TWO DREAMERS. TWO CRIMINALS. TWO FINAL FATES. — What began as a story of hope and ambition spiraled into one of the most heartbreaking turns imaginable. 🌙💔
Two young women chasing a future they believed in… crossed paths with two men who would change everything forever. Now, as their story reaches its most intense chapter, one grieving father is making a heart-shattering plea that’s moving people to tears. 💔😭
The question isn’t what happened — it’s how everything could fall apart so tragically. 👀🔥👇
Two young women with a dream, two career criminals, two executions… and a father’s gut-wrenching plea
A grieving North Carolina father whose 22-year-old daughter was murdered execution-style is pushing for her alleged killer to receive the death penalty.
Logan Federico was visiting her boyfriend at the University of South Carolina in May. Her father, Stephen Federico, told the Daily Mail it was meant to be a weekend of celebration, with graduation festivities underway.
Instead, Logan crossed paths with Alexander Dickey, 30, a repeat offender with a rap sheet of 39 arrests, including 25 felonies.
Dickey has been sentenced in eight cases involving robbery, drug possession and larceny. In 2023, he was sentenced to five years in prison for burglary, but was released early with his probation set to end in June.
Prosecutors say Dickey crept into a fraternity house bedroom in the early hours of May 3, where Logan was asleep beside her boyfriend.
Startled awake, she screamed. Dickey allegedly forced her to her knees, naked and begging for help, before shooting her in the chest with a stolen 12-gauge shotgun. Prosecutors say he then fled in a stolen vehicle. He has not entered a plea in the case.
Just four months later, another young woman met a similarly brutal fate at the hands of a violent repeat offender.
Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, was riding the Charlotte light rail on August 22. Decarlos Brown Jr, 34, suddenly lunged from behind and stabbed her repeatedly in the neck as she texted her boyfriend.
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Logan Federico (pictured), 22, was shot by a career criminal during a robbery in a South Carolina fraternity house on May 3
Zarutska’s death was captured on video and shocked the nation.
Similar to Dickey, Brown had a lengthy arrest record, severe mental health issues, and a history of violence.
The pair of cases has ignited outrage over why dangerous criminals were free to roam the streets, leaving two young women dead in crimes that could have been prevented had they been locked up.
Logan loved Taylor Swift and dreamed of becoming a teacher. Zarutska had fled war-torn Ukraine in search of safety and was training to be a veterinary assistant. Both were just beginning their adult lives.
Even more chilling was that no one came to their aid. Logan’s boyfriend and other fraternity brothers slept just feet away as she was killed. In Charlotte, some train passengers sat frozen or failed to intervene as Zarutska collapsed.
Last week, the US Department of Justice announced that Brown will be charged with a federal crime, one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
The move means the Trump administration can also pursue the death penalty, which the president called for when he weighed in after the tragedy.
Federico, meanwhile, says his family has been left in limbo and is still waiting for justice.
The father, who works 60 hours a week to provide for his family, has described fighting for justice as a second full-time job.
‘Before Iryna… there was Logan Federico, and nobody cares,’ Federico said, tears streaming down his face. ‘Her murder was preventable.’
‘The crime that [Brown] committed on the train was rookie compared to what Alexander Dickey did. You won’t see much worse than Dickey.’
His mission is to expose the systematic dysfunction that would allow a serial criminal with dozens of arrests back on the streets.
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Iryna Zarutska (pictured), 23, was killed by a serial criminal on August 22 while on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina
Dickey was charged with Logan’s murder in the days that followed. He was also charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, for which he may face federal charges.
Additionally, Dickey was charged with two counts of grand larceny, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, and three counts of financial transaction card theft.
He is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center without bail and is awaiting trial, a spokesperson for the Columbia Police Department told the Daily Mail on Thursday.
It is unclear why Dickey was not behind bars for previous offenses.
Federico alleged that between 2013 and 2015, Dickey’s fingerprints were never taken, prompting his release from jail.
Additional reasons for the massive systematic failure could have been due to the fingerprints getting botched in the process or a glitch in the system.
However, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) claimed the prints were never sent.
The Daily Mail reached out to SLED for further information, but has not received a response.
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Dickey allegedly forced Logan (pictured) to her knees, naked and begging for help, before shooting her in the chest with a stolen 12-gauge shotgun. He then fled in a stolen vehicle
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Iryna (pictured) had fled war-torn Ukraine in search of safety and was training to be a veterinary assistant
Federico hopes President Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi can help him put Dickey on death row.
‘Our justice system failed both young ladies. They failed my daughter first. Maybe if Logan’s murder had gotten national attention, it might have been able to prevent the death of the Ukrainian girl.
‘The longest time [Dickey] was in prison was a little more than 600 days, and then he was let go for some reason, but nobody can tell you why this guy was out on the street. Nobody is answering those questions,’ he said.
The Federico family hired Richard Harpootlian, the same powerhouse attorney who defended convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh in a double murder trial.
The Daily Mail reached out to Harpootlian for comment, but has not heard back.
Federico is now working to get Dickey federally charged, and says he has been in talks with senior officials in the Department of Justice, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
He said he wants to have it handled without Solicitor Bryan Gipson of District 5, Richland County, who he said does not believe in the death penalty.
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Alexander Dickey (pictured), 30, is accused of shooting Logan Federico, 22, execution style after breaking into the South Carolina rental home where she was staying
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Decarlos Brown Jr (pictured), 34, stabbed the Ukranian refugee to death on the Charlotte light train. He has a history of violence, and has been arrested. He suffers from mental health problems
Since Gipson was elected in 2018, he has been criticized for the way he has handled dangerous and violent criminals.
Gipson’s office declined to comment, telling the Daily Mail it cannot speak on a pending case.
Some claim that Gipson is more interested in securing the rights of a murderer, as per the National Police Association (NPA).
The NPA is a non-profit organization that ‘educates supporters of law enforcement in how to help police departments accomplish their goals.’
It also ‘advocates Support the Police, and Back the Blue, because Blue Lives Matter,’ according to the website.
Federico said his legal team plans to use the Hobbs Act – a federal law used in prosecutions when possessions taken by robbery and extortion cross state lines – in their case.
Dickey allegedly stole Logan’s credit cards and used them outside of South Carolina.
Federico said he has spoken to the US Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Bryan Stirling, about his daughter’s murder and the alleged killer and career criminal responsible.
He described them as ‘motivated and eager’ to take on the case. ‘They know the seriousness of it… He should have been in prison.’
He said he is waiting for a decision from Stirling on the death penalty.
He also hopes that US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson will also get involved.
Though Federico knows this won’t bring his daughter back, the case gives him some hope.
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Stephen Federico (left) said he always warned his daughter (right) about safety, and advised her to keep her head on a swivel
Taking a pause, his voice wavered. ‘I shouldn’t have to work this hard. I should be able to mourn my daughter. And, I haven’t yet.’
He had a message for other parents, hoping they never have to experience the unbearable pain that he and his family are going through.
‘Parents need to be horrified…’
He said he always spoke to Logan and his son about safety. ‘I would always tell them to keep their heads on a swivel, no matter where they go, and that there are very bad people out there. I wore them out to a point that I was getting on their nerves.
‘Logan would specifically say, “Dad, it’s not that bad.” But I know how bad it is, and she’s dead proof of it.
‘I’m not just out for Logan. I am out for everyone.’
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Zarutska (seated) had just finished working at a local pizzeria when the August 22 unprovoked attack occurred
