"This wasn't self-defense": the mother of Mexico fatal shooting victim speaks out
Nicholas Trynor died from his injuries after he was shot by his stepfather in their home Saturday.
Nicholas Trynor died from his injuries after he was shot by his stepfather in their home Saturday.
Nicholas Trynor died from his injuries after he was shot by his stepfather in their home Saturday.
Thomas Tellier, 52, faces murder charges in the death of his stepson 27-year-old Nicholas Trynor of Mexico, Maine.
According to court documents, Thomas and Nicholas were having a dispute about Nicholas' interaction with his half-sibling, four-year-old Tommy, on Saturday. Following a verbal argument, Tellier went to his bedroom, retrieved a gun and shot at Nicholas multiple times, killing him in the hallway of their home.
“He wasn’t coming anywhere near Tom," said Nicholas' mother, Thomas' wife, Jessica Tellier. "Tom had to have gone into the bedroom and got his gun and come out and between shots I heard Nicholas yell stop. This wasn’t self-defense.”
Nicholas loved animals and doing handiwork, taking things apart to figure out how they worked. Most of all, he loved his family. Especially his son, his mother, and his brother Tommy.
"The kids loved him and he loved kids," Jessica said. "Kids gravitated towards Nicholas. I think it’s because he was a big kid at heart.”
Jessica says he made an effort to talk with Thomas, they bickered often but generally got along. To her, their argument Saturday seemed fairly routine until Thomas pulled out a gun.
"I don’t think that any of us really thought that Tom was capable of such a thing," Jessica said.
Thomas was a hunter and owned guns that he usually kept outside the house, locked in his car. On Saturday, a gun was in his bedroom.
“If that gun hadn’t been in the house loaded and ready to go, I think it would’ve been different," Jessica said.
According to court documents, Thomas told detectives that he felt threatened by Trynor and shot him to protect himself. He was arrested Sunday. He's being held in Oxford County Jail pending a bail hearing which will take place within the next 30 days.
Trynor's family is raising money to help cover his funeral and burial expenses. They are also looking for people willing to adopt Trynor's ducks, chickens and turkeys.