Pediatrician killed by husband said she felt ‘drugged’: docs

Interviews with Julia Pederson’s relatives, friend and co-worker revealed that she had reported feeling “drugged” and experienced dizziness and lethargy after consuming drinks delivered by her husband and daughter in the weeks before her death, according to a search-warrant application filed in Pennsylvania by the Harrisburg Bureau of Police.

Police said Pederson’s husband, Jonathan Gatto, strangled her and then set fire to her body.

Crews respond to Green Street fire

Police and firefighters responded to the couple’s home in the 2900 block of Green Street at about 7:05 a.m. Oct. 10 for a reported house fire.

Firefighters entered the home and found Pederson. Emergency responders performed CPR before taking her to Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where she was pronounced dead, according to the warrant application.

Investigators determined the fire had been intentionally set. A blood test measuring the level of carboxyhemoglobin in Pederson’s body indicated she had died before the fire began, the application states.

An autopsy conducted Oct. 13 determined Pederson died from multiple traumatic injuries, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the warrant.

Pederson told mother she felt ‘drugged,’ docs say

Pederson’s sister provided investigators with text messages Pederson had sent to their mother, police said.

In a Sept. 10 message, Pederson said she felt as though she was “being drugged” because she could barely walk, according to the warrant. She also reported feeling groggy and said she had canceled appointments with five patients before lying down to sleep.

Gatto would bring Pederson drinks daily, docs say

A friend told investigators that Gatto and the couple’s daughter frequently brought drinks to Pederson at work, according to the warrant.

The friend stated that Pederson did not want the drinks but that Gatto would have their daughter carry them inside while he waited in the car, according to police.

A co-worker provided a similar account, telling investigators that Gatto and the child delivered drinks to Pederson almost daily.

Pederson’s symptoms appeared to worsen after she finished a drink, the co-worker told police. She reportedly became dizzy and lethargic, experienced more severe migraine symptoms and developed a very dry mouth.

Pederson planned to get bloodwork the morning she was found dead

On Oct. 9, the day before the fire, Pederson was “so lethargic” that she was lying on her office floor and appeared “very out of it,” the co-worker told investigators.

Pederson said she planned to have bloodwork performed the following morning, according to the warrant. She was found dead that morning.

Police sought DNA, security cameras

Investigators requested authorization to search the Green Street residence, the surrounding property and a Toyota Prius associated with the home.

Police sought hair or other DNA samples from Gatto, Pederson and the couple’s daughter, along with water bottles and other beverage and food containers Pederson might have used.

The warrant application also listed documents concerning the couple’s relationship, records related to Pederson’s medical symptoms and containers that might have held flammable liquids or chemicals.

Investigators also sought security cameras, alarm systems and surveillance recordings, including footage from a Ring doorbell system.