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Brentsville mourns death of Austin Trenum
Brentsville District High School students and the entire Nokesville community are in mourning this week after the death of senior Austin Trenum.Trenum died Monday morning of an apparent suicide.
First Sgt. Kim Chinn, a spokesperson from the Prince William Police Department, said the football star was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church on Sunday night and that he died Monday morning.
Officer Jonathan Perok, another police spokesman, said on Wednesday that the death has been ruled a suicide.
Two days earlier, Trenum reportedly sustained a concussion while playing football during the Tigers' Friday night varsity football game against Handley.
Chinn said students of the school told police that Trenum had suffered a concussion during the game, but that the incident is not part of the official investigation into his death.
School officials would not comment on the head injury but Perok said on Wednesday that it doesn't seem to have played a part in his suicide.
“To my knowledge, they're not related,” he said.
Perok added that the investigation has not been closed and an autopsy may yield more information later.
Trenum, the son of Michelle Trenum and Prince William County School Board member Gil Trenum, shared the football field with his younger brother Cody, a sophomore defensive back and wide receiver. His youngest brother, Walker, also goes to school in Nokesville.
A message from the Trenum family circulated by the Prince William County School system Monday stated, "Austin was a wonderful son, brother, and grandson. He was very deeply loved by his family, and highly respected by his teammates, friends, and classmates. We want to thank our family, friends, and the community for their support and prayers during this very difficult time.
"While the family appreciates your continued prayers they also desire your respect for privacy during this most sorrowful time. Funeral arrangements are pending at this time."
Members of the community at large poured out their prayers and support for the senior athlete and his family through a Facebook group first published on the Internet Sunday night.
At the time, those close to Trenum held out hopes for a recovery – shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, a Facebook post announced Trenum’s teammates were on their way to the hospital to visit.
His loved ones faced tragedy the following morning, however: the creator of the group announced his death with a post reading, "This is a sad day in our community as we lost one of our sweet and innocent children. Austin will never be forgotten as he always had a beautiful smile and a warm and friendly spirit."
Close to 400 people had joined the group by Wednesday afternoon. Messages included, "Prayers and love from the Battlefield football family to the Brentsville football family" and "We hope God will give the Trenums the strength to endure the heartbreak in the days ahead."
Gainesville District School Board Member Don Richardson, who serves alongside Gil Trenum, said Monday that the outpouring of support, both online and in person, isn’t surprising.
"Nokeville is a very tightly knit community," he said. "There's a lot of folks around helping them out."
He added, "We're all going to try to rally around and give them all the support we can as much as we can (to) get them through a tough time. Losing a child like this is so hard, it's so difficult."
Even during the down times on the gridiron, Trenum found a way to succeed, such as when he and fellow running back David Hammond scored the Tigers' only touchdowns during a homecoming loss last season. The six-footer, who weighed in at 190 pounds at the start of the 2010 football season, also played alongside some of his football teammates as a midfield in lacrosse during his junior year this past spring.
Reached by phone, Brentsville District head coach Dean Reedy declined to comment for this article.
The football team gathered together Monday night after all other sporting events were canceled and the entire school community plans to wear orange and black on Friday in Trenum’s honor.
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