Sometimes I am drawn to a story of murder because it involves a family member of a famous celebrity. The murder of a loved one somehow manages to make celebrities seem more like you or me. They, too, unfortunately, are just as susceptible to pain and heartache as the rest of us. Cases such as the murder of Bill Cosby's son, Ennis Cosby, or Michael Jordan's father, James Jordan, bring this harsh realization home.
Such was the case last week when I heard about former beloved Saturday Night Live comedienne Cheri Oteri and the murder of her father, Gaetano Thomas "Tom" Oteri. As a fan of Cheri Oteri's work on SNL, from her "Simm'a Down" character to a sexual nymphomaniacal Barbara Walters to her over-exuberant Spartan cheerleader played opposite Will Ferrell, Oteri always made me laugh. That is why the thought of her suffering the pain of the murder of her father affected me so deeply.
Though the celebrity angle is what caught my eye, the details of the case are endlessly fascinating and merit attention here simply based on the facts alone, regardless of the players.
Tom Oteri, 69, shared a home with his friend and musical collaborator, Richard "Rich" Fagan, 61, in Nashville, Tennessee. Fagan is an extremely successful songwriter who has penned two #1 hits for country singer John Michael Montgomery, "Be My Baby Tonight" and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)," as well as another #1 song for Clay Walker, entitled "Only on Days That End in Y." Fagan had several more Top Ten hits for Montgomery and also wrote several songs for such artists as diverse as Neil Diamond, Shania Twain, The Blues Brothers Band, George Strait, Hank Williams Jr., The Kingsmen, and George Jones.
According to the Fagan and Oteri's mutual website, the duo met around 1975. Fagan, a Vietnam vet and ant-war protestor was discharged in 1968. He became a "homeless vagabond" who divorced in 1975. Afterwards he turned to drugs and alcohol and remained homeless. It was about this time he ran into Tom Oteri, a "Philadelphia music entrepreneur."
Oteri was considered a saint by many people as well as a "person of peace." According to Oteri's biography, he was the 1998-99 recipient of "The Caring Touch Award," in Nashville for his work with a local hospice program.
According to the bio, "When Fagan was down and out, it was Tommy who took him in and put him on a path to songwriting stardom. I know Rich would be first to credit Tommy for that transformation."
According to Fagan's own bio, Oteri had invited Fagan to come down to his recording studio to record some tunes. Fagan promptly showed up two hours late and was as drunk as a skunk. Oteri laughed and said, "I like the act so far. If he can sing, we're taking him with us."
The two men became collaborators and fast friends. Oteri would be there for his buddy for over thirty years. The only binding agreement the two men ever made with one another were matching tattoos of two hands shaking.
The most recent developments of this case came about slowly.
At approximately 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, Fagan was pulled over on Dickerson Pike by a Nashville police officer for "riding on three tires." Fagan failed a sobriety test and was sent to jail on DUI charges. He claimed he had drunk six shots earlier that evening.
Fagan contacted a mutual friend of his and Oteri's to ask him to go check up on his buddy. There was no word as to how Tommy was doing.
The following day, April 27, Fagan posted bail. At almost the exact same time, a mutual friend of Fagan and Oteri's attempted to check up on Oteri. The friend was not able to gain entrance into their home, so he contacted police. He informed them that the screen door was locked, the house looked like it had been turned upside down, and that he had knocked on the door repeatedly and Oteri did not answer.
Police arrived at the home and managed to get inside. There, they discovered Tommy Oteri dead, sitting in a pool of his blood. The friend informed police that Fagan was the one who made the call. As a result, police tracked the songwriter down still with his bail bondsmen. They then arrested Fagan.
Once in custody, Fagan vaguely remembered that he and Oteri had been having an argument around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night. Apparently, both men had been drinking and Fagan took out a "4- to 6-inch Colt pocket knife" and cut Oteri's right wrist with it. According to Oteri's son, Brian, his father had difficulty moving around recently due to a fall that bruised his ribs. It is possible he was in too much pain from the previous injury to seek out help from a "wide laceration" across the wrist caused by his best friend of thirty years and roommate for ten years.
Fagan was arrested on Sunday night.
Fagan appeared in court last Thursday where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He has been officially charged with criminal homicide. Friends of the Oteri family actually attended the hearing in support of Fagan. They do not believe he intended to kill Tom Oteri.
"This is a situation [where] he's hurting just as bad as the family who is here in support of Rich as well," said Michael Haight, a friend of the Oteris and Fagan.
According to Nashville's News Channel 5, "Fagan has to pay a $20,000 bond, and the immediately go to Discovery Place in Burns, Tennessee, for rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol."
Rich Fagan's attorneys plan to argue that their client had no intention of killing his best friend, Tom Oteri.
Cheri Oteri, who had just completed filming on the set of the newest Jessica Simpson feature film, Major Movie Star, had no comment about her father's death.