Phoebe Prince's Story

Her principal called her smart and charming. And a boy had just invited 15-year-old Irish immigrant Phoebe Prince to the winter cotillion, the height of the social season at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. But then police received a call.
It came from one of Phoebe's sisters. When cops arrived, they found that the freshman student had hung herself. Two days before the big dance.

Though they're not releasing any details, police say she was a victim of cyber-bullying from girls at the school who had an unspecified beef with her over who she was dating.

This wasn't just any case of high school girls behaving badly toward one another. Phoebe apparently faced an onslaught of bullying via texts, Facebook messages, and in person at the school. Even after her death, the shitty little girls left disparaging messages on a Facebook page created in her memory. (See the memorial page here.)

"Apparently the young woman had been subjected to taunting from her classmates, mostly through the Facebook and text messages, but also in person on at least a couple of occasions,'' school superintendent Gus Sayer told the Boston Globe.

Two students have already been suspended, and more could be on their way to discipline.

It was an especially tragic ending for the Prince family. Anne O'Brien Prince and Jeremy Prince had moved from County Clare to Massachusetts with their five kids last year. In Phoebe's death notice, they said they moved in part so "Phoebe could experience America.''

America, it seems, did not give her a very kind welcome.

UPDATE: It seems Phoebe had the misfortune of running afoul of the popular girls at South Hadley High. You know them from your own high school: They were the pretty girls who played sports, were in cheerleading, and used their good looks to date all the name-brand jocks.
Phoebe Prince wasn't one of them. She was a freshman, had just arrived from Ireland. No way she was cool enough. She also had the misfortune of briefly dating a senior football player. The popular girls thought she didn't know her place.
So they stalked her and called her a slut -- to her face, over the phone, on Facebook.
She was walking home the day she died when one of the vile little girls drove past. She chucked an energy drink at Phoebe and threw more insults the Irish girl's way. Phoebe promptly walked into her house and hanged herself in a closet.
Even after her death, the popular girls wouldn't let up. They were like some vicious little caricatures of evil from a Lifetime movie.
According to a great column by Kevin Cullen in the Boston Globe, a student at South Hadley told a TV reporter that bullying was a common problem at South Hadley High. After the TV crew left, one of the popular girls came up and punched the student in the head for talking on camera.
UPDATE II: South Hadley officials faced a blistering attack last night for their failure to do anything about chronic bullying.
Parents recounted numerous incidents of kids being hounded and harassed, sometimes over multiple-year periods. One man told of how his son was punched in the stomach for befriending another bullied kid. A mom spoke of how her son was punched and had his face written on with magic marker.
Other parents talked about how they were beat up in school in the '90s. And most seemed to think administrators turned a blind eye to it all. Father Larry Bay said his daughter was bullied last year, but the school did nothing to stop it.

Hope Witsell's Story

Hope Witsell was just beginning the journey from child to teen. The middle-school student had a tight-knit group of friends, the requisite poster of “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson and big plans to become a landscaper when she grew up.

But one impetuous move robbed Hope of her childhood, and eventually, her life. The 13-year-old Florida girl sent a topless photo of herself to a boy in hope of gaining his attention. Instead, she got the attention of her school, as well as the high school nearby.
The incessant bullying by classmates that followed when the photo spread put an emotional weight upon Hope that she ultimately could not bear.
Hope Witsell hanged herself in her bedroom 11 weeks ago.
Her death is only the second known case of a suicide linked to bullying after “sexting” — the practice of transmitting sexual messages or images electronically. In March, 18-year-old Jesse Logan killed herself in the face of a barrage of taunts when an ex-boyfriend forwarded explicit photos of her following their split.
Hope Witsell’s grieving mother, Donna Witsell, is now coming forward to offer a cautionary story in hope of sparing others the loss she endures. Appearing on TODAY Wednesday with attorney Parry Aftab, a leading Internet safety expert, Witsell told Meredith Vieira how her daughter’s life, once so promising, unraveled after one mistake. Video: ‘Sexting’ leads teen to suicide
The Witsells, from the small rural suburb of Sundance, Fla., are a churchgoing family. Donna admitted to Vieira she knew little to nothing about “sexting” before her daughter’s drama, but she and her husband, Charlie, tried to teach Hope and Donna’s three children from previous relationships right from wrong in the cyberworld.
“As far as training them on the Internet and what to look at and what not to look at, yeah, we talked about it,” Witsell told Vieira.
But Hope got involved in a dangerous, all-too-typical teen game. In June, at the end of her seventh-grade year at Beth Shields Middle School, she sent a picture of her exposed breasts to a boy she liked. It’s an act that is becoming more and more commonplace among teens (a poll recently showed some 20 percent of teens admitting they’ve sent nude pictures of themselves over cell phones).
But a third party intercepted the photo while using the boy’s cell phone, and soon, not only had many of the school's students gawked at the picture, but students at the local high school and even neighboring schools were ogling it.
While Hope’s photo spread, her friends rallied around her in the midst of incessant taunting and vulgar remarks thrown Hope’s way. Friends told the St. Petersburg Times, which originally chronicled Hope’s story, that they literally surrounded Hope as she walked the hallways while other students shouted “whore” and “slut” at her.
“The hallways were not fun at that time — she’d walk into class and somebody would say, ‘Oh, here comes the slut,’ ” Hope’s friend, Lane James, told the newspaper.

Clearly, the taunts were getting to Hope. In a journal entry discovered after her death, Hope wrote, “Tons of people talk about me behind my back and I hate it because they call me a whore! And I can’t be a whore. I’m too inexperienced. So secretly, TONS of people hate me.”
Shortly after the school year ended, school officials caught wind of the hubbub surrounding Hope’s cell phone photo. They contacted the Witsells and told them Hope would be suspended for the first week of the next school year.
Donna Witsell told Vieira that she and her husband practiced tough love on Hope, grounding her for the summer and suspending her cell phone and computer privileges.
Choking up with tears, Witsell told Vieira, “She received her punishment for a mistake she’d made. You set rules and boundaries in the household ... You punish them and then you let it go. You love them. You continue to talk with them, you continue to try to keep that line of communication open, but most of all you continue to love them. You don’t shame them.”
Still, Hope had a very trying summer. A student adviser for the local Future Farmers of America chapter, Hope was allowed by her parents to attend the FFA convention in Orlando. But in a display of just how prevalent teen pressure is when it comes to “sexting,” Hope gave in to incessant badgering from a group of boys staying across from Hope and her friend in a hotel room to provide them with a picture of her breasts.
Mounting pressure
The downward spiral of Hope’s life was unstoppable. When she returned to school this fall after serving her suspension, the school informed her she could no longer serve as a student adviser to the FFA. She finally admitted to her parents the abuse she was taking.

On Sept. 11, Hope met with school counselors, who noticed cuts on Hope’s leg they believed to be self-inflicted. They had her sign a “no-harm contract,” in which she promised to talk to an adult if she felt the urge to hurt herself. But, attorney Aftab told TODAY, the school didn’t inform Hope’s parents of the contract. “In this case, the school blew it,” Aftab said. “They  never told the parents how at risk she was.”

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The following day, Hope wrote in her journal: “I’m done for sure now. I can feel it in my stomach. I’m going to try and strangle myself. I hope it works.”
Donna Witsell went to Hope’s bedroom to give her a kiss goodnight. She was met with the most horrifying scene any parent could face.
“It was as if she was standing right there in front of me,” Witsell told NBC News. “Her head was hanging down. I said, ‘Hope, what are you doing?’ And then I realized there was a scarf around her neck.”
Hope had knotted one end of a pink scarf around the canopy of her bed and the other around her neck. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Attorney Aftab is at the forefront of highlighting the very real dangers of “sexting” among the teen set. And even though Hope was incredibly young for sexual behavior, a Harris Poll shows up to 9 percent of 13-year-old girls admit they have sent nude pictures of themselves on cell phones.
Aftab, who held Donna Witsell’s hand throughout the trying TODAY interview, told Vieira it’s often upstanding children growing up in good homes who have the biggest propensity to feel guilt over their sexual actions, and most feel the stings of the bullying that comes afterward.
“Good kids are the ones this is happening to; Jesse was a great kid, and now we have Hope,” she said. “Good kids; they’re the ones who are committing suicide when a picture like this gets out.”

Eric Mohat's Story

Eric Mohat, 17, was harassed so mercilessly in high school that when one bully said publicly in class, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you," he did.
Now his parents, William and Janis Mohat of Mentor, Ohio, have filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying that their son endured name-calling, teasing, constant pushing and shoving and hitting in front of school officials who should have protected him.
The lawsuit -- filed March 27, alleges that the quiet but likable boy, who was involved in theater and music, was called "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo" and often in front of his teachers. Most of the harassment took place in math class and the teacher -- an athletic coach -- was accused of failing to protect the boy.
"When you lose a child like this it destroys you in ways you can't even describe," Eric Mohat's father told ABCNews.com.
The parents aren't seeking any compensation; rather, they are asking that Mentor High School recognize their son's death as a "bullicide" and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, names school administrators Jacqueline A. Hoynes and Joseph Spiccia, as well as math teacher Thomas M. Horvath. None would comment on the allegations.

Harrison Chase Brown's Story

On September 25, 2010, Harrison Chase Brown committed suicide in Rand, Colorado.  Harrison Brown was a sophomore at Poudre High School.  Friends have told media that Harrison Brown was bullied and that precipitated his taking his own life.   No other information has been made publicly available. 

Caleb Nolt's Story

Caleb - Age 14

Caleb Nolt was a 14-year-old freshman at North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who passed on September 20, 2010.  Caleb enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend and attending church with her.  He and his twin brother, according to the obituary, would talk late into the night.  But Caleb was bullied at school for his manner of dress.
The Facebook tribute page to Caleb speaks volumes as some realize how they shunned him, and others offer testimony as to how much they enjoyed being with him.
Caleb Nolt’s had friends, and those friends have been placing video tributes on the internet.  I share two below.
The first is from Dylan Schrock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BWZoiJCOMI
Dylan chose to have a music background piece, ”Bodies” – by Drowning Pool.  Listen to the words, watch the whole way through.  Caleb is clearly missed.
The second piece was prepared by his friend Lauren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovvkg-4xPIA&feature=related
– clearly Caleb was loved and is missed by so many.

Felix Sacco's Story

SAUGUS - Investigators reported Wednesday that a 17-year-old male Saugus High School student "apparently jumped" from the Lynn Fells overpass into the southbound lane of Route 1 shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The victim, Felix Sacco, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

By all accounts, Sacco was a quiet, shy kid who liked to play guitar.

That's who people were remembering Wednesday after, according to Massachusetts State Police, the Saugus High School senior died from injuries sustained when he jumped from the Lynn Fells Route 1 overpass near Kelly's Roast Beef.

A single white rose tucked into the chain link fence that runs along the north side of the overpass was all that marked the approximate spot where Sacco might have last stood.

Another white rose was tucked into the mail box at the family's house, which remained dark. Neighbors said the family had not been home all day.

Alexis Fafard, a classmate of Sacco's, was still reeling from the news Wednesday night.

"I'm just really shocked, I wasn't expecting that at all," she said. "I liked Felix. He may have been quiet, but he was a fun kid."

Fafard said she was in the high school band with Sacco, who played a bass guitar and did so with gusto.

"He was pretty laid back and was really into playing his guitar," she said. "It's really a loss to everyone." Rumors of a student's death had quickly spread around Saugus High Wednesday afternoon, but Fafard said she didn't find out the main details, or that it was Sacco, until she returned home from school and received a recorded phone message from the school's principal.

"No one had announced it at school, but we heard someone had gotten into an accident," she said.

Police and emergency crews had originally thought the same when they arrived shortly after 9 a.m. on a report that there was an "ejection from a vehicle."

Saugus Fire Chief James Blanchard said those who answered the call expected a car accident, but only found the 17-year-old in the southbound middle lane.

"The injuries were severe," said Blanchard. "We got there quite quickly, but there was no one there to say what had happened."

Dave Procopio, spokesman for the State Police, said a preliminary investigation indicates the 17-year-old committed suicide, but no final conclusions have been made.

Blanchard said many Route 1 overpasses have high fences to deter jumpers, but the one at the scene does not.

Kelly's manager Keri Rebidue said a witness to the incident said the teen landed in front of a truck that managed to stop on the highway.

The witness told Rebidue that the teen was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with a head injury.

One teen-aged boy paced the sidewalk in front of the Sacco home. He was visibly upset, but declined to talk.

Drama teacher Nancy Lemoine had Sacco in her film class, but said she was only just starting to really get to know him through his essays.

"He was in the guitar club," she said. "He was just a nice, quiet, shy boy."

A number of students reportedly took the news hard and High School Principal Joseph Diorio said in a phone message to all parents that counseling would be available to students and staff in the guidance office.

The incident is under investigation by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, the Essex County State Police Detective Unit and the office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Raymond Chase's Story

Raymond Chase, a student at Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I., died by hanging himself in his dorm room this past Wednesday.

Campus Pride reports on the death of Chase, which follows the suicide of Tyler Clementi of Rutgers University this week and the recent reported suicides of teenagers Asher Brown, Billy Lucas, and Seth Walsh.

“The loss of Raymond this week is the second college LGBT-related suicide in a week and the fifth teenage LGBT suicide in three weeks,” said Campus Pride founder and executive director Shane Windmeyer. “The suicide of this openly gay young man is for reasons currently unknown; however, the recent pattern of LGBT youth suicides is cause for grave concern. Campus Pride demands national action be taken to address youth bullying, harassment and the need for safety and inclusion for LGBT youth at colleges and universities across the country. We must not let these tragic deaths go unnoticed. Together we must act decisively to curb anti-LGBT bias incidents, harassment and acts of violence.”

According to PerezHilton.com, which reported an email school officials sent to Johnson & Wales students Thursday, Chase was a 19-year-old old sophomore from Monticello, N.Y., studying culinary arts.

Tyler Clementi's Story

A Rutgers University freshman posted a goodbye message on his Facebook page before jumping to his death after his roommate secretly filmed him during a "sexual encounter" in his dorm room and posted it live on the Internet.
Items belonging to 18-year-old Rutgers student Tyler Clementi were found by the George Washington Bridge last week, according to authorities. Clementi's freshman ID card and driver's license were in the wallet.
Clementi's post on his Facebook page, dated Sept. 22 at 8:42 p.m. read, "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."
Clementi's body has not been recovered, but police have pulled an unidentified male body from the Hudson River just north of the bridge.
Paul Mainardi, the attorney representing the Clementi family, released a statement confirming Clementi's suicide.
"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all," Mainardi said.
Two students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, have been charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy after allegedly placing a camera in Clementi's room and livestreaming the recording online on Sept. 19, according to a written statement by New Jersey's Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.
A Twitter page that appears to have been operated by Ravi but has since been taken offline shows messages in which the accused student takes credit for the alleged videotaping of Clementi.
On Sept. 19, Ravi appears to tweet, "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Ravi faces two additional counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly attempting to use the camera to view and transmit another sexual encounter involving the same student just two days later, said Kaplan.
On Sept. 21 Ravi posted, "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."
Clementi's lawyer said the family is cooperating with the ongoing criminal investigation into Ravi and Wei's alleged actions.
"The case is being investigated by the Rutgers University Police Department. The students -- like all who are accused of a crime -- must be presumed innocent until proven guilty," said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick in a statement. "The case is also being investigated by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs under the code of student conduct."
"Rutgers is a community that is extraordinarily proud of its diversity and the respect its members have for one another."
A Facebook memorial group created in honor of Clementi already has hundreds of members, many of whom are fellow graduates of Ridgewood High School in New Jersey. Clementi had graduated Ridgewood this past spring.
One of Tyler's friends, Courtney Ayukawa, posted to the group's wall, "I will always remember everything from our preschool's Halloween party to your amazing musical talents. When you picked up the violin and began to play, it was as if everything just paused until you put it down again. We will never forget you Tyler. May you rest in peace."
Strangers have also contributed to the memorial page, one writing simply, "R.I.P from a stranger."

Seth Walsh's Story

Eleven-year-old Shawn Walsh paid a poignant tribute to the brother, just two years older, he had lost. Gripping a microphone as he stood at the altar of the First Baptist Church in Tehachapi, Calif., Shawn joshed that his brother could be "a pain in the butt" at times but that Seth was "the best big brother in the world — no, the galaxy." Wearing a yellow (Seth's favorite color) plaid shirt, Shawn then, without mentioning the word, made a heartbreaking reference to bullying, the specter at the heart of his family's mourning for his openly gay brother. "I always wanted to protect him," said Shawn, as sobs broke out in the church. "I just wish people could have been nice to him like my mom taught me."
People were not always nice to 13-year-old Seth Walsh. Neither his valiant younger brother Shawn nor the rest of his family could protect him from what they insist was chronic teasing. Even before Seth came out as gay, family and friends say, he was perpetually picked on for his mannerisms and his style of dressing. The bullying turned Seth Walsh to suicide, one of a spate of such deaths across the U.S. in the past two weeks. (See what happens when bullying goes criminal.)
On Sept. 19, his single mother Wendy found him unconscious; he had tried to hang himself from a tree in his backyard after another apparent bullying incident. He lingered on life support for more than a week. His death has since shattered emotions in this rural community 120 miles (190 km) north of Los Angeles. Close to 600 townspeople crammed into First Baptist on Friday, Oct. 1, to remember the teen who loved Pokémon, adored french fries above all other food and had an obsession with disco music. The church was so crowded that Pastor Ron Barker had mourners sit on the floor along the entire length of the middle aisle so everyone could find room inside the church. Still, many mourners gave up trying to enter. "Seth had friends that even this building could not contain," Barker said, smiling even as he knew the crowds in the church were a clear building violation. "My prayer for today is that the fire people don't show up."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023083,00.html#ixzz1YBmyznYM

Seth's beautician mother Wendy, 44, did not speak at the service. ("It's hard," she told TIME afterward. "It's hard for everyone.") Wearing a black polka-dot dress, she occasionally wept into the shoulder of her father Jim, 65, who was seated next to Seth's two brothers (Shane, 17, and Shawn) and sister (Amanda, 18). But Wendy wrote a eulogy that the pastor read. It began with a story about Seth placing a freshly picked spring flower in offering to his late dog Kelly, whom the family had just buried. "After giving the flower to Kelly, he went back to the family of flowers and gave an offering to the flowers for sacrificing one of their own members," Barker read. "He was a blessing to us and all who knew him, a lesson to the world on how to treat one another." (See the case of Matthew Shepard.)
The pastor told TIME that the focus of the service was "going to be on Seth and his life, not on the bullying, and not on the homosexuality." But both subjects were clearly in evidence at the service. As part of a photo montage displayed on the white walls behind the altar, Seth was shown happily wearing a plastic tiara on his head. The next frame featured the word bullying with a red slash through it.
Seth's grandparents insist their grandson knew from an early age that he was gay. "Wendy did everything humanly possible to help him understand his world and to support him," Jim Walsh, a retired school principal, told TIME. "And so did his brothers and sister." But it was something young Seth had trouble accepting. "Initially he wanted to have a girlfriend," says grandmother Judy Walsh, a retired schoolteacher. "He wasn't happy with his orientation. He read the Bible a lot. This was not the way he wanted to live his life, but that's what he was dealt with."
Even before he came out, he was teased enough, his grandparents say, that he was homeschooled on two separate occasions. His best friend, Jamie Phillips, says Seth, who told friends he was gay last year, was harassed long before: "Since it was a rumor that went around, everyone thought he was gay." "He started getting teased by the fourth and fifth grade," says Judy Walsh. "By sixth grade, the kids were starting to get mean. By the seventh grade, he was afraid to walk home from school because he was afraid he would get harassed. As he was walking by a classroom, a kid yelled out, 'Queer.' Stuff like that."
The bullying took every form. "It was eye to eye, over the telephone, personal, over the Internet," says Judy. "He spent a lot of his life frightened." Seth's grandparents say the breaking point came after what they believe was a bullying incident in a local park on Sept. 19. After the incident, Seth appeared to be acting normally at home. He then showered and asked to borrow a pen from his mother to write. Then he said he was going to play with the dogs in the backyard. His horrified mother found him later at the tree and fought to save her child even though she suspected it was futile. "Wendy told me, when she put him on the ground, she knew his soul was gone," said Jim. The medical response teams did their best to revive him, heliporting Seth to the county's trauma center, where he remained on life support before dying Sept. 27.
Tehachapi police declined to discuss specifics of what they say is an ongoing investigation of the incident. Police Sergeant Kevin Paille did confirm that police were looking into possible instances of "bullying or hazing" centered on Walsh's sexuality. "We're trying to get a clear picture of the totality of the situation," he said.
The boy's death has left his grief-stricken family trying to find the positive in the tragedy. Jim Walsh points out that Seth's organs were donated following his death; a child in Los Angeles was saved after receiving Seth's heart. Meanwhile, the town has used the incident to preach understanding, this time with the nation as a stage. "We're just podunk Tehachapi," says Judy Walsh. "I don't expect to get calls from Ellen ... [she pauses to work on the name] ... DeGeneres or 60 Minutes. The biggest regret is that this didn't happen before Seth's death." As Wendy wrote in her eulogy: "Seth is doing what he always wanted to do — to promote love."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2023083,00.html#ixzz1YBmq104D

Cody J. Barker's Story

Cody J. Barker, 17, of Shiocton, Wis., took his life on Sept. 13.
Barker attended Shiocton High School, where he was active in choir. In August he attended a seminar and planned to start a gay/straight alliance at his school. He held a job at Fleet Farm in Appleton.
Maria Peeples, Barker’s peer mentor through GSA for Safe Schools, said he was a passionate activist for all students, especially those, “targeted or ostracized for their sexual orientation or their gender identity and expression. … He really cared about making schools a safe place for students. That wasn’t always his own experience with school.”
According to a Web posting, Baker loved history, James Bond movies and Lady Gaga. He was described as an “extremely selfless” young man who enjoyed spending time with his friends, tending his rose plants, biking and reading.
“It’s a terrible shock, not just because we love and miss Cody, but because it’s a reminder that there’s still so much work we still need to do,” Peeples said.
Barker is survived by his parents, James and Darla Barker, sister Casey Barker and numerous family members and friends.
Funeral services were held at St. Denis Catholic Church on Sept.

Billy Lucas's Story

GREENSBURG, Ind. (WISH) - Billy Lucas committed suicide September 9th. Some say he'd been bullied and it pushed him over the edge. Others say bullying had nothing to do with the suicide.
I-Team 8 Anchor Karen Hensel spent time in Greensburg talking to those who knew Billy Lucas. Friends describe a life that may have pushed him to suicide.
His Myspace page begins "Well I guess my name is Billy!" He won ribbons showing his animals saying "I love my horses, I love by club lambs. They are the world to me."
He may have lived in a world many are just beginning to understand. He spent his last hours with those animals. His mom last saw him around 8 p.m. that night as he put up the horses. In the police report she says he "was acting strange earlier and called 911...he told the dispatcher he was causing problems for his mom and people should come". She told police she didn't know why he called and told dispatchers there was no problem and not to come.
Billy had been suspended from school that day. Friends say he was fighting back with cuss words against the bullies. They say girls were harassing him in class when he stood up and let the words spew. He was suspended.
Jade Sansing met Billy as he was being harassed a year ago. She tells 24 Hour News 8 of his final days “everything seemed normal, but he did tell me some people were making fun of him and I told him I would help him and I did.” Help from Jade is now memories in the Facebook memorial page she created. She says, “I made a Billy Lucas memorial page so I could say my last goodbyes and everyone could know about the bullying.” She had to make her last goodbyes on the internet because there was no public funeral for Billy. Jade says the bullies would call Billy “gay and tell him to go kill himself.” Karen questions, “You actually heard people tell him go kill yourself?” She answers “yes”.
I-Team 8 has learned of an incident that happened the day before he committed suicide at lunch.
His friend James Kriete was told by Billy’s sister “He had a chair pulled out from underneath him and told to go hang himself.” Kriete was the only friend allowed to see Billy alongside the family at the funeral home. Kriete says, “I've been bullied and that could have been me. That's all I keep thinking about, that could have been me.”
An hour after Billy Lucas called police to come to his house his mother found him hanging from the rafters of the barn. He had wrapped the lead from one of his beloved horses around his neck. There does not appear to be any mention of bullying in the suicide note he left. The coroner and Greensburg school district say there is no evidence bullying led up to the suicide. The school has said authorities were not award of an issue, but the school does have plans in the works to develop a new committee to combat bullying.
Billy's mom told Karen Hensel Wednesday night, "Yes, he was bullied. I don't know why he did this. Yes, I did talk to the school." His sister Abby says, "The community let us down." Friends say the mother didn't want an obituary or funeral because she didn't want those kids who had hurt him to see him. As the story continues to gain national attention Billy's mother and Facebook creator Jade have been invited to appear on CNN with Anderson Cooper.

Asher Brown's Story

Brown was found dead on the floor of his stepfather's closet at the family's home in the 11700 block of Cypresswood about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. He used his stepfather's 9 mm Beretta, stored on one of the closet's shelves, to kill himself. He left no note. David Truong found the teen's body when he arrived home from work.

On the morning of his death, the teen told his stepfather he was gay, but Truong said he was fine with the disclosure. "We didn't condemn," he said.

His parents said Brown had been called names and endured harassment from other students since he joined Cy-Fair ISD two years ago. As a result, he stuck with a small group of friends who suffered similar harassment from other students, his parents said.

His most recent humiliation occurred the day before his suicide, when another student tripped Brown as he walked down a flight of stairs at the school, his parents said.

When Brown hit the stairway landing and went to retrieve his book bag, the other student kicked his books everywhere and kicked Brown down the remaining flight of stairs, the Truongs said.

Durham said that incident was investigated, but turned up no witnesses or video footage to corroborate the couple's claims.

The Truongs say they just want the harassment to stop so other students do not suffer like their son did and so another family does not have to endure such a tragedy.

"Our son is just the extreme case of what happens when (someone is) just relentless," Amy Truong said.

To the bullies, she added, "I hope you're happy with what you've done. I hope you got what you wanted and you're just real satisfied with yourself."

Asher Brown's worn-out tennis shoes still sit in the living room of his Cypress-area home while his student progress report — filled with straight A's — rests on the coffee table.

The eighth-grader killed himself last week. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

Brown, his family said, was "bullied to death" — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class, his mother and stepfather said.

The 13-year-old's parents said they had complained about the bullying to Hamilton Middle School officials during the past 18 months, but claimed their concerns fell on deaf ears.

David and Amy Truong said they made several visits to the school to complain about the harassment, and Amy Truong said she made numerous phone calls to the school that were never returned.

Cy Fair ISD officials said Monday that they never received any complaints from Brown's parents before the suicide about the way the boy was being treated at school.

School district spokeswoman Kelli Durham, whose husband Alan Durham is a Hamilton assistant principal, said no students, school employees or the boy's parents ever reported that he was being bullied.

That statement infuriated the Truongs, who accused the school district of protecting the bullies and their parents.

"That's absolutely inaccurate — it's completely false," Amy Truong said. "I did not hallucinate phone calls to counselors and assistant principals. We have no reason to make this up. … It's like they're calling us liars."

David Truong said, "We want justice. The people here need to be held responsible and to be stopped. It did happen. There are witnesses everywhere."

Numerous comments from parents and students on the Web site of KRIV-TV Channel 26, which also reported a story about Brown's death, stated that the boy had been bullied by classmates for several years and claimed Cy-Fair ISD does nothing to stop such harassment.

Durham said the school counselor and an assistant principal received an e-mail from Amy Truong earlier this month, asking them to keep an eye on her son, but Durham said it was because of ongoing concerns at home and not about bullying.