Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1, before switching to the Top 5 storylines -- the good, the bad & the ugly on the horizon in "2022: The Year That Lies Ahead."
Photo for Headline Surfer / Christopher Trull (above-left) is shown with older brother Jonathan Trull and kid brother Joshua Trull. The Trull brothers went on trial in 1998 for the murders of two Maryland Spring Breakers and the near-killing of a third in New Smyrna Beach, but ultimately, Jonathan Trull was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, while Christopher Trull, and the youngest brother, Joshua Trull, 28, were found guilty of lesser included charges. Both were eventually released from prison on parole. Christopher Trull died in 2021 in an apparent suicide by train incident.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
OAK HILL, Fla. -- It was a gruesome scene along a stretch of railroad tracks back in May where a 48-year-old man was struck and killed by a Florida East Coast Railway train near 102 N. Brooks Circle.
Christopher Trull, 48, of Oak Hill, who went on trial in 1998 for the Spring Break murders in New Smyrna Beach (he and his younger brother, Joshua were found guilty of lesser charges while the oldest brother, Joshua Trull was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison) was lying on the tracks when the train approached and struck him in an apparent suicide by train. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by Volusia County deputies.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 22, 2021: The FEC train was traveling north on the tracks at about 6:50 a.m. The train’s emergency brake was applied as soon as the victim was observed laying across on the tracks but showed no attempt to move and was struck and killed, the train's conductor told responding deputies. The train stopped half a mile north of impact.
Gruesome death scene:
Upon arrival, Deputy Derick Santos observed the train to be stopped with FEC employees and Fire Rescue personnel on the scene: Here is a summary of the observations he noted after canvassing the gruesome scene: "...Multiple small sections of human organs and body part fragments on both sides of the railway."
Deputy Santos estimated the body parts traveled approximately 100 yards north of where the initial impact took place. He observed a white subject, decapitated, and both legs amputated on the railroad tracks approximately 100 feet north of West Halifax Avenue.
The body was identified as that of Christopher Trull, 48, of Oak Hill. He was pronounced dead at 7:02 a.m.
1998 Trull Brothers murder trial aftermath
Former Assistant State Attorney Noah McKinnon told Headline Surfer several years ago he always believed Christopher Trull was just as culpable as his older brother in the April 16, 1998, killings of two Maryland Spring Breakers and the near killing of a third at the Ocean Palms Beach Club in New Smyrna Beach.
"Christopher Trull is a natural born killer," McKinnon said, despite the fact, the jury found him the least culpable of the three Oak Hill brothers.
Matthew Wichita, 21, and Kevans Hall II, 23, died from multiple stab wounds while Seth Qubeck, 21, survived nearly two dozen stab wounds. The deadly attacks were in retaliation for an earlier fight baby brother Joshua Trull lost when he objected to a resort guest's comments about his baggy pants. Joshua Trull and another friend initially went there to retrieve a $15 ring from a 15-year-old Michigan girl they met the previous day on the beach.
Joshua Trull returned with his older brothers and four others, carrying knives, baseball bats, and a cueball in a sock in what turned out to be a bloodbath under the cover of darkness near the resort's pool.
Jonathan Trull, the eldest brother, and ringleader of the bunch was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, and Joshua Trull received 15 years but was released after serving 10 years with gain time.
Christopher Trull actually got less time in prison and probation than some of the other co-defendants who cooperated with the prosecution.
All three originally went on trial, charged with capital murder with the state seeking the death penalty. It was the lengthiest and most expensive trial in the history of Volusia County when it ended in March 2001, after nine weeks at a cost of $500,000. The results were far from what the prosecution expected, with Jonathan Trull escaping the death penalty in favor of two life sentences.
Even Jonathan Trull's attorney argued in his appeal that Christopher Trull was the true killer.
"Chris Trull killed these people of his own volition," attorney Gerard Keating insisted in his failed oral argument to the 5th District Court of Appeal. "Chris is the only one who did the stabbings -- there's no evidence of premeditation. Therefore, (Jonathan Trull) can't be convicted of murder. A willingness or eagerness to fight does not mean a willingness or eagerness to kill."
A trial witness said she overheard a conversation between Christopher Trull and a friend at a New Smyrna Beach restaurant the day after the killings, that he stabbed the victim in the face and throat.
''I stabbed the (expletive) in the face and felt it hit teeth and ripped it out and stabbed him in the throat,'' Calloway quoted Trull as saying, but her testimony was barred by the judge because the witness's credibility was called into question by the defense.
New Smyrna Police Detective Dan Kennedy, the lead investigator in the Trull case, said he believed based on the evidence, that Christopher Trull was just as much a culprit as his older brother, despite the jury verdicts.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he killed those boys," Kennedy said.
Editor's Note: Henry Frederick was the recipient of a journalism-industry award for his coverage of the Trull Brothers murder trial while working as a cops & courts reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Chapter, recognized Frederick with a third-place award for Breaking News (large newspapers) for the entry "Trull Brothers on Trial" (25 byline stories).
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.