‘He Can’t Destroy Anyone Else’s Life Ever Again’ AT SENTENCING, HELLER’S FAMILY LASHES TRUITT By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – Erika Heller, John Heller’s sister-in-law, did not hold back as she read her victim’s impact statement at the sentencing of Gabriel Truitt in Otsego County Court this morning. “You stole John from us,” she said. “For four young boys, you stole childhood and innocence and peace of mind. We are all serving a life sentence because of…
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Erika Heller
In Memory of John, 46 Families Receive Ladders, Extinguishers Erika Heller, with son Rawley, shows off the 22 fire extinguishers and 26 emergency ladders the Valleyview Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization purchased with funds donated in memory of her brother-in-law, John Heller, the former fire fighter who died saving Rawley and his brothers Maddox, Donovan and Macall, as well as fiancee Amber Roe, from a fire in Dec. 2018. Over $1,500 was raised to purchase the fire safety equipment, meaning…
Truitt Guilty Of Arson, Murder ‘I Had To Do It For John,’ Fiancee Declares At Verdict By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.ALLOTSEGO.com COOPERSTOWN – It took just over two hours for the jury to find Gabriel Trutt, 33, guilty of arson and murder in the Dec. 29, 2018, fatal fire at 5 Walling Ave., Oneonta, that killed John Heller. Heller, a former Oneonta fireman, got his four nephews and fiancée to safety before he was trapped in the third-floor…
Christmas Bulbs On Beards Recall Heller’s Happy Life By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Last Christmas, Mike and Erika Heller bought a set of “beard ornaments” for John, Mike’s brother. “We thought they were hilarious,” said Erika. “He just started putting them on, and my kids” – Donovan, Maddox, Macall and Rawley – “were showing him where else on his beard he could hang them!” They found those beard ornaments, boxed up with the rest of his Christmas gifts,…
FALLEN FIREMAN MEMORIALIZED Heller Family Seeks Fire Extinguishers For Oneonta Families By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – As the one year anniversary of former firefighter John Heller’s death approaches, his sister-in-law, Erika, is making sure he’ll continue to save lives. “Fire safety is a conversation no one wants to have,” said Erika. “But John got that started, and we see this as a way of him continuing to help people.” In Heller’s memory, Erika has partnered with…
Words Like ‘Love, Courage, Loss’ Used To Recall Fallen Hero Family, Friends Reflect On John Heller, As 350 Pack Funeral In Foothills Atrium By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com ONEONTA – “You spent your last day on Earth saving others,” his sister-in-law, Erika Heller, declared this afternoon at John Heller’s funeral. “We are so proud.” Erika, along with John’s fiance Amber Roe, his Oneonta Job Corps colleague Kathleen Feeney, state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, and the Rev. Judith Thistle,…