Briefly: A boy was taunted, harassed, beaten and terrorized by bullies. Charges were pressed but before it went to trial, the tormented child committed suicide. He couldn't testify.
Read the story and watch the video.
This is outrageous.
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
12 Year Old Commits Suicide: Charges May Be Dropped Against His Bully
Twelve year old Mitchell Wilson committed suicide the day his subpoena to testify against his bully arrived. The anxiety of being bullied, dealing with his multiple sclerosis, the death of his mother and being taunted and tormented by the bully's friends was too much for the young man to bear.
On the morning of the first day of school, his father entered his room where he found his lifeless body. At some point during the night, Mitchell in desperation, took his own life.
On September 28th, 2011, Mitchell was to testify against his bully; the boy who attacked him brutally, smashing his face into the sidewalk with such force that his teeth broke. He was to face his attacker in court, point at him and affirm this person to be his attacker. His suicide means he won't be able to do this and his bully could end up having the charges against him dropped as a result. The case has been remanded to November 2011.
I'm very eager to see how this case is handled. I hope the legal system doesn't drop the ball on this one.
TRAGIC TIMELINE
* November, 2010 -- Mitchell Wilson, a 10-year-old victim of multiple sclerosis, is mugged and assaulted by a 12-year-old for his cellphone. A young offender is charged and ordered to stay away from Mitchell and his family.
* November 2010 -June 2011 --The young offender's friends bully, taunt and follow Mitchell home from school, berating him for tattling on his assailant. Mitchell suffers anxiety attacks and threatens to kill himself. The principal assigns Mitchell an older student as his "buddy" and protector.
* Summer 2011 -- Mitchell becomes increasingly anxious about returning to school in the fall and facing the same bullying. His assigned buddy has graduated and will no longer be there to protect him.
* Labour Day 2011 -- Mitchell receives a subpoena to appear in Oshawa court to testify Sept. 28 against the young offender.
* Sept. 6, 2011 -- Craig Wilson discovers his son Mitchell has killed himself by tying a plastic bag around his head.
* Sept. 28, 2011 -- Charges against the young offender are expected to be withdrawn.
On the morning of the first day of school, his father entered his room where he found his lifeless body. At some point during the night, Mitchell in desperation, took his own life.
On September 28th, 2011, Mitchell was to testify against his bully; the boy who attacked him brutally, smashing his face into the sidewalk with such force that his teeth broke. He was to face his attacker in court, point at him and affirm this person to be his attacker. His suicide means he won't be able to do this and his bully could end up having the charges against him dropped as a result. The case has been remanded to November 2011.
I'm very eager to see how this case is handled. I hope the legal system doesn't drop the ball on this one.
TRAGIC TIMELINE
* November, 2010 -- Mitchell Wilson, a 10-year-old victim of multiple sclerosis, is mugged and assaulted by a 12-year-old for his cellphone. A young offender is charged and ordered to stay away from Mitchell and his family.
* November 2010 -June 2011 --The young offender's friends bully, taunt and follow Mitchell home from school, berating him for tattling on his assailant. Mitchell suffers anxiety attacks and threatens to kill himself. The principal assigns Mitchell an older student as his "buddy" and protector.
* Summer 2011 -- Mitchell becomes increasingly anxious about returning to school in the fall and facing the same bullying. His assigned buddy has graduated and will no longer be there to protect him.
* Labour Day 2011 -- Mitchell receives a subpoena to appear in Oshawa court to testify Sept. 28 against the young offender.
* Sept. 6, 2011 -- Craig Wilson discovers his son Mitchell has killed himself by tying a plastic bag around his head.
* Sept. 28, 2011 -- Charges against the young offender are expected to be withdrawn.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Murder Suicide and Facebook Popularity
Man, Woman Dead in Murder-Suicide at Michigan College Fox News - April 10
"The bodies of Asia McGowan, 20, of Ecorse, and Anthony Powell, 28, of Detroit, were discovered inside a classroom at a Henry Ford Community College building after police responded to an emergency call of an assault and shortly afterward reports of a shot being fired on campus, said Dearborn Deputy Police Chief Gregg Brighton." ~ Newsday
It's sad this sort of thing happens and I feel really bad for the families involved but the reason I'm blogging about this tragedy is because of a T.V. news broadcast. They showed some YouTube video of the victim dancing and also showed video of the gunman ranting and venting whatever was on his mind at the time. Based on the small video clips, he obviously seemed angry and crazed - if that wasn't enough to convince the viewer, they announced that he had only three or four facebook friends; the victim and object of his obsession, was one of them. Whereas, the victim had friends that numbered somewhere in the high eight hundreds.
This is the part that bothered me. Facebook is full of spammers and trolls that add people randomly. It's also full of innocent people that don't say no to friend requests. I'm guessing the victim, Asia McGowan, was one of those nice people who was popular and friendly with many people but not necessarily friends with everyone on her list.
My question is: How does the Facebook "popularity" of the victim and her killer, factor into this?
"The bodies of Asia McGowan, 20, of Ecorse, and Anthony Powell, 28, of Detroit, were discovered inside a classroom at a Henry Ford Community College building after police responded to an emergency call of an assault and shortly afterward reports of a shot being fired on campus, said Dearborn Deputy Police Chief Gregg Brighton." ~ Newsday
It's sad this sort of thing happens and I feel really bad for the families involved but the reason I'm blogging about this tragedy is because of a T.V. news broadcast. They showed some YouTube video of the victim dancing and also showed video of the gunman ranting and venting whatever was on his mind at the time. Based on the small video clips, he obviously seemed angry and crazed - if that wasn't enough to convince the viewer, they announced that he had only three or four facebook friends; the victim and object of his obsession, was one of them. Whereas, the victim had friends that numbered somewhere in the high eight hundreds.
This is the part that bothered me. Facebook is full of spammers and trolls that add people randomly. It's also full of innocent people that don't say no to friend requests. I'm guessing the victim, Asia McGowan, was one of those nice people who was popular and friendly with many people but not necessarily friends with everyone on her list.
My question is: How does the Facebook "popularity" of the victim and her killer, factor into this?
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