She escaped; mom didn't

Teen says if she stayed, mom's boyfriend might have killed her, too.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published November 6, 2007

Trevor McGinty and Wendy Dusza lived in a condo on Bayside Village Drive in Hillsborough County. Dusza's body was found Saturday in a storage unit they rented at the complex.
	[Chris Zuppa | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Family photo] Brittany Klodzinski says she and her family tried to convince her mother, Wendy Dusza, to end her relationship with McGinty. Police say Wendy Dusza, 34, was killed Oct. 25 or early Oct. 26. Trevor McGinty, 30, killed himself Sunday.

TAMPA - Brittany Klodzinski saw into the future.

A child of split parents, the 14-year-old spent summers with her father in New York, and the rest of the year with her mother in Florida.

Until this year.

Her mom's boyfriend, Trevor H. McGinty, terrified Brittany. She begged her mom, Wendy Dusza, to leave him. When that didn't happen, Brittany refused to come back to Florida.

"I didn't want to go back to him," Brittany said from her grandmother's home in upstate New York. "If I would have gone back, it would have been me gone, too."

Dusza, 34, was found dead in a storage shed Saturday night, according to the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office. McGinty, 30, died of a single gunshot to the head Sunday at a Holiday Inn in Gainesville, deputies say.

Authorities say they don't know the motive of the slaying. Family became concerned when calls to Dusza went unanswered, the couple's dog and cat unfed. Investigators believe Dusza was killed late Oct. 25 or early Oct. 26 and put in the shed right away.

Daughter Brittany spoke with a reporter Monday on the condition that her grandmother could listen to the interview and end it if the questions were too upsetting.

"She's a great person," Brittany said of her mother. "She didn't deserve it, what she got. I liked when we hung out together when he wasn't around. Most of the time I was with her he was so demanding of her. I would always tell my mom that you could do better than this. That he doesn't deserve her. So, basically, I knew."

Dusza grew up near Buffalo, N.Y. Outgoing and sweet, she had a crush on a West Seneca West Senior High School classmate named Michael Klodzinski. She told his brother, Christopher Klodzinski, who played matchmaker.

About a year after high school, Brittany was born.

Dusza wanted to move to Florida, and so young Brittany moved south with her mother. She remembers happy times like a trip to New York City for Central Park ice-skating at Christmas.

"She was always for her daughter, that's the sad thing about this," Christopher Klodzinski, 35, said. "She didn't want to give her daughter up."

About three years ago, Dusza met McGinty. Klodzinski thought they met through a car dealership.

Much remains unknown about McGinty's past. His parents, who live in Downers Grove, Ill., did not return a call from the St. Petersburg Times.

About four or five years ago, McGinty worked as a manager at the Central Avenue Oyster Bar in downtown St. Petersburg.

After they started dating, Dusza and McGinty went into a mortgage business together, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. McGinty's voice mail message said he worked for "First Mutual Mortgage."

They moved into a new, custom-built, three-bedroom home at 12320 Papercraft Ave. in a subdivision in Weeki Wachee. Brittany moved with them.

Lisa Noble first met the family at a neighborhood barbecue.

The Nobles began to notice curious things. McGinty was never outside, even when Dusza and her daughter were tending the lawn. He seemed controlling and condescending to his girlfriend, Noble said. Visitors were rare, and visits brought drama.

"It was like a Jerry Springer show in the front yard," she said.

Court records show the two families filed injunctions against each other. Noble, in a complaint, wrote she awoke one night to see McGinty speeding up and down the road in a Jeep. Brittany was in the back with her dog, screaming in fear.

On Thanksgiving Day, McGinty was arrested, accused of discharging a firearm in public and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, court records show.

Brittany remembers that day. McGinty got angry and shot up the turkey fryer, she said. Brittany and her mom left the house unharmed.

Dusza's family tried to persuade her to leave for good.

"My family did everything in their power to try to stop this from happening," Brittany said.

On Feb. 23, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office charged McGinty with domestic battery. At first, he was ordered not to contact Dusza, but she later asked that they be allowed to see each other because they ran a business together. She added the couple was expecting guests from Chicago for an engagement party, court records show.

Her request was granted.

McGinty pleaded no contest and drew a year's probation.

On Oct. 19, the court entered a default judgment for LaSalle Bank for a foreclosure on the Papercraft Avenue house. Dusza and McGinty had two loans totalling more than $250,000, records show. They moved to a condo on Bayside Village Drive in Hillsborough County and rented a storage unit at the complex.

On Oct. 23, deputies were called to the Papercraft Avenue house. Neighbors thought someone was breaking in, but McGinty told deputies he was selling the appliances.

As part of McGinty's domestic violence charge, he had to complete a Batterer's Intervention Program. The letter of completion from Growing Center Counseling in Brooksville was added to the court file Oct. 25.

Less than a day later, Dusza was dead.

Help sought for pet

Wendy Dusza left behind her dog, a red hound mix named Lucky. Hillsborough County Animal Services is asking for donations to fly Lucky north to live with Dusza's daughter, Brittany. Donations should be designated for "Lucky Transport," with checks made out to Hillsborough County Animal Services, 440 Falkenburg Road, Tampa, 33619. Dusza's boyfriend's cat was placed in another home.

How to help others

These Tampa Bay area agencies can help people in violent relationships:

The Spring: A provider of domestic violence services since 1977 in the Tampa Bay area. www.thespring.org, (813) 247-7233

CASA: A domestic violence agency in the St. Petersburg area. www.casa-stpete.org, (727) 895-4912

The Haven of RCS: A domestic violence agency in North Pinellas County. www.havenrcs.org, (727) 584-3528

Source: The Spring

[Last modified November 5, 2007, 23:56:17]