|
 The 13-year-old stepdaughter of Robert Trussell found him beaten to death in a pool of blood in his bed in one of the most brutal killings ever in Placer County.
She went screaming from her rural Roseville home to a neighbor who called authorities.
Trussell’s assailant was believed to have used a claw hammer to strike him in the head, neck and shoulder more than 25 times as he slept naked in his bed in a single family house on Billy Mitchell Drive north of Roseville. Detectives said the majority of he wounds were on the left side of the victim and were focused on the head, cheek, throat and upper left shoulder.
“One of the wounds hit the jugular vein and penetrated the thyroid
cartilage and exposed the trachea,” reported one investigator.
The murder weapon has not been found, and all of the victim’s tools were accounted for, detectives said.
The May 5, 1993 murder has not been solved although Placer County
sheriff’s detectives continue to follow any leads to the homicide in an
effort to find and arrest Trussell’s killer.
“We have several persons of interest, two with a “close relationship”
with Mr. Trussell, that could have been involved in the murder,” said
cold case Detective Bill Summers of the Placer County Sheriff’s
Department. However, no arrests have been made in the murder.
Trussell, 53, a carpenter and motorcycle mechanic, was last seen by his
stepdaughter at 9 p.m. before she went to bed in a separate room the
night before. His stepdaughter told detectives she did see or hear
anything unusual during the night.
Trussell’s wife, Katrina, was reported on an overnight trip to the Napa
area with a man, also a carpenter who rented a room above a detached
garage and shop behind the Trussell residence. The two returned while
detectives were in the Trussell residence investigating the slaying.
The victim also worked as a satellite dish salesman who operated the
business from his home, according to then Placer County Sheriff Donald
Nunes. Trussell also was reported to be in a business of buying
wrecked cars and repairing them for re-sale.
There were no signs of a forced entry into the Trussell home, and
nothing appeared to be disturbed in the house according to
investigators. The victim’s wallet and identification were not found,
and it is believed there were several hundred dollars in the wallet
from the sale of a vehicle.
Summers said anyone with any creditable information that could help
solve the murder can contact him at 530-889-7843 or 530-889-7800.
Unsolved murders in Placer County, no matter how long ago they
occurred, remain active in law enforcement case files. There are a
number of vicious murders still being investigated since there is no
statute of limitation for a homicide. These cold case files remain open
and detectives continue to look for clues and information that could
lead to solving the crimes. In the coming months, some of those brutal,
unsolved slayings, and the progress in bringing the murderer or
murderers to justice, will be covered in The Sentinel.
Subscribe to the Sentinel and receive this weekly newspaper (the only general circulation newspaper in the area that is locally owned and operated) delivered right to your mailbox. Call the Sentinel at 530-823-2463 for more information.
Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed