Fundraiser for Spangle homicide victim’s daughter aims to cover therapy costs

An online fundraising campaign aims to cover the therapy costs of a young girl who reported her father’s grisly homicide near Spangle.

The GoFundMe campaign is raising money for the daughter of Robert Tester, 35, who was beaten, stabbed and chopped to death with a wood-splitting maul inside his home Tuesday morning. The killer reportedly told the daughter to stay in bed during the killing; she called her grandmother after finding Tester’s mangled body on the living room floor.

The fundraiser was set up by members of Tester’s graduating class at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls. It had raised $5,595 of a $10,000 goal as of Sunday afternoon.

“This campaign is to support that little girl whose childhood was taken from her that day,” a message on the page reads. “Proceeds could be used either to get her help and therapy that she will most likely need (or) start a college fund for this little girl.”

Suken Shah, a former classmate of Tester’s, said, “Bob was one of us, Class of 2000. Kind-hearted and a free spirit. There’s something about growing up in Montana, where you band together, no matter what circle you ran in.”

Tester was a nephew of U.S Sen. Jon Tester, of Montana. According to court documents filed Thursday, detectives hadn’t identified a suspect in the killing.