relatives she felt “drugged” and was suffering severe symptoms in the weeks before she was found dead in her Harrisburg home. Her estranged husband, Jonathan Gatto, has been charged with her murder; the case has drawn attention to reports that she became ill after drinking beverages brought to her workplace.
Pederson, 41, was found on 10 October after a fire at the home, and a medical examiner ruled she died from multiple traumatic injuries before the fire was set. A search warrant describes a message to her mother saying she could barely walk and felt groggy, as well as a colleague’s account that she became lethargic, dizzy and developed migraine symptoms after drinking the beverages. Gatto, 42, was arrested three days later and is being held without bail; he has denied responsibility in his account to police, saying he woke to smoke alarms and tried to reach his wife after getting their seven-year-old daughter to safety.
In short
- Pederson reportedly feared she had been drugged before her death.
- A colleague said drinks brought to work preceded episodes of illness.
- Her estranged husband has been charged with murder.
Explained simply
Julia Pederson was a 41-year-old paediatrician living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She and her husband, Jonathan Gatto, were estranged and had a seven-year-old daughter.
The investigation includes reports that Pederson felt unusually groggy and unwell in the weeks before her death, including after drinking beverages brought to her workplace. Such accounts are part of the evidence investigators are examining; the charge against Gatto is an allegation, and he has denied responsibility. The case matters because it concerns a violent death in a family home and raises questions about the reported symptoms and events leading up to it.