A convict said an emotional goodbye to his son on Thursday afternoon.

Kenneth Dober, 16, was found near the Kum and Go at 66th and Blondo streets at about 9 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses told KETV NewsWatch 7 that they heard a series of shots fired at about 8:50 p.m.

Daniel Dober asked for permission to attend his son's funeral. Dober is in jail awaiting sentencing in the city's first murder of the year.


On Thursday morning, Judge James Gleason said Dober can take one hour to visit the funeral home but can not attend a cremation ceremony.

Daniel Dober was convicted of Omaha's first murder of 2006. Prosecutors said Dober and another man lured Sandy "Pat" Kerns out of his apartment and then beat him with a baseball bat. Police found Kerns lying on the pavement. He died in a hospital the next day.

Kenneth Dober is the city's 28th homicide victim of the year.

"In a way, it's kind of my fault for being here, I guess. You know what I mean? Instead of out there with him," Daniel Dober said. "I just talked to him Friday about getting his GED, you know, because he was having trouble in school."

Dober said his 16-year-old son often called him and visited him in jail, where they would talk about Kenny's education, his job and his girlfriend.

"He's going to be missed," the grieving father said. "He's definitely going to be missed."

Dober said he always hoped his son would learn from his mistakes. The man was emotional in court as the judge ruled that he could say goodbye to his son, and at the funeral home, where deputies escorted him on Thursday afternoon.

During the hearing, Dober asked to talk to the judge. He stood up and through tears, pleaded with the judge to let him pay respects.

The county attorney's office argued that Dober posed a safety risk to the public.

Dober's wife and Kenny's mother, Tammy Dober, said after the ruling that she favored the judge's decision.

"I'm very grateful that he gets to go and see his son," Tammy Dober said "At least he could go and say goodbye. That means a lot."

"It's important to him," said the victim's aunt Anna Edwards. "Real important he gets to say goodbye. He loves his son."

Police have not released details about what led up to the shooting.