The chilling remarks of two teens accused of stabbing a boy to death in a Wyoming mall days before the killing have been heard in court.
Jarreth (JJ) Plunkett and Dominique Harris, both 15, being tried as adults for the murder of Robert ‘Bobby’ Maher, 14.
The two are accused of fatally knifing Maher to death on April 7 while he was trying to protect his girlfriend, who was being followed by the pair.
Now it has emerged that just two days before the killing, one of the suspects stated he wanted to ‘gut’ Maher, according to police.
Casper Police Detective Tiffany Elhart testified before a preliminary hearing that Harris told officers Plunkett had said he wanted to ‘gut that dude’, Cowboy State Daily reports.
Robert Maher, 14, (who went by Bobby) was stabbed to death at a Wyoming mall on April 7
Jarreth (JJ) Plunkett and Dominique Harris, both 15, are accused of fatally stabbing the teen (pictured) while he was trying to protect his girlfriend
Casper Police Detective Tiffany Elhart testified before a preliminary hearing that Harris told officers Plunkett had said he wanted to ‘gut that dude’ before the stabbing at Eastridge Mall
Elhart added that the defendants also asked Maher’s best friend if he wanted to get involved in a ‘blood debt’ during a separate conversation.
The haunting comments formed part of the evidence presented by prosecutors who successfully argued the accused killers should be tried as adults.
Elhart told the court that Maher had first been placed on the accused’s radar during spring break after he asked them if they were ‘freaks’ after spotting them enter a portal potty together.
Other evidence included disturbing video of the stabbing at the Eastridge Mall which showed Maher being knifed twice in the stomach with a stolen blade.
Elhart said that surveillance video from a nearby Target showed Plunkett and Harris stealing two 3 1/2-inch kitchen knives on the day of the attack.
Interviews with them and Maher’s girlfriend revealed that after they spotted her at the mall they began following her and asking if Maher would appear, according to Elhart.
Maher’s girlfriend Haley Bressler then called him and asked him to come to the mall, Elhart said, adding that when he arrived another teen told Harris and Plunkett he didn’t think a fight would be fair.
Harris told investigators that Plunkett, ‘took the knife out of his pocket and held it to his chest and told him he was going to shank him,’ Elhart testified.
According to police interviews, there had been a previous incident at a park in Evansville between Maher and the suspects, who claimed he called them ‘freaks’ after he saw them go into a portal potty together
Maher’s friend told police that Dom slammed Maher to the ground before JJ walked up and stabbed him right outside the mall
Robert ‘Bobby’ Maher’s father Robert Maher Sr. told DailyMail.com, ‘It is a nightmare we can’t get out of our heads – it’s playing over and over again’
While video of the brutal attack was submitted as evidence, it has not yet been released.
Cowboy State Daily reports that the footage shows Plunkett pushing Maher then hitting him in the face before Harris body slams the victim to the ground.
As he holds him down, Plunkett then swoops in and jabs his body twice with a knife before both defendants retreat.
Plunkett is facing a first-degree murder charged and he and Harris are being charged as adults with felonious conspiracy to commit murder, felonious aggravated assault and battery and a misdemeanor theft
Plunkett faces a potential life sentence or even the death penalty if convicted on the murder charge.
Police responded to the scene after receiving a call about an unconscious boy outside the Hibachi Supreme Buffet in the mall.
An affidavit says Maher was stabbed twice during ‘an altercation that just occurred.’
Witnesses told police the alleged assailants, who they said were called JJ and Dom, were wearing hooded balaclava-style masks.
Bobby’s heartbroken girlfriend Hailey described him as ‘the bravest boy’ at a vigil for the slain 14-year-old
Maher is pictured with a female friend in a tribute shared on Facebook after his death. It’s unclear if she is one of the girls he was protecting when he died
Flowers are left at memorials for Robert Dean Maher in Casper, Wyoming
In a police interview, Plunkett reportedly said Maher told him to ‘put the knife away, this isn’t fair.’
Plunkett claimed that Jarreth replied: ‘I don’t fight fair.’
Bobby’s father told DailyMail.com that he arrived at the hospital to see medics battling in vain to save his son.
‘I broke down, I was inconsolable for a while. As Bobby’s body was laying on the gurney, I told him how much I loved him, I begged him to please come back.’
He added that the family are struggling to adjust to life without him.
‘Mornings are the worst,’ he said. ‘When I wake up every morning it’s a nightmare that is a reality.
‘It takes me hours in the morning to be even able to talk. His mother and siblings are devastated we can barely function. Never would I wish this on anyone.’
