A 14-year-old Wyoming boy was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife while trying to protect his girlfriend from two balaclava-wearing teens at a shopping mall, authorities said.
Bobby Maher was fatally shot with a knife Sunday afternoon at Eastridge Mall in Casper after confronting two 15-year-old boys accused of harassing his middle school sweetheart. Cowboy State Daily reported..
According to the criminal complaint, Maher received a call from his girlfriend saying two suspects, later identified as Jareth Plunkett and Dominic Harris, were following her and a friend inside the mall. , and rushed to the mall.
When they arrived, Maher tried to remove his girlfriend and her friend from the mall “for their safety,” court documents say, and repeatedly told the alleged attackers to leave.
Surveillance camera footage of the ordeal shows Marr being told by Plunkett to “shake him again and again” and backing away from his attackers, who were wearing hooded balaclava-style masks. It is said that he was visible.
Harris was then seen on camera grabbing Maher by the waist, slamming her to the ground and repeatedly punching her in the face, police said.
Shortly afterward, Plunkett intervened and was seen stabbing the victim with a “cleaver,” according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, the two suspects reportedly fled the scene and left a bloody knife and a balaclava mask in the parking lot, police said.
After being arrested a short time later, the suspects told police that the victim had called them “perverts.”
They also confessed to having just stolen a knife from a Target inside the mall, the complaint said.
One of the victim’s friends later told police that the two suspects attended the same school as the victim, Dean Middle School, but only knew them by their names “JJ and Dom.”
Maher’s friend added that the victim and suspect had encountered each other in the park at some point before the knife stabbing.
Mr. Plunkett was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and battery, and theft.
Meanwhile, Harris is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, and misdemeanor theft.
The suspects, who were charged as adults, had their bail set at $500,000 and $450,000, respectively, during their first court hearing Monday.
