Wednesday, August 8, 2001
Slaying of popular teenager sends community into shock[b]
By JUSTO BAUTISTA, ASHANTI M. ALVAREZ, and JENNIFER V. HUGHES
Staff Writers
RINGWOOD -- It started with an argument over a girlfriend. It ended with a popular teenager dead from a stab wound, his houseguest charged with murder, and a lake community in shock and searching for answers Tuesday.
The victim of the early Monday stabbing, 16-year-old Arthur Trussell, was remembered by friends and acquaintances Tuesday as an all-American boy with a strong sense of kindness. His death cast a pall over co-workers at the Stop & Shop supermarket in the Fieldstone Shopping Center, where Trussell was a cashier.
Less is known about the suspect, Cole Dykstra, 24, who, authorities said, had been living at the Trussell house on Skyline Lake Drive for the past 10 months.
Dykstra, charged with murder, was being held in the Passaic County Jail Tuesday on $750,000 bail.
He confronted Trussell at 2:30 a.m. Monday after the teenager and an unidentified female returned to the house from a night out, acting Passaic County Prosecutor Boris Moczula said.
"Apparently what precipitated this incident was an argument regarding the victim's involvement with a girlfriend," Moczula said.
One hour after the confrontation, authorities said, Dykstra took a beer bottle wrapped in a towel and an 8-inch kitchen knife, struck a sleeping Trussell with the bottle, and then stabbed him once in the stomach.
Moczula said Dykstra then fled in the Trussell family car.
Trussell's father and brother, neither of whom was identified, found the body; Moczula said there was some indication that one of them heard some of the commotion of the killing.
Dykstra later turned himself in to Wanaque police.
"The relationship of the suspect and the girl is still under investigation," Moczula said.
It was not yet clear Tuesday whether Dykstra, a 1994 graduate of Lakeland Regional High School, was paying rent or was staying at the Trussell house as a friend, Moczula said.
Arthur Trussell was a freshman at the high school until March, when he was withdrawn for home schooling, Superintendent Albert Guazzo said. Guazzo remembered Dykstra as a "decent student," and a yearbook photo shows him as a clean-cut young man with glasses and short hair.
[b]The teenager and the adult were both drawn to Jehovah's Witnesses. Both had attended services at Kingdom Hall in West Milford, although a man who answered the phone at the hall said Tuesday that Dykstra had been an "inactive" congregation member.
Meanwhile, distraught co-workers at Stop & Shop on Tuesday recalled Arthur Trussell as easygoing and kind.
His care for mentally handicapped employees especially struck his co-workers.
"Arthur would take them out to shoot pool, to hang out," said Doris Mueller, a co-worker and neighbor. "They had trouble fitting in. Arthur understood that, so he took them under his wing. I can't imagine Arthur being in a fight."
Jeff Brown, customer service manager at the supermarket, said his employees were in shock upon learning of Arthur's death.
"A couple of people called in and asked for the day off," Brown said. He said the company established a 24-hour crisis counseling hot line.
A sign that referred to the "unfortunate incident with Art Trussell" hung on the wall near the customer service counter.
Trussell's all-American boyish good looks complemented his charm and wit, co-workers said. At 6 feet 2 inches tall, he had a sturdy build and freckles, and curly light brown hair.
"We all liked him very much at work," Mueller said. "He was a nice kid to be around."
In the past, Trussell became romantically involved with another cashier at the supermarket, said Brown.
"I don't know if it was a casual kind of thing. He would come in to see her when he wasn't working," the manager said.
Brown could not say if the girl was the same one who, prosecutors said, Trussell and Dykstra fought over.
"I don't speculate," Brown said.
Mueller said the girl, who is about 16 years old, called in and asked to be excused from the rest of her workweek.
Brown said he had his first casual conversation with Trussell on Saturday, two days before his death.
The manager didn't notice anything unusual.
"It didn't seem like there was anything wrong," Brown said. "He didn't ask for time off. He didn't give any indication that there were any problems."
Trussell lived with his family on the winding Skyline Lake Drive in a rustic, 2 1/2-story house overlooking Skyline Lakes. Many residents have canoes and paddleboats and use the lakes for fishing and swimming.
Trussell family members could not be reached for comment late Tuesday evening.
The Dykstra family house is about three miles from the Trussells', a small, modest house on Conklintown Road and across the street from Lakeland Regional High School. The Dykstra family could not be reached for comment.
Staff Writers Jan Barry and Barbara Williams contributed to this story
Copyright © 2001 North Jersey Media Group Inc.