LEWISTON — In details gleaned from friends, family and Facebook, Bob Ryder’s history is rocky. 

He was taken from his mother at age 3 and raised in Maine’s foster-care system, where he was moved from home to home and separated from a beloved brother. In 2010 he became the father of a little girl, but he hasn’t seen her in a while.

Last year, he proudly told friends and family he had joined the U.S. Marines, then shortly afterward said he was discharged because of mental health problems.

He lived for a time at Becket House, a Litchfield assisted-living facility for young adults dealing with mental illness, developmental disabilities or physical limitations, before moving over the winter to an apartment at 417 Main St. in Lewiston.

Ryder has battled alcoholism and mental illness, but those who know him said they never expected he’d be accused of violence.

“(I) cant even believe he would do this …  just … wow …  (I) want proof,” wrote one friend on Ryder’s Facebook page hours after Ryder was taken into custody in connection with the death of Danita Brown, whose decomposing body was found in his basement Monday night.

Ryder, 20, was originally held for violating probation that stemmed from a burglary conviction. On Friday, he was charged with murder.

Ryder’s aunt, Brenda French, of New York, knew him when he was a young child and reconnected with him over the phone and on Facebook in recent years. She said she knew he was dealing with depression and resentment over his childhood, and she encouraged him to seek help. Often on Facebook, Ryder wrote about hating his life and himself, including, in May, “time for me to go to hell.”

“There were a few times that I read some of his comments on Facebook and it just made me wonder if there was something going on,” French said. “It kind of, like, troubled me inside. It gave me an unsettled feeling.” She said she repeatedly offered to talk with Ryder if he needed someone.

Still, she said, “It sounded like he had some problems, but I was hoping that he could work those out. I never expected it would really come to something like this.”

ltice@sunjournal.com

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