My son Bobby BJ Smith died on September 28, 2013. This was 16 months after his 33-year-old sister, Nikki Bazile-Mathis, was killed in a car accident, leaving behind three kids.
One can’t even imagine the pain of burying one child, let alone burying two.
Bobby was a Senior Financial Major and tennis player at Tuskegee University in Alabama. On September 27th, Bobby and his friends were on their way home to Atlanta but stopped at a large back-to-school party near campus. Three local boys – none affiliated with the University or Bobby or his friends – started shooting like it was the wild wild west. One of the bullets ricocheted off a dumpster and hit Bobby in the back of his heart. I thank God no one else was killed because a lot of shots were fired that night.
I had to fight for four years for a trial for so many reasons I still don’t understand! I had to take a plea bargain. The three boys did serve time, but not nearly long enough for taking the life of an innocent human being! And they are now living with no remorse for taking a life that was truly loved by so many.
The last time I spoke to my Bobby was Thursday, September 26. We spoke about Dominic Negal Smith, his month-old little boy, who we had recently visited just 17 days before Bobby was killed. We also talked about a suit he wanted for his college homecoming. I remember laughing and telling him, “We can discuss both when you get home!”
I never spoke to Bobby again.
I did buy a suit at the place he requested, but to bury him in.