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Suffolk Police have arrested a Riverhead man Wednesday and charged him with murdering his mother, weeks after authorities found her body in a wooded area in Manorville.
Curtis Trent Jr., 36, was arraigned later in Riverhead Town Justice Court on a second-degree murder charge in the killing of Kathleen Harrison Trent, 62.
Kathleen Harrison Trent, a longtime Riverhead Raceway employee, was reported missing to Riverhead Town Police on Jan. 29 after her son told authorities his mother had not been seen or heard from since Jan. 27, police said. It’s unclear if the son who reported her missing was Curtis Trent; the victim has at least one other son.
On Feb. 11, Suffolk County cops discovered Trent’s body in a wooded area off Connecticut Avenue, south of River Road, while searching for the missing woman. Detectives determined the death was criminal in nature, and the victim days later was identified as Trent by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office. She would have turned 63 on Feb. 1.
Heartbroken raceway community
News of her death prompted an outpouring of grief across the Riverhead community.
She worked for decades at Riverhead Raceway and was remembered by friends and relatives as a devoted mother and grandmother. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist with funeral expenses.
The GoFundMe, created Sunday by her son Robby’s wife, Adrieanna Bulak, has raised more than $8,000 to assist the family with funeral expenses. The daughter-in-law described Trent as a loving and selfless mother whose grandchildren “meant the world” to her.
The campaign seeks donations to help give the woman “a proper farewell.”
Family’s concerns over son’s escalating behavior problems
Prior to Curtis Trent’s arrest on Wednesday, family and friends had for weeks suspected his involvement in her death.
On Feb. 4, Bulak posted about her concerns on Facebook.
Curtis Trent Jr. had struggled with mental illness for years, she said, adding that he was diagnosed in 2014 with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
She said his mother had recently expressed concerns to doctors that his medication was not working properly and had tried to schedule an appointment for him to receive an injection after he allegedly refused treatment.
The sister-in-law claimed doctors allowed him to leave with pills despite concerns he would not take them and said the family had been worried about his behavior in the days before Kathleen Harrison Trent disappeared.
Top: photo courtesy of GoFundMe
