11-Year-Old Boy Kills Himself Following Social Media Prank

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From People Magazine:

[FONT=&quot]"Police say criminal charges have been brought against a juvenile in Michigan after an 11-year-old boy killed himself following what the boy’s mother claims [/FONT][FONT=&quot]was[/FONT][FONT=&quot] a social media prank."[/FONT]

http://people.com/crime/michigan-boy-suicide-social-media-prank/

This is beyond sad.
 
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mom-says-social-media-prank-led-to-11-year-old-sons-suicide/

The Marquette Police Department confirmed there was an ongoing investigation into Benz’s death. However, any criminal charges would come through the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told CBS News they could not provide any further comments on the case at this time.
Public radio station WNMU-FM reports the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office authorized charges for the juvenile suspect of malicious use of telecommunication services and using a computer to commit a crime.

http://wnmufm.org/post/charges-brought-against-juvenile-marquette-suicide-case#stream/0

Police say through investigation they learned the boy was communicating with another juvenile via social media prior to the incident. The Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office has authorized charges of malicious use of telecommunication services and using a computer to commit a crime for that juvenile.

Color me confused. Was the girl trying to make the boy kill himself? Or, was it joke/prank not directed at him?
 

Quoting myself--so he was pranked via social media by a group and one of those has been charged. Very mixed feelings for me. We see more and more times charges being brought but where do we draw the line? moo
 
So he killed his self because he thought she killed her self first. How very Romeo and Juliet. If Juliet had woken up and said "psyche!!!"


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Quoting myself--so he was pranked via social media by a group and one of those has been charged. Very mixed feelings for me. We see more and more times charges being brought but where do we draw the line? moo

Don't even get me started on bringing criminal charges on juveniles.

This story is so sad.
 
I have no words... except how tragic this is
 
IDK if anyone else thought it odd, but I was shocked at an 11-year-old boy having a 13-year-old GF. Was she really just a friend or did they actually "date" so to speak? I guess it's the latter since he was heartbroken enough to feel he couldn't live without her.

At that age, a 2-year difference seems like a lot. But, 11 is the age at which many children begin taking an interest in the opposite sex. Maybe it just seems odd to me because my elementary school went through 6th grade, so the oldest kids in school were 11-12. But, I wonder if the girl wasn't as serious about the relationship as the boy. He may have been infatuated with her, while she was just being flirty and was probably flattered at the attention.

I think that's exactly what led to this--the attention. The girl was willing to go to any length to get the boy's attention. I doubt she even foresaw the possible consequences. Certainly not that the boy would take it so hard. Many children lose a close friend or relative and it doesn't lead them to taking their lives. So, I'm not sure I know how to feel about this. Yes, the girl was toying with the boy's feelings, but the result wasn't what she intended. Social media made it easy to take a "practical" joke to an extreme. That's why it's so important for parents to know what is going on with their children on SM.

Not trying to judge, just trying to reflect on how this could happen and how it might be prevented from happening to anyone else. MOO
 
This is heartbreaking as a mother to two young boys.

I also cannot truly fault the young lady involved in the issue. Children/preteens are notoriously hormonal and sensitive. They lack the ability to understand that such actions like pranks can have serious results, especially when it comes to something to completely tragic. Kids do dumb things. Unless she flat out told him to kill himself, I do not believe charges should be pressed. I am pretty sure she will live with the guilt of her actions for life.

This is coming from a bullied teen/preteen with major depression and self esteem issues. I deal with the depression to this very day, but as a younger person I was fought a lot of demons and had considered and attempted suicide.
 
This country is so effed up! Can't believe a girl would do such a thing. Can't believe an 11 year old would react in such a way. Everything involving this is just so messed up.
 
Having a lot of trouble finding anyway to construe this girl's action as an honest prank. This was twisted and I think had to have been done with bad intentions. If this is true, this girl needs to experience the youth commission in that state and be more than publicly shamed. This was sick!

IDK if anyone else thought it odd, but I was shocked at an 11-year-old boy having a 13-year-old GF. Was she really just a friend or did they actually "date" so to speak? I guess it's the latter since he was heartbroken enough to feel he couldn't live without her.

At that age, a 2-year difference seems like a lot. But, 11 is the age at which many children begin taking an interest in the opposite sex. Maybe it just seems odd to me because my elementary school went through 6th grade, so the oldest kids in school were 11-12. But, I wonder if the girl wasn't as serious about the relationship as the boy. He may have been infatuated with her, while she was just being flirty and was probably flattered at the attention.

I think that's exactly what led to this--the attention. The girl was willing to go to any length to get the boy's attention. I doubt she even foresaw the possible consequences. Certainly not that the boy would take it so hard. Many children lose a close friend or relative and it doesn't lead them to taking their lives. So, I'm not sure I know how to feel about this. Yes, the girl was toying with the boy's feelings, but the result wasn't what she intended. Social media made it easy to take a "practical" joke to an extreme. That's why it's so important for parents to know what is going on with their children on SM.

Not trying to judge, just trying to reflect on how this could happen and how it might be prevented from happening to anyone else. MOO
 
Having a lot of trouble finding anyway to construe this girl's action as an honest prank. This was twisted and I think had to have been done with bad intentions. If this is true, this girl needs to experience the youth commission in that state and be more than publicly shamed. This was sick!
ITA.....and I think the term boyfriend and girlfriend meant they just saw each other at school I don't think they went on actual dates the mom of the boy didn't know her except seeing her @ the school...She got many others to go along and convince him she was dead I don't see how that's anything other than her being mean and manipulitive.....BTW I know u weren't asking about their relationship but I don't know how to quote 2 posts sorry....

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A lot of our middle schools are 5th through 8 grade here idk about there @Indy Anna and the above post I meant to include you in sorry

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IDK if anyone else thought it odd, but I was shocked at an 11-year-old boy having a 13-year-old GF. Was she really just a friend or did they actually "date" so to speak? I guess it's the latter since he was heartbroken enough to feel he couldn't live without her.

At that age, a 2-year difference seems like a lot. But, 11 is the age at which many children begin taking an interest in the opposite sex. Maybe it just seems odd to me because my elementary school went through 6th grade, so the oldest kids in school were 11-12. But, I wonder if the girl wasn't as serious about the relationship as the boy. He may have been infatuated with her, while she was just being flirty and was probably flattered at the attention.

I think that's exactly what led to this--the attention. The girl was willing to go to any length to get the boy's attention. I doubt she even foresaw the possible consequences. Certainly not that the boy would take it so hard. Many children lose a close friend or relative and it doesn't lead them to taking their lives. So, I'm not sure I know how to feel about this. Yes, the girl was toying with the boy's feelings, but the result wasn't what she intended. Social media made it easy to take a "practical" joke to an extreme. That's why it's so important for parents to know what is going on with their children on SM.

Not trying to judge, just trying to reflect on how this could happen and how it might be prevented from happening to anyone else. MOO
She had other friends help convince him..I don't think it was joke IIRC she said it was a test of his love for her. She needs punished by authorities IMO

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What an utter tragedy!

I can't tell from the reporting whether the girl intended for the boy to die, I would guess she didn't. But at the very least she enjoyed playing a cruel game with him, psychologically torturing him. Wouldn't surprise me if she has some kind of PD, possibly is a narcissist, and was looking forward to the 'effect' she had on him when he saw her alive the next day. My feeling is the intention was to humiliate him.

But this is just my speculation, it could have been different. I'm sure they are closely scrutinizing all the messages exchanged by the two leading up to this sad event to pinpoint what exactly was the intention behind this cruel "prank".

She should definitely be held accountable in some way, and possibly the participating friends too, how severely I don't know.

I wonder where his family were when all this happened. He must have shown signs of distress prior to killing himself and the whole situation probably went on for hours. Was he alone at home? So terribly sad that he did not feel he had anyone to talk to at that moment. jmo
 
sounds like a sociopath? psychopath? not sure which is the correct term here ... besides a manipulative little @#$%!
 
A lot of our middle schools are 5th through 8 grade here idk about there @Indy Anna and the above post I meant to include you in sorry

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In my school district, K-6 was elementary school and 7-12 was jr/sr high. To quote multiple posts, click on the quotation icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the posts you want to include. Then, click on "Reply With Quote" at the bottom of one of the posts.

Children in their preteen and early teen years are just beginning to explore relationships and entering the formative stage of brain development. I don't think we should expect the girl to foresee the consequences of her prank. The fact that so many others went along with the "prank" demonstrates that they all (in the same developmental stage) perceived this in the same way. It is very tragic the boy took it so hard.

I'm not saying what the girl and her friends did was acceptable. From an adult perspective it was cruel, but a child would not see it from the same perspective. Where did they get the idea of "testing" a relationship? The concept may have been learned from an adult in the girl's life, or another child's life if someone else suggested the scheme, or it may have been picked up from a television program. There's a saying in Psychology: "Children learn what they live." That's why parents need to know what children are watching on television, and what they're doing on SM.

I remember in elementary school and HS children could be very cruel. In elementary school, I was often sick on Mondays (truly sick to my stomach) because I dreaded going to school. In HS my mother often wasn't there when I got home from school (taking my sister somewhere/picking her up or working). I'd sometimes go home after school and cry my eyes out until I heard my mother's car in the driveway. Then, I'd go in the bathroom and splash cold water on my eyes so she wouldn't know I was crying. Somehow, I made it into adulthood, and I find adults are no better. It's a cruel, scary world we live in. We see that every day here on WS and in the news. I'm not making an excuse for it, but it's something we must accept and adapt to in order to survive.

I'm reminded of an experience when I was in college and working for an agency on campus. My supervisor was a middle-aged man from Iran. One day, a young college student was telling us about a friend of hers who had recently broken up with her boyfriend. The girl returned to her apartment one day to discover that her ex had hung himself in her closet. Our supervisor--very seriously--asked how long the girl would be in prison. The rest of us--all young to middle-aged women-- giggled, not at the young man's demise but at the absurdity of the idea that the young woman should be held accountable for her ex's actions. Our supervisor's attitude, I understand, was a product of the Iranian society he was brought up in, where women are considered 2nd class citizens who are often raped, abused and punished by law at a man's whim. I know that's no one's intention here but thought it would help to see this incident from a different perspective. I know this is debatable because of the case of Michelle Carter. But, she was 17 at the time, she understood Conrad's MI and knew he'd previously attempted suicide, and she actively encouraged him to commit suicide. IMO, there are 2 extremes and each case needs to be viewed with a balanced perspective.

MOO
 
So the girl was 13 and the boy was 11. I wonder what the ages are of the other kids who joined her in this "prank", anyone know? OMG this is so sad, another young life ended.
 

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