waunakeegan
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Cecil Travis Gaddy was only 19 years old when he died on Jan 24, 2004 in Osceola, IA (Clark County). Three years earlier, when Cecil was 16, he was in a terrible car accident with his sister who was pregnant at the time. When the vehicle started to roll, Cecil used his body to protect his sister and her unborn baby. His actions saved his sister and her baby, but Cecil was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Cecil was a very positive and motivated person, however, and he refused let his handicap hold him back. After high school, Cecil supported himself and rented a house of his own. Cecil’s house and generous nature attracted some fair-weather friends who saw his spare rooms and financial stability as a great opportunity to freeload. Cecil dismissed their behavior at first, but as his items and pain medication began to disappear he became more concerned, but he was fearful of what his friends would do if he cut them off. He reportedly told his sister that his friends also wanted him to set up a meth lab in his home, but he’d obviously refused.
On January 31, 2004 a fire was started at Cecil’s home that burned much of it to the ground. Cecil’s body was found on his bed in a back bedroom. The fire was determined to have originated on the sofa in the living room. It was also determined, according to his death certificate, that Cecil had died the agonizing death of being burned alive. However, no smoke was found in his lungs and it's been confirmed that the Cause of Death certificate was completed and signed before the autopsy findings were even available.
Cecil Gaddy’s wheelchair was found in the front yard of the house when firefighters responded to the scene. This should have been a red flag to investigators that this was likely a case of homicide, as a paraplegic would not leave his wheelchair outside to crawl in the house all the way to the back bedroom. However, Police quickly closed Gaddy’s case 3 months later and ruled it an accidental death from fire, although they were never able to explain why his wheelchair was outside.
After the Gaddy family protested the closing of the case, investigators said the only way the case would be reopened would be if someone came forward with new, credible information.
The Gaddy family believes that some of Cecil's "friends" may have taken his wheelchair outside so Cecil could not escape and that Cecil may have been murdered before the fire was set, with the fire used as a way to cover up the crime. The family speculates that the friends may have murdered him in order to avoid paying the debts they owed, or that he perhaps caught them stealing and finally confronted them. Cecil's death may also be revenge motivated if he did follow through with cutting the friends off.
This case is not technically ruled a homicide at this time, but all the evidence strongly points to Cecil Gaddy being murdered. The sister that Cecil saved in the car accident is fighting hard for justice for him, but there’s been very little news coverage or publicity to aid her efforts.
Iowa Cold Cases article link:
https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/cecil-gaddy/?fbclid=IwAR0OLqPsJQOCv7QbxxWIQQz7JavhFfRMJ2UxZdqzp7rPw1S3vYsbGZX--58
Video about his case: https://youtu.be/qdyKzkNW30Q
