BUFFALO, Minn. — Just a few months after his mother died allegedly at the hands of her abusive boyfriend, a son took his fight against domestic abuse to the battlefield — the paintball battlefield.
On Friday, Charles Thayer hosted a paintball event to raise money for two organizations that support domestic abuse survivors, Women’s Advocates Foundation and Maria’s Voice.
“We know we’re not going to end all of it, but we can surely put a good effort towards ending it,” Thayer said.
On July 28, the body of Thayer’s mother – America Thayer – was discovered in Shakopee. According to the criminal complaint, investigators believe Thayer’s boyfriend, 42-year-old Alexis Saborit, decapitated her before throwing her body into the street. Saborit has been charged with second-degree intentional murder for what Charles Thayer says was the final act in a long-running cycle of abuse.
“You could clearly see that her life was deteriorating in so many ways, and it was really at the hands of this animal that leeched onto her,” Charles Thayer said, adding, “She couldn’t find a way out. She wanted to find a way out. She tried, we tried; family friends – everyone tried.”
But on Friday, Thayer stood beside allies in his fight against domestic abuse.
“Domestic violence really is a person, and it’s a human being. It’s someone you know,” said Lissa Weimelt, who — along with her husband Bill Weimelt — started the Maria’s Voice organization after losing their own daughter to domestic abuse.
“Domestic Abuse won’t end until men end it,” Bill Weimelt said to the group gathered at the paintball event.
The Thayers and Weimelts are far from alone in Minnesota, as 30 domestic violence deaths were reported just last year alone. But advocates say bringing light to this dark crime begins with sharing the stories of both survivors and those who didn’t "find a way out.”
Click here to learn more about Maria’s Voice.
To learn more about the Women’s Advocates Foundation, click here.
You can also call the Minnesota Day One Emergency Shelter and Crisis Hotline at 1-866-223-1111 if you or someone you know is in need of access to more domestic violence resources in your area.