Phoebe Prince Suicide

Irish teen Phoebe Prince committed suicide after being harassed and taunted on Facebook. Prince, age 15, was found dead on January 14, 2010, in her home in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Prince, who attended South Hadley High School, reportedly hanged herself.http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cyber-bullying-factor-suicide-massachusetts-teen-irish-immigrant/story?id=9660938

Police said Prince was the victim of cyber bullying. After friends set up a memorial page for Prince on Facebook, some of the girls who allegedly harassed her online and in school continued to leave hurtful messages on her memorial page.http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/01/phoebe_prince_15_commits_suici.php

Nine teenagers have been charged in connection with the suicide of Phoebe Prince. Prosecutors working on the case claim that after many months of "bullying, stalking and harassment", Prince decided to kill herself.http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2010/03/9-teens-charged-in-cyberbullying-suicide.html While only 15-years-old at the time of her death, Prince's harassers who are alleged to have caused her to commit suicide have since been described as "unrelenting".http://www.startribune.com/nation/89398202.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ The teens being charged are said to have gone on Facebook and mocked her even after she had died.

Of the nine teens who have been charged, two of them have also been charged with statuary rape. Prosecutors have said that Phoebe Prince endured "months of nearly constant stalking and harassment in person and online".http://www.startribune.com/nation/89398202.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ Administrators at Prince's school apparently did know about at least some of the bullying, however no officials at the school have been charged at this point.

On April 9, 2010, court paperwork was released giving insight into the last days of Phoebe Prince's life and her struggles against bullies at her school that may have driven her to take her own life. According to the released documents, Prince was stalked around the school, and could not even escape into the bathrooms. As well, the documents allege that she was tormented and threatened by classmates in front of teachers and faculty members.http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/09/phoebe-prince-brutal-final-days/?test=latestnews

On the day of her death, it is alleged that her classmates Ashley Longe and Sean Mulveyhill, wrote derogatory and disparaging comments about Prince on the "sign-in sheet" at the school library, and that Mulveyhill loudly referred to her as a "whore" during a school assembly. Later on that day, after being followed by cars and tormented further during her walk home, Prince hanged herself in a stairwell.http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/09/phoebe-prince-brutal-final-days/?test=latestnews

In early-February 2010, the 'mean girls,' who allegedly taunted Prince to the point where she took her own life, their family's, and others mistakenly linked to the incident, reported that they were now the victims of harassment as well. A woman by the name of Laura A. Narey told The Republican newspaper that she was the victim of mistaken identity, as some believed she was one of the 'mean girls' (cyber-bully) mother. A Facebook group called "Expel the three girls who caused Phoebe Prince to commit suicide" had over 15,457 fans as of February 4, 2010. The alleged 'mean girls' were said to be Ashley Longe, Shannon Charon, Flannery Mullins and Kayla Narey.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Expel-the-three-girls-who-caused-Phoebe-Prince-to-commit-suicide/267095363109?v=wall#!/pages/Expel-the-three-girls-who-caused-Phoebe-Prince-to-commit-suicide/267095363109?ref=share Two of the girls were suspended from school in late-January 2010.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584057,00.html?test=latestnews Another Facebook group titled "Stop the hatefulness against Phoebe Prince and the girls involved" was also set up. As of February 4, 2010, the group had 296 fans.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-hatefulness-against-Phoebe-Prince-and-the-girls-involved/451005535575?ref=mf#!/pages/Stop-the-hatefulness-against-Phoebe-Prince-and-the-girls-involved/451005535575?v=wall&ref=mf

Narey said her name and personal information was posted online as she she should be blamed for Prince's death. The names of girls who taunted Prince were posted online as well. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. Narey said, "There has been so little comment that has come from the schools and the investigators in the case that the world has taken it into their hands. They are outraged." Mrs. Narey insists that she is not related to any of the people involved in the Phoebe Prince case. http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1265271618256490.xml&coll=1