Teen Fatally Stabbed Protecting Girlfriend From Boys Following Her, Police Report

A 14-year-old in Wyoming was fatally stabbed on Sunday trying to protect his girlfriend and her friend from two teenage boys who were following them around the mall.

Bobby Maher was identified by a family friend on GoFundMe as the victim who was allegedly killed following a confrontation with two 15-year-old boys at the Eastridge Mall in Casper.

According to documents cited by local news station KCWY,  one of the boys was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and battery, and theft. The other 15-year-old was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, and a misdemeanor theft charge. Both have been charged as adults, according to the Casper Star-Tribune .

Maher was found by police officers who were responding to a report of an unconscious juvenile outside the mall at 1:40 p.m. Sunday. The boy had been stabbed twice, according to an affidavit cited by KCWY.

Several adults at the mall had begun rendering first aid before police arrived, according to the TV stations report. 

Mahers friend told officers that his girlfriend called him to say that two teen boys were following her and her girlfriend around the mall, according to local newspaper Cowboy State Daily.

Maher told his girlfriend that they were going to the mall to ... keep the girls safe, the friend told officers, according to the Daily. The friend told officers that two boys were walking in front of the girls when they arrived and were trying to get them out of the mall.

As they were walking out, Maher kept telling the boys to leave, but once they made it outside, one of the teens slammed him on the ground and then the other stabbed him with a kitchen-style knife, Mahers friend told officers.

Everything happened so quickly, the friend said.

Video footage cited in the affidavit allegedly depicts one of the suspects instigating a fight by telling Maher to swing at him, but Maher moved away, according to the newspaper. 

The suspects, identified by police as Dominique Antonio Richard Harris and Jarreth Joseflee Sabastian Plunkett, wore balaclava-style masks, according to the Star-Tribune. 

Police were led to the two suspects after interviewing witnesses, according to the newspaper. The suspects allegedly confessed that they stole the knives from Target prior to the incident.

Harris allegedly told detectives that Maher never threw a punch during the incident, according to the Daily. Plunkett allegedly told officers that Maher told him to put the knife down but that he responded, I dont fight fair.

According to a news release Wednesday from the Casper Police Department , the suspects were taken into custody within minutes of the investigation, adding that there was no evidence the crime was gang-related. 

The family friend who launched the GoFundMe campaign described Maher as an amazing son, brother, friend and teammate who leaves behind his parents and three brothers. 

Bobby loved his family and was not only an amazing kid in school but in general, the fundraiser says. He had such an amazing passion for playing basketball. We are heartbroken and will never be the same without him.