‘Breaks my heart’: Modesto man’s family celebrates birthday at site of fatal police shooting
Trevor Seever’s family usually celebrated his April 24 birthday by going to a baseball game for his favorite team, the Oakland A’s.
His sister, Allison Seever, also remembers their aunt would bake him whatever cake he wanted - often a white cake with white icing and strawberries in the middle.
But this year, the family marked Seever’s 30th birthday with a candlelight vigil Saturday evening at Modesto Church of the Brethren, where Seever was shot and killed in December by a Modesto police officer.
“I’ve spent every single birthday with Trev for the last 29,” said Darlene Ruiz, Seever’s mother. “It’s been awful not to spend this birthday with him.”
Seever was fatally shot Dec. 29 by Modesto officer Joseph Lamantia at a labyrinth outside the church during what Seever’s family members say was a mental health crisis. Family members had called 911, reporting that Seever said he had bought a gun the night before and that he had made vague threats against his family, but Seever was not armed.
Lamantia was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting and was charged in March with voluntary manslaughter. Seever’s family plans to file a wrongful death claim against the city, an attorney representing them said.
As part of their evening, loved ones walked labyrinth’s path, stopping in the middle to leave painted rocks with messages wishing Seever a happy birthday and letting him know they missed him.
The family decorated the space around the labyrinth with photos of Seever and prayer candles, and a few people wore memorial T-shirts or Oakland A’s gear in his honor. After lighting candles, everyone sang “Happy Birthday”.
“He would have loved having everybody here and celebrating with us,” Ruiz said. “Today’s hard.”
Cole Edwards, a childhood friend of Seever’s, said the two met playing soccer around age 7 or 8. They were good friends growing up, and would still get together to watch sports after they both finished college and returned to Modesto.
Although they didn’t see each other as much in recent years, Edwards said their families would attend each other’s weddings and other big events.
“Once a friend, always a friend,” Edwards said.
Seever’s aunt, Marla Seever, turned 55 just three days before Trevor’s birthday.
Before Seever was born, Marla Seever hoped she and her first nephew would share an April 21st birthday, and the two always found a way to celebrate together because their birthdays were so close.
Now that closeness has become painful.
“I did not celebrate my birthday this year because I couldn’t, because I always celebrated it with Trevor,” Marla Seever said. “I will celebrate him every year but I can’t celebrate me because my other half is gone.”
Allison Seever said she misses how her brother viewed gifts as a way to spend quality time together. Before the pandemic, he had bought the two of them tickets to go see the A’s play the San Francisco Giants.
“Then corona came and happened, and then Lamantia came and happened, and I’ll never be able to have that baseball game with Trevor again,” Allison Seever said. “It breaks my heart.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 9:34 AM.
