
Longtime Amenia resident Juan Cedillo, above, was killed on Sunday, Jan. 16. David A. Trotta is being charged. The two were neighbors in the same Wassaic apartment building. Photo submitted
WASSAIC — More than one month after David A. Trotta, 26, of Wassaic was arrested for killing her husband, Vivian Serrano-Cedillo is hoping justice will be served as she continues to try to heal in the crime’s aftermath.
Grateful to all who have offered their support in this difficult time after 45-year-old Juan Carlos Cedillo was stabbed to death outside of their Wassaic apartment house, Serrano-Cedillo recently opened up to The Millerton News about her husband and the events surrounding his tragic demise.
The recent widow said the couple was married for two years, living in an apartment house at 173 South Amenia Road.
Cedillo had lived in the town of Amenia for 25 years; Serrano-Cedillo said he lived in the Wassaic apartment where they made their home three years before they met.
While the couple didn’t have any children, Cedillo had two daughters from a previous marriage: Mariana Cedillo, 21, of Wassaic and Alexia Cedillo, 16, of Millbrook.
His sister, Minerva Cedillo, owns the Mexican restaurant La Cazeula in Dover Plains.
Employed as a landscaper for Northwest Lawn and Landscaping, Cedillo is remembered as having a big heart, always willing to help anyone in need of assistance.
“He was a great person, he was a good friend, he was a good employee and we will miss him terribly,” said Amiee Duncan, co-owner of the Millerton-based company that has a workshop in Wassaic. “This was truly a tragedy.”
“He was a loving man who never held grudges and forgave with ease,” Serrano-Cedillo said. “He appreciated nature and would never want to bring harm to anyone.”
Explaining the layout of their apartment building, Serrano-Cedillo said six people lived on two floors. In addition to her and Cedillo, two other tenants occupied the first floor: Trotta and his mother.
Asked about her husband’s relationship with Trotta and if he was a good neighbor, Serrano-Cedillo replied she wasn’t aware that her husband even knew Trotta outside of being neighbors.
She didn’t recall any conversations between them and described Trotta as being very quiet. She said Trotta usually walked by without saying a word.
“The truth is, I didn’t learn his name until after the tragedy,” Serrano-Cedillo said.
She added she didn’t remember the police ever coming to the house for any complaints about Trotta, though she noted the entrance to his apartment was located on the other side of the apartment house.
Going back to late Sunday morning, Jan. 16, the day of the crime, Serrano-Cedillo said she was home when her husband was killed. She witnessed the whole event. She said she doesn’t know why her husband was attacked, adding it all happened quickly.
“I tried screaming and calling for help, but it seems no one else was home that day,” she recalled. “My adrenaline kicked in the minute I saw David on top of my husband striking him. I don’t know where the courage came from — except from God — because it didn’t take me long to spring into action.”
She said she grabbed the weapon out of Trotta’s hands, pulled him off her husband and held him down until the first police trooper arrived. In the seconds before she seized the weapon and the troopers appeared, she managed to call 911.
While she said she was on the phone and holding down the suspect, Serrano-Cedillo said two cars stopped — a moment that stands out vividly in her mind. She thought help had arrived, but said the first person who pulled up simply asked if anyone had called 911 before getting back in his vehicle and leaving. The second motorist exited his car, surveyed the situation and left without saying anything.
Serrano-Cedillo’s emergency call was placed at 11:51 a.m. and help arrived shortly thereafter. Despite the life-saving measures administered by medics and the Rescue Squad, Cedillo was pronounced dead at the scene.
Trotta was arrested at the scene and charged with Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-1 felony, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 4th degree, a class A misdemeanor.
A motive has not been identified at this time, according to prosecutor Sarah Thompson from the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office.
Thompson reported Trotta was scheduled to appear in the Dutchess County Court on Tuesday, March 1, before the Honorable Jessica Segal, pursuant to an indictment returned by the Grand Jury.
Acknowledging it will take time before she can pick up the pieces of her life again, Serrano-Cedillo said she’s leaning on God, prayer and faith to help her heal.
“When it comes to David, my hope is that justice be served,” she said.
These past few weeks, the community has stepped forward with compassion, both through words of support and financial donations made via GoFundMe pages.
Entitled “Help the Cedillo family with cost of tragedy,” Amenia resident Paul Winters was one of the first to create a GoFundMe page to help with funeral costs and medical bills. Raising a total of $8,790, Winters’ page has since closed.
Mariana Cedillo established the “Donations for Juan Carlos Cedillo’s Daughters” page, while Dover Plains resident Tyler Irish set up the “Help Cedillo Family with Funeral and Memorial” page on behalf of Minerva Cedillo.
“It always amazes me how people come together during traumatic times,” Serrano-Cedilla said. “I am grateful for all who have been in contact with me and have either given their time, resources and support in one way or another.”
The Mobile Health Unit will be returning to Millerton on April 9 to provide basic health services and guidance on insurance and addressing greater health needs.
MILLERTON – Dutchess County’s Mobile Health Unit is returning to Millerton. On April 9, members of the public can receive vaccinations, STI screenings and assistance with general health needs.
Public health education coordinators will be on-site to provide information on tick removal as well as hands-only CPR and Narcan training. For those in need of further care, guidance will be provided as will assistance with insurance navigation.
The Mobile Health Unit will be located at the rail trail parking lot from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., just down the street from the North East Community Center, located at 51 South Center St. in Millerton.
Paquito D’Rivera performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on April 5.
Natalia Bernal is the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center’s education and community engagement manager and is, in her own words, “the one who makes sure that Mahaiwe events are accessible to all.”
The Mahaiwe’s community engagement program is rooted in the belief that the performing arts should be for everyone. “We are committed to establishing and growing partnerships with neighboring community and arts organizations to develop pathways for overcoming social and practical barriers,” Bernal explained. “Immigrants, people of color, communities with low income, those who have traditionally been underserved in the performing arts, should feel welcomed at the Mahaiwe.”
Partnerships with organizations like Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM), the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee, and Community Access to the Arts (CATA) have helped bridge that gap. But for the Latinx community, there’s an even more targeted effort: the Spanish-language Community Advisory Network (SCAN).
“Six years ago, we started an advisory group of Spanish speakers in the community,” Bernal said. “They tell us what the community wants to see, how they’d like their culture represented. Today, SCAN has 12 members. We meet four times a year and are in constant communication. It’s because of them that we’ve hosted free Spanish-language film screenings and live performances.”
For Bernal, this work is personal. “When I first moved to the U.S. in 2003, it was because I got a Latin American scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music. That first year, I went home to Uruguay for Christmas and saw Paquito D’Rivera perform at a jazz festival. I was determined to meet him, and I did. Later that year, Paquito came to Berklee and invited me on stage.”
Now, two decades and 16 Grammys later, Paquito D’Rivera is coming to the Mahaiwe on April 5, and there’s a chance history might repeat itself. “He saw a post we made about his concert and commented, ‘Ay, chica, que maravilla, are you gonna sing a song with us?’ I almost died,” Bernal laughed. “I don’t know if it will happen, but it would be a dream.”
About the possibility of a guest appearance by Bernal, D’Rivera said, “Natalia is a very dear, valuable colleague, and jazz is about improvisation, so the surprise factor is always part of the fun here.”
D’Rivera’s concert is just one example of how the Mahaiwe is making world-class performances accessible. “My whole day has been about offering ‘pay what you can’ tickets for this show,” Bernal says. “We also issued a 50% discount to our partners. We work with ESL teachers, public libraries, literacy agencies, anyone who can help us get the word out.”
That kind of grassroots effort has been transformative. “Last year, we screened ‘Florencia en el Amazonas,’ the first opera written in Spanish ever performed at the Met,” Bernal said. “I sat in the Mahaiwe in tears. As someone who loves opera, it was the first time I heard one written in my own language. It was so powerful.”
Natalia Bernal, Mahaiwe’s education and community engagement managerPhoto by Martin Cohen
For Bernal, it all comes back to representation, on stage and in the audience. “My son is eight. I bring him to everything I can. Spanish shouldn’t just be something that happens at the dinner table. It should be in the world, in all these shapes and forms.”
And that’s what SCAN is helping build: a future where Latinx voices aren’t just included, they are central. “Our SCAN advisors are volunteers, cultural ambassadors,” Bernal said. “They help us distribute surveys, talk to the audience, and strengthen the community. Nobody should feel alone. Everybody should feel like they belong here.”
Education and outreach are central to D’Rivera’s work as well. He said, “It is an important part of our mission to plant and nurture the seed of quality music in our communities.” He continued to say, “Using our visibility and influence in favor of justice is always a very effective vehicle in denouncing violations of human rights around the world.”
This shared mission of education and social justice extends beyond the Mahaiwe. “We are one of the few arts organizations in a monthly meeting with BASIC (Berkshire Alliance for Immigrant Services). We have direct ties to the Berkshire Immigrant Center, VIM, and others so that we are well-informed and ready to serve,” said Bernal.
That commitment to community, culture, and access is why Bernal’s dream panel—Women in the Music Business—would feature Paquito’s wife and longtime manager, Brenda Feliciano. “She’s a tower of power. She’s been managing his career for at least 45 years. If I could organize an event one day, she would be the cherry on the cake.”
Until then, Bernal will keep doing what she does best: making sure the Mahaiwe is a place where everyone, regardless of language, income, or background, feels at home. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll find herself back on stage with Paquito D’Rivera, just like that first time, all those years ago.
For more info and tickets to Paquito D’Rivera, visit mahaiwe.org
There is magic in a home filled with the things we love, and Mary Randolph Carter, affectionately known as “Carter,” has spent a lifetime embracing that magic. Her latest book, “Live with the Things You Love … and You’ll Live Happily Ever After,” is about storytelling, joy, and honoring life’s poetry through the objects we keep.
“This is my tenth book,” Carter said. “At the root of each is my love of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, and living surrounded by things that conjure up family, friends, and memories.”
The creative director at Ralph Lauren for almost four decades, Carter began writing this book during the pandemic, a time of rediscovering comfort. “I found more time to appreciate those special things that give our homes warmth and connection.” Working with Ralph Lauren, she learned that the best spaces tell a personal story. “His desk was filled with toy cars, miniature shoes, superheroes, English dandies, cowboys on horseback. The walls? A gallery of his children’s paintings, iconic photos of Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper. Everything told a story.”
Carter acknowledges how homes can become overwhelmed with stuff but sees a difference between clutter and collection. “To live happily, create environments that inspire and comfort rather than encumber you! Look around and ask, ‘What is truly meaningful? What makes you smile? What recalls the people and places you cherish?’” Then, she added, “weed out the rest with discipline and courage!”
Provided
Each home in Carter’s book reflects its inhabitant’s spirit. “The first time I walked into Bethann Hardison’s apartment, I knew right away how authentic it was to who she is.” Hardison’s walls are lined with artwork from friends Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Haitian paintings, testaments to a life well lived. “Though her mantra is, ‘the lighter the load, the freer the journey,’ she also admits some things ‘delight your environment’ and can’t be parted with. Amen to that!”
Having survived two childhood fires, Carter deeply understands what truly matters. “It’s not the things, but the people and memories they evoke.” She loves her collections, but they don’t possess her. “They make me happy, but they do not define me.”
She delights in how people showcase treasures. Paula Grief, for instance, lives in a ten-foot-wide house and had to part with many books. “She tucks the ones she can’t live without through the rungs of her staircase. I love that ingenuity!”
When asked about her most cherished possession, Carter tells a story of loss and serendipity. A childhood portrait of her in a blue velvet dress was lost in a fire. “Years later, the artist’s daughter found another version. Now, it hangs in our apartment, surrounded by flea market art and one of my favorite saints, Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
Adding to the cozy feeling of this book, Carter’s son, Carter Berg, took the photographs, and her sister, Cary, contributed the illustrations. “Cary once stayed in our apartment and painted a dozen objects from our cluttered kitchen. I hung them immediately. When I started this book, I knew she had to capture my favorite objects.”
Four of the featured homes are local to the Northwest Corner, including Carter’s in Millerton, Joan Osofsky’s in Lakeville, Robin Bell’s in Salisbury, and Paula Grief’s in Hudson. They all gathered at the White Hart/Oblong Speaker Series on March 27.
After perusing the richly colored pages of this book, you may feel tempted to shop. “You don’t need money to create a meaningful home,” Carter insisted. “Some of my favorite paintings cost no more than $10 or $25. Value is personal. It’s not about provenance but the story an object tells you or the one you make up.”
Carter’s advice? “Fall in love with the wackiest thing. Surround yourself with what matters, and you’ll live happily ever after.”