Recent+Events+in+Bullying

= Bully's Mom Blames Dead Girl for Own Suicide  =

__ She started 'calling names,' says mother __
By [|Mary Papenfuss]| //Suggested by easterner//| Posted Mar 31, 10 4:22 AM CDT| Share Updated Mar 31, 10 6:45 AM CDT [|Share] ** (Newser) ** – The mother of a teenager charged with bullying a classmate into suicide is blaming the dead victim for what happened. The cyberbullying began after the dead girl, Phoebe Prince, started calling her daughter "names" at their Massachusetts high school, said mom Angeles Chanon of her daughter Sharon. "Phoebe was calling her names. They're teenagers. They call names," she told the //Boston Herald//. Chanon admitted that Sharon was suspended from school for verbally abusing Phoebe, 15, after the battle began, but insisted her daughter never physically attacked Phoebe. "We have strong values," she insisted. Sharon, one of 9 arrested in the suicide, has been charged with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury. Some of the "Mean Girls" at Prince's high school have already posted hate comments on Phoebe's Facebook memorial page. District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel also blamed teachers and school administrators for failing to protect Phoebe. Her persecution was "common knowledge" at the school, and even witnessed by teachers, who said nothing, charged Scheibel. Outrage: L.I. Teen Cyber Bullied, Even After Death Shocking Comments Litter Various Social Networking Sites Following Suicide Of Promising West Islip High Student Infuriated Residents Call On School District, Police To Take Action Reporting [|Jennifer McLogan] WEST ISLIP, N.Y. (CBS) ― Click to enlarge 1 of 1 Alexis Pilkington appeared to have it all, but committed suicide. CBS /30/2009) It's a case of cruelty on top of tragedy.
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Police are investigating vicious Internet postings sent before and after a popular West Islip teenager committed suicide.

CBS 2 HD spoke with her grieving family.

"I just think it's important that parents understand to hug their kids every day because you never really know when you're not going to be able to," Thomas Pilkington said.

An emotional Pilkington spoke following the suicide death of his 17-year-old daughter Alexis, a West Islip High School senior who was set to enjoy a soccer scholarship to Dowling. Alexis had what every teen might dream of: a sports star with beauty, brains, talent and a deep love of her family and community.

But almost as shocking as the suicide have been the dozens of comments posted on social networking sites directed at Alexis -- before and after her death. The comments were anonymous, obscene and insulting.

"She was obviously a stupid depressed -- who deserved to kill herself. she got what she wanted. be happy for her death. rejoice in it," wrote one person.

"It's just sad to see this happen in our town. You never expect something like this to happen, especially to a girl like her," friend Cristian Murphy said.

West Islip parent Michael Strucuzza is demanding his town council get involved.

"I'm taking all the posts to them today and what we're going to do is give them to the district attorney's office, to try to track these people and look for retribution," Strucuzza said.

The postings to Alexis' memorial page have compounded her friends' loss.

"Everyone she was friends with she had such an impact on. I just wish she knew it...," classmate Danielle Dilevo said.

On Friday 45 Long Island school districts will be attending a keeping kids safe from cyber bullying conference sponsored by Child Abuse Prevention Services.

"We need to work that group of kids -- the silent majority -- the bystanders who are probably very much affected by this and feel terrible but are afraid to take even the slightest risk to put themselves out there to stop it or support the victim," said CAPS' Alane Fagin.

The Pilkingtons will not lay blame. They said their daughter had been in counseling.

"Teenage suicide, it is one of the most painful things you can go through and there is no one answer," Thomas Pilkington said.

Police said investigators are monitoring the postings and will take action if deemed to be of a criminal nature.

A cyber bullying prevention bill is now being considered in Washington. It would make electronic communication intended to coerce, intimidate or harass a federal crime.

= Bully of Suicide Teen Being Threatened =

__ Chris Montelongo Admits He Bullied Classmate Jon Carmichael, 13, Who Killed Himself; Montelongo's Mother Fears for His Safety __
Chris Montelongo, left, concedes he bulled Jon Carmichael, right. Carmichael took his own life. **(CBS)** Jon Carmichael, 13, of Joshua, took his own life Sunday, reports **CBS News Correspondent Don Teague**. The eighth-grader had apparently been teased and bullied because of his small size, Teague says. Classmate Chris Montelongo admits he picked on Carmichael, but insists he wasn't alone. "I wasn't the only one," Montelongo says. "I can guarantee you it was most of the school who messed with Jon." Montelongo adds that, despite the teasing, he considered Carmichael a friend. "At times," he says, "I did bully him. But it was just both of us just messing around. I never did it because I hated him." Now, Montelongo says other kids are blaming him for Carmichael's death. And his mother, Leticia Montelongo, says she worries about his safety, and picks him up from school because "he's been threatened." Chris Montelongo voiced his regrets, saying, "The things I have done to him, I just wish I could take it back -- but now that he's gone, I can't do anything about it." Teachers and students in the school district had already undergone anti-bullying training after a similar suicide last year. © MMX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. = Mom says Springfield boy, 11, who committed suicide was repeatedly bullied at school =
 * (CBS)** Funeral services were to be held Thursday for a Texas teenager who committed suicide, apparently after being bullied by classmates.

**April 08, 2009, 9:06PM**
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoove, 11, killed himself at his home on Northampton Avenue in Springfield on Monday. __ ·  [|Springfield boy, 11, commits suicide]  __ · [|Join the discussion] · [|National School Safety Center] and PATRICK JOHNSON Staff writers
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 * By MIKE PLAISANCE **

SPRINGFIELD - Two days after the worst day of her life, when she found her 11-year-old son had committed suicide by hanging himself, Sirdeaner L. Walker said on Wednesday she wants the bullying to stop.

She found Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanging by an extension cord on the second floor of their 124 Northampton Ave. home Monday night after he had endured another day of taunting at New Leadership Charter School, where he was a sixth-grader, she said.

"I just want to help some other child. I know there are other kids being picked on, and it's day in and day out," said Walker, 43. She spoke in her living room surrounded by family and friends. They had just returned from a church service.
 * ** 11-year-old's suicide brings bullying to forefront ** ||

Photos of a beaming Carl - he played football, basketball and was a Boy Scout - peered from the top of the television.

Walker went upstairs to check on him Monday night.

"It was the worst experience of my life, and I'm a breast cancer survivor. Four years, it was four years ago I had breast cancer," Walker said.

She phoned the school repeatedly since Carl began attending in September but the bullying continued, she said.

Other students made him a target, daily calling him gay, making fun of how he dressed and threatening him, she said.

Carl had attended Alfred M. Glickman Elementary School up to fifth grade, but few of his friends accompanied him to New Leadership Charter School, she said.

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 * [|Bully Prevention video from CNN]**