Calif. man found guilty of torture, murder of San Francisco ceramic artist

OAKLAND, Calif. (TCN) -- A 30-year-old man has been found guilty of second-degree murder, torture, and corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury in connection with the death of his on-again, off-again partner in 2024.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced Victor Frieson’s conviction on June 30. On March 1, 2024, Frieson — who had been involved with 25-year-old victim Zoe Nika Reidy Watts for less than a year — assaulted her at his apartment, leading to her death.

Evidence was presented at trial that Frieson beat Watts to death. NBC Bay Area reports. The night Watts was killed, the couple had gone on a dinner date and posted videos to Instagram related to the food, the New York Post reports. In the videos, Watts did not have any visible injuries.

In surveillance footage from a few hours later at Frieson’s apartment, Watts was seen naked and injured, covered in blood. She collapsed after getting out of the apartment, and surveillance showed Frieson drag her back inside. Frieson later asked a neighbor for help with Watts. He also allegedly cleaned the apartment before asking the neighbor to assist him.

The Golden Gate Express reports Frieson was arrested on March 6 in connection with Watts’ death. He pleaded not guilty in May 2024. 

During their time together, two domestic violence incidents were reported, according to the DA. KTVU reports Frieson is a registered sex offender. According to the New York Post, friends and family members of Watts allege they saw her with bruises and other injuries shortly after she began dating Frieson.

District Attorney Ursula Dickson said the verdict “delivers justice for Zoe, whose life was taken in an act of extraordinary violence. She was a talented artist, a dedicated student, and a young woman whose future was filled with promise. While no verdict can restore what her family, friends, and the Bay Area artistic community have lost, we hope today’s decision provides a measure of accountability and peace.”

KRON reports Watts attended San Francisco State University and later became the artist-in-residence at Clayroom SF, a ceramics studio. A social media post from the studio memorializing Watts reads, “Zoe enriched our studio with curiosity, tenderness, and rich enthusiasm for her art and the people around her. Dreaming of worlds that cultivated awareness and playful imagination, the inspiration for her art came from the ethereal and healing energy of nature.

“She used her residency to develop large abstract ceramic pieces resembling amoebic structures, inviting the viewer to reflect the resilience of our microscopic world. She was deeply loved by our community members and staff, and she will be remembered for her strength, creativity, and infectiously effervescent nature.”

Frieson is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17.

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