What were 2016’s top Trumbull stories?
The year 2016 was a trying one in many ways, with a contentious presidential election, celebrity deaths and social upheaval.
But those are all national issues, and right here in Trumbull there was plenty of note also. The Times covered the stories that mattered where you live. So here, once again, is our annual list of the top Trumbull stories, as chosen by the readers based on the number of online views.
Woman found dead at Westfield
Police and EMS workers were called to the Westfield mall parking lot late on the night of Feb. 26. Witnesses reported seeing a woman slumped over the wheel of a Honda SUV. Emergency workers performed CPR and rushed the 37-year-old to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later. Police said there was no sign of foul play and no drugs were found at the scene.
Father abducts son
A violent domestic dispute led to the abduction of a 7-year-old boy just after 4:30 a.m. March 12. Rodolfo Revello, 43, forced entry into the residence and assaulted his wife in her bedroom. Revello went to retrieve a knife from the kitchen but was disarmed by his 17-year-old stepson.
During that time period, the wife was able to escape by jumping out her bedroom window and hiding in the yard. Revello left with Ariel, and a police and FBI search ensued. Ariel was found unharmed in Queens, N.Y., later that day. Revello was captured 12 days later and is currently in jail awaiting trial on six different felony charges.
THS grad achieves NFL dream
Trumbull High standout Don Cherry, an All-American linebacker at Villanova, was signed by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League in May. The Bears released the 6’2” 240-pound Cherry before the season, but he was then signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and assigned to the team’s practice squad, where he spent his rookie season.
Fatal overdose at Starbucks
Opioid addiction in the suburbs has been a major news story for the past few years, and Trumbull has been no exception.
On Jan. 6, a 24-year-old man went into the bathroom at the White Plains Road Starbucks and never came out. A friend of the victim approached the manager to report that his friend had been in the bathroom for a half-hour, and the manager found the man unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Resident killed by drunk driver
Trumbull resident Vincent Pezzella, 24, was walking with friends in Milford when he was struck by a drunk driver as the group crossed Bridgeport Avenue. Milford police and EMS performed advanced lifesaving techniques, but he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
Hector Frias-Angomas, 46, was charged in the crash and has pleaded not guilty to DUI charges. He is due back in court in early 2017.
Mom fights teen depression
The 2014 suicide of Abby Anderson shocked Trumbull, and motivated her mother, Gillian, to do everything she could to prevent similar tragedies.
Gillian Anderson is now development director for the Jordan Porco Foundation, a Hartford-based non-profit dedicated to fighting teen depression and suicide. The foundation is currently partnering with the hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, about a lonely teen whose social status improves after the suicide of a classmate. The show is receiving positive reviews and audience reaction and is currently playing to sellout crowds at the 984-seat Music Box Theatre.
Town clerk, husband injured in car crash
Suzanne Burr Monaco and her husband, Domenic, were involved in a serious car accident on Church Hill Road Feb. 4 when a car driven by Hunter Kay, 24, crossed the double yellow line and struck their vehicle head-on.
Domenic suffered two broken legs in the incident. Kay has pleaded guilty to DUI and vehicular assault.