Mom's death turned accused into 'his own worst enemy'
Ralph
Haunted by past
Mom's death turned accused into 'his own worst enemy'
By PETER SMITH -- Calgary Sun
MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. -- Accused child-killer David Trott has always felt
responsible for the death of another human being -- his mom -- a guilt
that's constantly plagued him, say his relatives.
Until this week -- when Trott, 20, stood in the glass-fronted prisoner
box of Abbotsford provincial court charged with the premeditated
strangling murder of nine-year-old Jessica Russell -- his mom's death
was the greatest single disaster of his tragic life.
His aunt, Cassandra Wagner, 44, is probably as close to David as
anyone, and has fought hardest to get him the help he needed throughout
his formative years.
She's revealed the anguish in David's mind over the death of his mom,
Charlotte Sinopoli, in a fiery car crash in 1992.
David was 13 years old and had always suffered the social and mental
problems thrust on him by being born with fetal alcohol syndrome to a
mom who was only 17 years old when she bore him.
Not knowing what was wrong with him, his family was mystified why this
toddler had demolished three cribs in his first year.
David, a Metis, was let down by the Metis elders tasked with helping
him through childhood, said Cassandra, and he'd been through a
succession of foster homes.
Cassandra was one of his foster moms, and when he was 13, she had
succeeded in straightening out a great deal of his life.
So improved was his behaviour, social services let it be known they
might let him live back with his mom in the future -- but no date was
set.
Cassandra and Charlotte started making preparations.
In Charlotte's tiny home, she divided off a room for herself by moving
book-shelves, and together they put up drywall to divide off a room for
David.
But they had no idea if it would be weeks or months before they'd hear
from social services.
Then tragedy struck.
Charlotte borrowed her sister's BMW and backed it into a post --
crumpling the fender.
Distraught with irrational guilt at the fender-bender, Charlotte turned
to her one ally in life -- the bottle.
"She bought a bottle of Southern Comfort, went down to the creek and
cried and cried and drank it," said Cassandra.
Hopelessly drunk, she was about to drive off with David, his kid sister
Christina and a cousin.
"I'd always told David never to get in a car with anyone drunk," said
Cassandra.
David acted.
He took his sister and cousin out of the car, got out himself and took
the keys, putting them back indoors.
Angry at him, his mom retrieved the keys and drove off by herself.
In the inevitable crash that followed, she was killed.
"David told me he felt it was his fault," said Cassandra.
"He told me, 'I should have thrown the keys further away and slashed
the tires. I should have done more.' "
Charlotte was killed on the Sunday.
On the Monday, word came from the social services -- David could go and
live with his mom right away.
"It was devastating," said Cassandra.
"Charlotte never knew they were giving her back her son."
In going through Charlotte's things, Cassandra found a letter she'd
written about David.
"I've lost David to the system," she'd written.
"I hope Christina will not be lost. They have become the system's
objects.
"I'm sure David hates me. I love him."
Only then did Cassandra realize the total tragedy of Charlotte's death
coming the day before her son was being given back to her.
Cassandra remembered how Charlotte showed her love.
"She used to take the children to school on horseback," she said.
"She'd put David and Cassandra on her horse Eagle and walk them to
school, leading the horse.
"And they'd often go camping, with just a tarp as a home-made tent,
cooking on the rocks, and they loved it."
When David and Christina wanted to see their mom's body, it was
Cassandra who took them to see the coffin.
"We made her look better with make-up, we tried to make her look good,"
she said.
"David wanted to say goodbye to his mom.
"He was very brave, but he nearly passed out."
From that day on, David was his own worst enemy.
"David screwed it up for himself," said Cassandra.
David stole from his own stepfather, Harvey Borley, who he turned to
for legal advice, which Harvey gave freely.
But after David stole from him, Harvey wouldn't let him stay with him
again.
He went further.
After David was charged with Jessica's death, Harvey told reporters,
"they should have culled him at birth."
Cassandra doesn't blame Harvey.
"We love David, but we won't have him live with us, either," she said.
"He stole a stereo from one of my sons after my son had worked all
summer on the fishing boats to save for it.
"David stole it and sold it for $20 to buy a ticket for a concert he
wanted to see.
"Then he stole a $1,200 bicycle from another of my boys and sold it for
$40."
Cassandra told David she was afraid for the safety of her seven sons if
they ever got into a car with him that might be stolen.
"I tell him all the time I love him, but he can't live with us, I worry
for my sons."
Cassandra has proved many times she cares for David.
When he and his sister were being abused as children, Cassandra
kidnapped them from the abuser for their safety.
"I had one of my sons dress up a girl as a decoy so we could kidnap
David's little sister Christina and him to get them away from the
abuse," she said.
Traumatized by his mom's death, David clung to the few possessions of
hers he owned -- a battered stereo and a fur jacket.
"They were stolen from him by one of his foster parents," said
Cassandra.
"They weren't valuable, but they had great meaning for him."
Cassandra still has the rest of Charlotte's possessions.
"My next project was to give these things to David if he was ready to
receive them, but that won't happen now," she said.
Cassandra cannot believe David murdered Jessica.
"If he did this thing, he must have been out of his head," she said.
"The little girl's death is terrible, terrible, horrible, I just hope
they find it wasn't David."
_____________________________________________________________________
But if it was him that's still OK..................cos his mum died and
he's the real victim in the scenario.
Escaped Patient
>Newsgroups: alt.true-crime, alt.true.crime, alt.crime
>Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 22:23:23 +0100
>Organization: Nospam Inc
>Lines: 126
>Message-ID: <391F194B...@nospam.net>
Ralph McGehee posted:
and then Ralph McGehee wrote:
>But if it was him that's still OK..................cos his mum died and
>he's the real victim in the scenario.
>
I'm inclined to think that if information in the article you posted is accurate
then there may well be room for compassion in sentencing. I do have lots of
questions I'd want answered though, starting with the severity and extent of
birth defects.
Here's a link for fetal alcohol syndrome: http://www.aap.org/policy/04358.html
Escaped
Merc
wrote:
I agree Escaped ..... this is a most tragic case!
Also, an irrevocable 'hard sign' which cannot be denied - but is
often ignored - is that some of those who are diagnosed as
psychopath or psychotic, after committing such crime - who have
suffered trauma, birth defects from fetal alcohol syndrome - are
usually microcephalic, ie their head and therefore the brain is
significantly smaller than it should be.
Yet, evenso, they are forced to plead guilty, before any/the
mitigating evidence can be even considered. Figure that, eh! Crazy?
Merc
>