TAMPA, Fla. — A judge set a new trial date Tuesday for former professional guardian Rebecca Fierle after her felony trial ended in a hung jury last month.
Fierle will face trial again in Hillsborough County Circuit Court on the week of March 20, 2023.
She's charged with aggravated abuse of an elderly person and neglect of an elderly person in connection with thedeath of 75-year-old Steven Stryker in May of 2019.
Investigators allege that while serving as Stryker's professional guardian, Fierle plugged his feeding tube and sought a “do not resuscitate” order, causing him to choke to death days later.
Stryker's death got 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 couldn't reach a unanimous verdict following two days of deliberation.
More than a dozen medical experts and Stryker’s estranged daughter testified at the trial.
Stryker had a history of mental illness and was listed on the Florida Sex Offender Registry after exposing himself in Brevard County in 2000.
He also had medical issues that made it difficult for him to swallow solid food.
That made it difficult for Fierle to place him since nursing homes wouldn’t accept him because of his status as a sex offender, and assisted living facilities were unable to care for his feeding tube.
Several doctors and counselors testified at Fierle’s trial that Stryker wanted to take every measure possible to continue to live, even though his quality of life was compromised in the months before his death.
A status hearing will take place on November 28 to make sure medical experts are available to testify.
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