In their own languauge, and in their own way, friends of Robert Brazell and Kevin Klink are showing their grief. One Mount Hebron High School student writes, “you and the other boys kept mr b?s history class entertainingg. and ill always remember how sweet you were to yourr friends. rip robby.” “I still can?t believe it … RIP Robby,” writes another.
The death of 18-year-old Brazell and its impact on Howard County students who knew him are well-documented in “In Loving Memory of Robby Brazell,” a Facebook group his friends created, and elsewhere.
Brazell, who was fatally beaten during a 20-person brawl at Mount Hebron High during the weekend, died Sunday.
Klink, 18, a former wrestling champion and 2006 graduate of Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, is accused of striking Brazell in the head with an aluminum baseball bat during a brawl. He is being held at Howard County Detention Center without bond on charges of first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
But across the virtual divide, his peers are vehemently maintaining his innocence.
On MySpace, another social-networking site, dozens of his friends posted notes of support like these: “miss you. i will get in contact with you. mark my words. love you be strong” and “Hey man, still here for you. Im gonna try to make it to the trial.”
Klink?s goal for this year, according to his profile: “Get n stay out of trouble.”
In the Facebook group “Free Klink” his friends wrote “free my boy!!! klink we with you mann.”
Another added: “Kevin is a good kid and I?ve known him for years. I can only pray that the courts will have understanding of the situation and hand out the punishment accordingly.”
The situation ? a melee involving at least 20 people and seven bats ? has baffled residents and officials in a county with just five homicides since the beginning of 2006.
Police said the fight started on an athletic field. Witnesses to the event led police to Klink, who was arrested Sunday night at a gas sation on Route 40 in Ellicott City.
He told police that “he had struck an unarmed male from behind with an aluminum baseball bat during a large altercation,” according to charging documents.
Brazell attended Mount Hebron until December 2006, when he withdrew.
Mount Hebron Principal Dave Brown said he could not comment about why Brazell left the school in December.
Brown reiterated statements from the police that the fight wasn?t school related.
Klink won the 2A-1A South Region title last year as a senior for Oakland Mills.
