POCATELLO - Shantay Hall and Lauren Parker, both 17, didn't know Cassie Jo Stoddart, but the Century High School students attended her funeral to show support for her family and the Pocatello High School community.

Both girls said Cassie's murder touched them deeply.

&#8220This doesn't not just happen here," Parker said. &#8220This doesn't happen anywhere."

Hall's younger brother Ryan, 15, said he was shocked when two of Cassie's classmates were charged in connection with the Pocatello High School junior's death.

About 500 family members, friends, classmates and law enforcement officials filled St. Anthony's Chapel on Seventh Street to pay their last respects to Stoddart who was killed while housesitting for relatives northeast of Chubbuck.

The family found her when they returned home Sept. 24.

raper, both 16, were charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Stoddart's death.

Bond was originally set at $1 million, but Magistrate O. Lynn Brower revoked bail Friday after Bannock County Prosecutor confirmed that a videotape made by Adamcik existed.

Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen attended Saturday's service to pay his last respects to Stoddart.

&#8220We've been following up on Cassie for a week now," he said. &#8220We feel like we know her. This is our way to show her the respect she deserves."

Nielsen said 30 officers from the sheriff's office, Pocatello Police and the Idaho State Police investigated the murder and he said the nature of the case motivated the team.

&#8220It's been very emotional," he said.

Nielsen said the multi-agency team set precedents in the county and was an asset to the investigation

Richard Hernandez, a friend of the Stoddart family, said Cassie's murder and the arrest of her classmates alarmed him.

&#8220I just can't believe kids are killing kids," he said.

Dozens of floral arrangements stood behind Stoddart's casket, which was draped in white silk and family pictures and several of Stoddart's drawings were on display in the front of the chapel.

Father Enrique Teriquez said death can overcome quickly and suddenly and he urged Cassie's family and friends to find solace in the knowledge that God gives hope.

Mary Brownsky and Mendi Serpa performed four special arrangements and pallbearers for Stoddart consisted of cousins and classmates.

Zerick Brown, 20, a close friend of Stoddart, said the service was overwhelming.

He described Stoddart as outgoing and funny, she was buried at Mountainview Cemetery.

Debbie Bryce is the regional reporter at the Journal. She can be reached at 239-3132 or by e-mail at dbryce@journalnet.com.

Community left with tough questions after tragedy

Commentary by Jimmy Hancock

The Portneuf Valley was shaken to its core when 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart was found dead in her relatives' home a week ago. A beloved family member and classmate to hundreds at Pocatello High School was lost.

That wasn't all that was lost, though. In the days that have followed since the discovery of the stabbing victim, it's apparent every one of us who lives here has lost something.

The biggest loss was to Cassie herself. A young high school junior said to have good grades and a bright outlook, who was talking of one day going to college, has had her future ripped from her. No university, no husband, no children, no high school graduation, not even a junior prom.

Her family is now left with a tremendous void. It's a void that will never be filled-one that may, with years and years, begin to shrink.

Those friends who were close to Cassie will live the rest of their lives with this traumatic episode, their worlds forever a bit less secure. Her schoolmates will forever talk of Cassie when they gather after high school and at every reunion.

Now the Gate City has lost two more teens to this tragic incident. The two accused of brutally stabbing Cassie are in custody and face spending the rest of their lives in prison, too young to be given Idaho's stiffest penalty: Death.

Two more lives lost, families disrupted and friends left wondering why. Even more tragedy for the Pocatello High School students who were already wondering why one of their own was taken so young. They now have to cope with the how two teens they shared most of their school-age lives with could commit such a crime.

The friends of young Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, the boys accused in Cassie's death, are in disbelief. The boys' immediate families are faced first with the prospect of defending them, then with living in the community if the teens are found guilty.

The subtlest loss has to be that of the community itself. How could two teenage Pocatellans take the life of another teen, a schoolmate? Aren't we a community that cares about one another? Isn't this the place where we stop so others can cross the street, not because it's the law, but because we are expected to do the right thing?

The parents of every teen must now wonder if their child could end up like Cassie, the victim of a senseless crime, or like Adamcik and Draper, accused of committing a heinous act. Even the most confident parents must be second-guessing themselves in at least some small way.

I believe our little corner of the world is a place where we are our brother's and sister's keepers, where our neighbor's children and their welfare are also our concern. This is the place where we pride ourselves on being involved with our children.

There are now questions that beg to be asked and answered.

Do we really know enough about our youth? Are we giving them too much &#8220space" to be free. Are we headed down the path to becoming the next Columbine? When children are killing children, something has spun out of control.

We should all be concerned about whether this will be an isolated incident or the first in a string of events. Either way, it has to be considered a sign that there is a cancer, however small, among our youth. It's clearly time to consult a doctor.

Jimmy Hancock covers crime and courts for the Journal. He can be reached at (208) 239-3137 or jhancock@journalnet.com.