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Bob Adams had just settled in for bed after working the nightshift early Tuesday morning when he was startled by the sound of his doorbell ringing and someone shouting from his front lawn.
When Adams answered the door, the peaceful appeal of this rural Sherrill neighborhood was forever shattered by what he saw next: his hysterical neighbor, Alison Belius, cradling one of her 6-year-old daughters in a blanket.
“Start CPR,” Adams shouted before running inside to call 911, he said.
The young girl, Lauren, had been stabbed at about 8:30 a.m. inside her 408 Primo Avenue home, and she soon died from her injuries, state police said.
Investigators later said Lauren had been stabbed with a knife by her mother’s live-in boyfriend, 30-year-old David Trebilcock, and police expect to charge him with second-degree murder.
But the circumstances surrounding this deadly attack continue to be shrouded in mystery, as law enforcement authorities and prosecutors remained tight-lipped about what they know or don’t know.
“There’s a lot more investigating we need to undertake,” state police Capt. Mark Lincoln said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon at Troop D headquarters in Oneida. “It’s a terrible incident, and we’re going to take it from here.”
So for now, whatever happened before the stabbing inside the bedroom that Lauren shared with her twin 6-year-old sister is open to speculation.
Moments before Belius, 36, ran to a neighbor for help, the mother of two 6-year-old daughters and one 9-year-old son had woken up to screams of one of those children, Lincoln said.
But after Belius ran to the twins’ bedroom, she couldn’t immediately get in: A dresser had been used to block the door shut, Lincoln said. After Belius forced her way in, Lincoln said, she then found Trebilcock stabbing Lauren.
The shocked mother tried to stop the attack, Lincoln said, and Trebilcock suffered his own knife wounds. It still is unclear, however, whether Trebilcock stabbed himself or if he was cut during the struggle with Lauren’s mother, Lincoln said.
Lauren was later pronounced dead at Oneida Healthcare Center, and Trebilcock was being treated for his non-life threatening injuries at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Lincoln said. Trebilcock’s condition was unknown Tuesday afternoon, because hospital officials said they could neither confirm nor deny that Trebilcock was under their care.
Little else is known about Trebilcock, who neighbors said had been living with Belius for only about six to eight months. According to Oneida County records, John Belius and Allison Belius bought the house in 2006 for $190,000.
One thing is clear, though, Lincoln said: There doesn’t appear to be any instances of previously reported domestic troubles between Belius and Trebilcock at this residence.
So as far as any clues that could explain what happened, Lincoln’s remarks were limited: “We are still investigating the background on what may have triggered this incident.”
In order to preserve the integrity of possible grand jury proceedings against Trebilcock, Lincoln and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara declined to answer any questions about the facts of the case.
Sherrill city police, Vernon police and Oneida County sheriff’s deputies were among the law enforcement officers who responded earlier that day to the two-story home, where a child-size basketball hoop stood in the driveway.
David Ricketts, a nearby Cherry Lane resident who has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, said he’s surprised such an incident could happen there
“Kids get in trouble from time to time,” he said, but the area is otherwise just like “Mayberry,” the fictional rural community on TV’s The Andy Griffith Show during the 1960s.
As children rode by yellow police tape marking the homicide scene Tuesday morning, neighbor Brian Lanz described the shock that rippled across the western edge of Oneida County as the tragic news spread. The neighborhood is quiet, he said, and a nice place to live.
“We hear about this in Utica often,” Lanz said, referring to the sister city’s frequent bursts of violent crime. But here, Lanz said, Belius’ children would often be seen playing outside with other neighborhood children and, “Everyone seems to be good neighbors.”
The City of Sherrill worked with the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School District to set up grief counseling at the E.A. McAllister School at 217 Kinsley St. in Sherrill from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday for anyone in the community.
Bob Adams had just settled in for bed after working the nightshift early Tuesday morning when he was startled by the sound of his doorbell ringing and someone shouting from his front lawn.
When Adams answered the door, the peaceful appeal of this rural Sherrill neighborhood was forever shattered by what he saw next: his hysterical neighbor, Alison Belius, cradling one of her 6-year-old daughters in a blanket.
“Start CPR,” Adams shouted before running inside to call 911, he said.
The young girl, Lauren, had been stabbed at about 8:30 a.m. inside her 408 Primo Avenue home, and she soon died from her injuries, state police said.
Investigators later said Lauren had been stabbed with a knife by her mother’s live-in boyfriend, 30-year-old David Trebilcock, and police expect to charge him with second-degree murder.
But the circumstances surrounding this deadly attack continue to be shrouded in mystery, as law enforcement authorities and prosecutors remained tight-lipped about what they know or don’t know.
“There’s a lot more investigating we need to undertake,” state police Capt. Mark Lincoln said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon at Troop D headquarters in Oneida. “It’s a terrible incident, and we’re going to take it from here.”
So for now, whatever happened before the stabbing inside the bedroom that Lauren shared with her twin 6-year-old sister is open to speculation.
Moments before Belius, 36, ran to a neighbor for help, the mother of two 6-year-old daughters and one 9-year-old son had woken up to screams of one of those children, Lincoln said.
But after Belius ran to the twins’ bedroom, she couldn’t immediately get in: A dresser had been used to block the door shut, Lincoln said. After Belius forced her way in, Lincoln said, she then found Trebilcock stabbing Lauren.
The shocked mother tried to stop the attack, Lincoln said, and Trebilcock suffered his own knife wounds. It still is unclear, however, whether Trebilcock stabbed himself or if he was cut during the struggle with Lauren’s mother, Lincoln said.
Lauren was later pronounced dead at Oneida Healthcare Center, and Trebilcock was being treated for his non-life threatening injuries at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Lincoln said. Trebilcock’s condition was unknown Tuesday afternoon, because hospital officials said they could neither confirm nor deny that Trebilcock was under their care.
Little else is known about Trebilcock, who neighbors said had been living with Belius for only about six to eight months. According to Oneida County records, John Belius and Allison Belius bought the house in 2006 for $190,000.
One thing is clear, though, Lincoln said: There doesn’t appear to be any instances of previously reported domestic troubles between Belius and Trebilcock at this residence.
So as far as any clues that could explain what happened, Lincoln’s remarks were limited: “We are still investigating the background on what may have triggered this incident.”
In order to preserve the integrity of possible grand jury proceedings against Trebilcock, Lincoln and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara declined to answer any questions about the facts of the case.
Sherrill city police, Vernon police and Oneida County sheriff’s deputies were among the law enforcement officers who responded earlier that day to the two-story home, where a child-size basketball hoop stood in the driveway.
David Ricketts, a nearby Cherry Lane resident who has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, said he’s surprised such an incident could happen there
“Kids get in trouble from time to time,” he said, but the area is otherwise just like “Mayberry,” the fictional rural community on TV’s The Andy Griffith Show during the 1960s.
As children rode by yellow police tape marking the homicide scene Tuesday morning, neighbor Brian Lanz described the shock that rippled across the western edge of Oneida County as the tragic news spread. The neighborhood is quiet, he said, and a nice place to live.
“We hear about this in Utica often,” Lanz said, referring to the sister city’s frequent bursts of violent crime. But here, Lanz said, Belius’ children would often be seen playing outside with other neighborhood children and, “Everyone seems to be good neighbors.”
The City of Sherrill worked with the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School District to set up grief counseling at the E.A. McAllister School at 217 Kinsley St. in Sherrill from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday for anyone in the community.
