AUGUSTA — Bonnie Royer and Eric Williams both were known for their kind hearts and willingness to help anyone, friends and family who gathered in their memory said Friday night, one week after the couple was killed on Christmas morning.
More than 100 people joined a candlelight vigil in memory of Royer and Williams outside their home.
“Eric was a very good friend, and Bonnie was the same way. They’d help anybody,” said David Jordan of Augusta, who grew up down the street from Williams. “Bonnie baby-sat my daughter a bunch, and she always had a blast. They were loved.”
The young couple, police said, died from gunshot wounds. Their bodies were found early Christmas morning in Williams’ SUV off Sanford Road in Manchester, which is near the Easy Street home where the couple lived. David W. Marble Jr., 29, of Rochester, New York, has been charged with murdering them.
Royer, 26, who attended Cony High School, is survived by her 6-year-old daughter, McKenzie. Jordan said Royer was a “fantastic” mother.
Jeff Williams, Eric’s father, said the show of support offered by friends and family Friday was moving.
“I just want to thank everyone for the support,” he said.
He echoed others’ comments that his son would do anything for others.
“He was a big-hearted guy,” Jeff Williams said. “If a buddy needed help, he’d drop everything and help.”
Williams, 35, was a graduate of Cony High School and Kennebec Valley Community College, where he studied electrical line work. He had been a manager for Kellermeyer Building Services until earlier this year. He was a member of Le Club Calumet in Augusta.
Williams’ obituary notes that he had a passion for the outdoors, including hunting, fishing and snowmobiling.
A small motorboat and canoe were stored behind the garage of the white, single-story, well-kept home where the couple lived together. The home is owned by Williams’ parents, Jeff and Susan Williams, according to city records.
Eric Williams also had a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which is how Ferrante Grantham first got to know him, through their shared loved of riding their Harleys. He said the two put in about 10,000 miles of riding together between March and May.
“We were very close,” Grantham said. “Eric had a big heart, the most beautiful smile you’ll ever see, and the type of personality that would draw you in. He would literally give you the shirt off his back.”
Grantham read a poem he wrote in tribute to the couple, “Eternal Departed,” at the vigil.
He said he was moved to pay tribute the moment he heard the tragic news of their deaths.
Dave Maddox said Williams was “a lovable kid who put himself out there. He had a lot of friends.”
Williams’ funeral is set for Saturday.
Just before the vigil started, several dozen participants had gathered on Sanford Road, the same road where the bodies were found in the SUV, then walked together, holding candles, to the Easy Street home where the couple lived. Many exchanged hugs and offered condolences to family members of the pair.
A gofundme site has been set up to raise money for Royer’s funeral expenses. By Friday evening it had brought in $1,975 toward a goal of $5,000.
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