‘A way out of a very dark place’: Mourners remember murdered Casper teen

In the final few moments of Bobby Maher’s life, he chose how to stand against the darkness that confronted him. The 14-year-old Casper boy was facing a teenager armed with a knife. A crowd of young people were watching. 

But Bobby did not want to fight, witnesses told police. He backed away. His hands stayed open. He sought a different path. 

Pastor Bryan Elliott reminded hundreds of mourners of Bobby’s final choice on Saturday at a funeral for the boy, who was stabbed to death April 7 outside of Casper’s Eastridge Mall. In that dark moment, Elliott noted, Bobby held up light in the form of his open hands, which “offered a way out of a very dark place and path,” the pastor said.

“He walked away from evil and moved toward hope,” Elliott said. “That takes courage beyond our understanding. Most people plunge themselves into chaos. Bobby chose the clarity of a hopeful outcome.”

The funeral, at Highland Park Community Church, came nearly two weeks after Bobby’s death. Two 15-year-old boys are facing first-degree murder charges for his killing. They are accused of shoplifting kitchen knives from a nearby store and following Bobby’s girlfriend at the mall. 

Bobby came to the mall, according to a police report, to protect her. There was a confrontation. The teens all moved outside. One boy slammed him to the ground. The other stabbed him twice with a knife.

A wave of sadness and soul searching swept the city in the days that followed. Hundreds of mourners packed David Street Station for a vigil four days after his death. City officials held a press conference and issued a call for action. Parents asked themselves: How did this happen? 

Elliott acknowledged that tumult and strife as he began Saturday morning’s service. Many in the room, he said, felt rage over what occurred and  yearned for a justice that could bring Bobby back.

“That will not happen,” he said. “There is nothing that can bring him back to his family and friends. But with that said, we must move on and not let that evil, or maybe even a lack of forgiveness, consume us. Then the act of evil claims more victims and consumes us all.”

Those who knew and loved Bobby, Elliott continued, might be trying to make sense of a senseless act. The process, he advised, will take time.

“Our hope in the future is to have joy in our hearts when Bobby is remembered,” Elliott said. “What we have right now is grieving a significant loss that will be a void for many days, many months to come. You will never get over this loss, but in time it will be less all-consuming and crushing. It will be something that will remain with you.”

Many who listened to Elliott had worn blue to the funeral. Blue shirts and blue hoodies. Blue blouses and blue dyed hair. Blue lights illuminated the stage, which was decorated with blue balloons and photos of Bobby. Blue flowers adorned the black casket that lay at the front. 

To the left, organizers had set up more balloons — basketballs and the number 41 — a nod to the sport his family described as Bobby’s greatest passion. 

“His tenacious nature, skill and great support from his family helped push Bobby to be a star player and a joy to watch on the court,” his family remembered in his obituary, which was shared again at the funeral.

Bobby’s family did not speak at the ceremony, offering instead a remembrance of Bobby that Elliott read out during the ceremony.

“Your light was too bright for those cowards to dim,” they said. “All the greatness of who you were and all the people who you’ve impacted, we’ll never forget those memories. We will hold those memories the closest to our broken hearts in these tough days ahead. 

“This pain is deep. Your mom, your brothers, your dad love you so very much and miss you so much that it’s hard to breathe. Our sweet baby boy, our hero. We will carry our memories with you until the day we pass from this life into the next.”

As the service ended, pallbearers — including Bobby’s brothers — escorted his casket from the sanctuary. They wore matching blue hoodies adorned with his name and the number 41 on the back.

Afterward, a group of teenage mourners gathered in the church entryway as others shuffled past. Some cried softly. Others hugged and held one another. Then they slowly left the church and walked into the cold light of the morning.