Cloquet mourns death of Shellby Trettel with candelight vigil

Jan. 11—CLOQUET — Hundreds of community members held a candlelight vigil Wednesday, Jan. 10, to mourn the death of 22-year-old Shellby Trettel, who was fatally shot Monday, Jan. 8, during a

double homicide

while working her shift at the Super 8 hotel.

"I want to thank all of you for showing your love and support for Shellby and for the family," Trettel's aunt, Tiffany Silker, told the crowd while holding back tears from the back of a pickup truck.

Trettel was shot alongside Patrick Jeffrey Roers, 35, of Deer River, Minnesota, who was staying at the hotel. Police identified Nicholas Elliot Lenius, 32, of Ramsey, Minnesota, as the suspect. Lenius was found dead on hotel grounds from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Friends, family and community members braved the cold, snowy weather to honor the life of Trettel at the hotel, where she worked her entire adult life. Attendees were welcomed with a candle, which they lit for the duration of the remembrance. Mourners held back tears as they paid their respects to a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers in front of the doors.

After a moment of silence, Silker invited Shellby's father, Tim Trettel, to the back of the truck to say a few words.

"I loved her so much, and she knew that," Tim said. "She struggled from time to time not knowing where she fit in and not thinking anybody truly really cared about her. But if it's a testament of what one person could mean. You never know who you're going to touch by checking someone into a hotel in Cloquet, Minnesota.

"If she could see this, you never know the life you're going to touch on any given day," Tim said. "The smallest gesture could mean something very big down the line, and you'd never know. Shellby knows. She knows now."

"I mainly wanted to get everyone together not only to celebrate Shellby and to honor her," Silker told the crowd. "But just to let my brother know that we are here as friends and family and community for him in support of whatever you need, Tim. We're here. I just know that people send their messages on Facebook and through text messages, but I wanted you to see physically that we all love you and we're here for you and we love Shellby and she will always be remembered."

Community members were united in shock and disbelief about the act of random violence that descended on their small town.

"Cloquet is a close community and something like this is a reprehensible action, and we are united in that fact. It's just devastating because she was doing her job and being a young woman," said Robert Peacock, Shellby's uncle. "We're finding beauty in a very traumatic incident."

Police were called Monday night by a hotel employee who found Trettel and said she looked like she was attacked. Trettel was transported to St. Luke's in Duluth, where she was pronounced dead.

Police believe that Trettel was Lenius' first victim, who then went outside and shot Roers multiple times while he was inside a vehicle. Lenius then walked a short distance and fatally shot himself.

Based on surveillance footage, police believe the entire incident lasted about 10 minutes. Police still have yet to determine a motive or a connection between the alleged perpetrator and the victims.

Friends and family remember Shellby Trettel as a deeply caring person who was unapologetically herself.

"She was a light for so many people, and she just, unfortunately, I don't think realized that," Tim Trettel said. "She was always one you could count on to talk to when you were down or when you needed help from something."

Her brother, Tristan Trettel, remembers Shellby as the older sister who always took care of the family, whether that meant providing emotional and mental support or cooking everybody macaroni and cheese.

"Never do I want anybody to think of her as a bad person. She was raised right," he said. "She knew right from wrong. She just respected everybody no matter who you were, where you came from or what you've done."

Shellby's younger sister, Gracie Trettel, remembers the same qualities in her older sister.

"Shellby was a very kind-hearted person. She looked after others more than herself. She was a great sister to me," she said.

Kaylin Defoe is Shellby's stepsister, but doesn't see the word "step" as a necessary distinction. "She's always been much more of a sister than a stepsister," she said.

Seeing firsthand just how many people Shellby touched has been overwhelming, Tim said. Still, he remains in utter shock about how this seemingly random act of violence took his daughter away from his life forever.

"It's tough losing her," Tim said. "It was just so abrupt."

GoFundMe pages have been created for Trettel and Roers.

Trettel's friend, Kasey Murray,

started a page

to fundraise for funeral costs and other expenses. A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 17, in Cloquet, according to a

death notice

published by Nelson Funeral Care and Cremation Service.

The GoFundMe page for Roers

was started to fundraise for his funeral and expenses related to his estate. A funeral is planned for Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Grand Rapids, according to

his obituary.

This story was updated at 12:33 p.m. Jan. 11 to include information about funeral services and GoFundMe pages. It was originally posted at 10:47 p.m. Jan. 10.