Tag: Suicide
Fantasia Explains Why She Is Sorry For Trying To Commit Suicide In The Past
It has been nearly a decade since music star and actress Fantasia was admitted to a medical institution, where she battled for her life after trying to commit suicide and taking an enormous amount of aspirin and sleeping pills.
The singer, who gained much fame for being the winner of the third season of the reality series American Idol back in 2004, opened up and talked about the experience of her suicide attempt and what drove her to it during an episode of Behind the Music,which aired in 2010.
Back then, the diva explained she did not have any fight in her and did not care about anything.
Fantasia also confessed she wanted to be over with her life, go to sleep, and find peace.
The R&B diva admitted that she looked in the mirror before taking all of the pills from the bottle she was holding, and she was perfectly aware of what she was doing at the time.
However, life has undoubtedly improved for Fantasia, and her suicidal thoughts are a thing of the past now.
Sitting down on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts, she explained: “I think everybody feels like I tried to harm myself over a man, but you know I’ve been in a lot of bad relationships. I think that had somewhat to do with it because it was so heavy, it was brand new information, I was already going through so much. But I think it was just six years of everything, of me holding all that stuff on the inside and not letting it out…I got very, very tired. When I woke up, I figured out, ‘Oh god, this is going to be more drama.”
While appearing on The Real, the singer revealed: “When I tried to just get away from the world. Some would say, ‘commit suicide.’ I didn’t think it was me trying to kill myself. I just wanted to be away from all the noise. If I could do that over, I would.”
In the recent interview during an episode of “The Real,” the star was asked if there were something she would change if given the opportunity.
According to Fantasia, trying to end her life was the thing she would do over if it were possible.
Currently, the singer is the proud mother of two children, a teenager, and a boy, and in 2015, she married businessman Kendall Taylor.
Besides her sixth studio album, Sketchbook, hitting the stores n the upcoming weeks, Fantasia is also participating in a tour with colleagues Robin Thicke, Tank, and The Bonfyre.
Article via CelebrityInsider
Boston College student accused of driving boyfriend Alexander Urtulam to suicide
A Boston College student repeatedly urged her boyfriend to kill himself — telling him the “world would be better without him” before he jumped to his death on the morning of his graduation in May, according to a new report.
Suffolk County prosecutors on Monday announced Inyoung You, 21, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the suicide of her boyfriend, fellow Boston College student Alexander Urtulam, the Boston Globe reported.
The suspect psychologically and physically abused Urtula during their 18-month relationship — repeatedly encouraging him to kill himself despite being aware of his “spiraling depression,” District Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a press conference.
The pair exchanged 75,000 text messages in the two months before Urtula took his own life, with You telling him “go die” and “go kill yourself,” prosecutors said.
The 21-year-old has returned to her native South Korea but will be extradited to the US if she does not voluntarily return to face the charges, Rollins said.
“This case is a tragedy but it’s just one example of a systemic epidemic [of domestic violence],” Rollins said.
“Domestic violence may not look the same [in every instance] but it is always about power and control,” she added.
Urtula, of Cedar Grove, NJ, jumped to his death from the Renaissance parking garage in Boston on May 20, the same day he was supposed to graduate with a biology degree.
You isolated her boyfriend from his family and friends and tracked his location on her phone. Chillingly, You was present at the parking garage when Urtula leaped to his death, Rollins said.
A grand jury handed up the indictment on Oct. 18, finding You was “wanton and reckless” and created “life-threatening conditions for Mr. Urtula that she had a legal duty to alleviate,” according to court documents obtained by the Globe.
The case echoes “suicide text” girlfriend Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts woman who was convicted of urging her boyfriend via text messages to kill himself in July 2014.
According to the Boston Herald, You sent Urtula, 22, more than 780 “manipulative and threatening” text messages each day in the months leading up to his death.
The suspect also used threats of self-harm to control her boyfriend and manipulate him.
Urtula killed himself just two hours before he was supposed to walk in his graduation ceremony — his family traveling from New Jersey to Boston for the event.
“His family never got to do so,” Rollins said Monday.
His girlfriend was studying economics and was scheduled to graduate in May 2020 but withdrew from classes in August, three months after Urtula died, a Boston College spokesperson told The Globe.
Urtula was remembered as a “gifted student” and was involved in many groups, including the Phillippine Society of Boston College.
He had been working as a researcher in a New York hospital and according to his LinkedIn, also worked as a researcher at a women’s hospital in Boston in the hematology department.
Rollins told reporters domestic violence “does not discriminate” — noting it affected people regardless of their race, sexual orientation or age.
“Domestic violence may not always looked the same, but it is always about power and control,” she added.
Photo Credit: Suffolk County District Attorney
Suicide rates for children, young people jumped between 2007 to 2017: CDC
The suicide rate among those between ages 10 to 24 jumped between 2007 and 2017, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday.
The 56-percent jump in that decade contrasted with a more stable suicide rate among the age group previously. In 2007, there were 6.8 suicides per 100,000 people among ages 10 to 24, while in 2017 there were 10.6 suicides, according to the CDC.ADVERTISEMENT
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people in that age range, behind accidents, according to The Washington Post. The suicide rate was higher than the homicide rate in that age group starting in 2011.
When broken down by age groups, the suicide rate for those aged 10 to 14 almost tripled between 2007 and 2017. For teenagers 15 to 19, the rate surged 76 percent in that decade.
For 20- to 24-year-olds, the rate of suicides has been increasing from 2000 to 2017, at a rate of 36 percent.
The Post noted researchers do not know the reason for the spike in the suicide rate among teens and young people, though they saw it as cause for alarm.
“Just looking at these numbers, it’s hard not to find them completely disturbing. It should be a call to action,” Lisa Horowitz, a pediatric psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, told the Post.
Article via TheHill
(RIP) Etika’s mother defends KEEMSTAR amid accusations he contributed to her son’s death #fullbreakdown
Mari & Mercedes C0mm!tt Su!c!de Days Apart~ social media is calling them 2017 Romeo & Juliet
Houston teen dies by suicide after she was rescued from sex trafficking ring
A 15-year-old Houston girl killed herself after she was rescued from a sex trafficking ring, according to a report.
Leticia “Letty” Serrano took her own life Saturday two years after her horrific ordeal, news station KTRK reported.
“I feel like I let her down,” her grandmother Cynthia Rivera told the news outlet.
Serrano was only 13 years old when she was drugged and sold to sex traffickers, KTRK reported. She was later found at Moody Park, but her family said she was never the same.
“We got her back damaged,” Rivera said.
Her family is speaking out to raise awareness about the prevalence of sex trafficking.
“We as a community and the system failed this young lady and her family once. Let’s not do it again,” her grandmother wrote on a Facebook page to spread the word.
Photo Credit: Facebook
Mom claims ‘mean girls’ bullied son into suicide challenge
An Ohio boy was bullied into participating in a suicide challenge, and his mom is demanding that his school punish the “mean girls” who she says goaded him into doing it, according to a report.
The Madisonville Smart Elementary School student was admitted to the hospital Monday after he was discovered with a belt wrapped around his neck, news station WXIX reported.
“A girl saw his friend in the hallway and said you better check on your friend, because he’s trying to kill himself,” his mom told the news station.
The mom — who requested anonymity to protect her son’s privacy — said he was confronted Monday by several “mean girls” in the boy’s bathroom.
The group reportedly bullied her son into a deadly challenge known as “Will you die for your mother?”
It’s unclear what the conditions are in the dangerous challenge — but the boy feared his mother would be harmed if he didn’t follow through, the news station reported.
“Of course, he didn’t really want to end his life,” his mom told WXIX. “He said, ‘Mom, all I thought was being without you, and I don’t want to be without you.’”
He was found coughing and crying with the belt around his neck after attempting the challenge in the bathroom, his mom said.
The child was taken to the school nurse then brought to the Children’s Hospital, where he is recovering from the incident, the news station reported.
“I get a call stating from the receptionist that my son tried to commit suicide in the bathroom,” the mom said, adding that he’s “never tried to do anything like that.”
The school reportedly notified the girls’ parents, but the victim’s mom is calling for administrators to discipline those involved. In the meantime, she said she will not permit her son to return to class.
“The girls are still there and they’re laughing about it,” the mom said.
David Cash, who heads Charter School Specialists, which sponsors Madisonville Smart, said the bullying allegations “certainly are being addressed.”
“The board reviewed the situation with school administration, reviewed all of the actions that had been taken,” Cash said. “All the appropriate actions have been taken by the board at this point.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/18/mom-claims-mean-girls-bullied-son-into-suicide-challenge/
9-year-old hangs herself after mom told her not to play on cellphone
A 9-year-old girl hanged herself in her Bronx home — after her mother told her it was too early in the morning to be on her cellphone, sources and neighbors said Sunday.
Heaven Vega was found dead by her horrified mom, Jennifer, in her bedroom at the family’s apartment in the Bronx River Houses shortly before noon Saturday, authorities said.
The child had tied a belt around her neck and hanged herself from her bed, police said.
Earlier in the morning, the mother and daughter had fought over the girl’s cellphone use, police sources and neighbors said.
“Nowadays, all kids have cellphones in their hands, and all they do is watch YouTube,” said a neighbor who didn’t want to be named. “Apparently the girl woke up, and she wanted to get the phone to go on YouTube. But the mother told her, no, it was too early in the morning.”
Next-door neighbor Zoraida Irizarry said the child’s grief-stricken mother is now blaming herself for the tragedy.
“I can’t imagine what the mother is going through right now. A friend of mine spoke to Jennifer, and Jennifer said that she thought that it was her fault,’’ she said.
The distraught mom called 911 after finding her daughter in the room, a source said. One of Heaven’s brothers performed CPR until paramedics arrived, the source said.
“I can hear into their apartment through my wall,” said Irizarry, who lives next door to the family’s third-floor apartment.
“Yesterday morning, I heard the older daughter calling for her sister at a regular tone, and then all of a sudden her voice got really loud, and she started screaming.”
The little girl was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but could not be saved. It’s unclear whether she left behind a note.
Neighbors in the building said Heaven was the youngest of four siblings, and recalled that all of the kids would sit in the hallway glued to their phones.
“I don’t get it. She always had a smile on her face. I only ever saw her happy,” Irizarry, 59, said of Heaven. “I would come home and she would be sitting in the hallway doing her homework, I guess because it was quieter out there.”
She said the entire community is in shock over the girl’s death.
“I don’t know how her mother can function after this,” she added.
The grieving mom could not be reached for comment.
Additional reporting by Stephanie Pagones
via: https://nypost.com/2019/02/17/9-year-old-hanged-herself-after-argument-with-mother-cops/
13-year-old boy kills himself after school allegedly ignores bullying
An eighth-grade student in Michigan reportedly took his own life after he faced relentless bullying on his school bus.
Michael Martin, 13, died Jan. 25 at Sparrow Hospital two days after he attempted suicide at his Lansing home, the Lansing State Journal reported.
His mother, Joanna Wohlfert, said the teen was teased about his weight and braces on the school bus in the months prior to his death.
He often skipped class at Everett High School to avoid the bullies, which led to his grades slipping, she said.
Wohlfert said the school district and bus company failed to investigate the issue after she repeatedly reached out to them.
“He was going through a dark time and nobody cared,” his mom told the newspaper. “Nobody paid attention to him.”
In emails provided to the newspaper, Wohlfer pleads with faculty and administrators to address the bullying.
“I AM ASKING FOR ANY HELP I CAN GET,” she wrote to a school counselor in a Jan. 8 email.
School officials released a statement Monday confirming authorities are investigating the teen’s suicide.
“The Lansing School District is engaged in a comprehensive and on-going investigation and is working closely with the Lansing Police Department,” the district said.
“It is the policy and practice of the district to not comment or share any details pertaining to the investigation while it is on-going.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/02/05/13-year-old-boy-kills-himself-after-school-allegedly-ignores-bullying/
9-year-old kills self after racist taunts from class
A black 9-year-old girl in Alabama allegedly took her own life after facing relentless bullying and racism in class, according to reports.
McKenzie Adams’ relatives said she hanged herself Dec. 3 in her home in Linden, about 100 miles west of Montgomery, and was discovered by her grandmother, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
Since the start of the school year, the fourth-grader had been the target of bullying at US Jones Elementary School, where she was teased over her friendship with a white male classmate, according to her family.
Her aunt, Eddwina Harris, said the group of students taunted McKenzie by telling her to commit suicide.
“She was being bullied the entire school year, with words such as ‘kill yourself,’ ‘you think you’re white because you ride with that white boy,’ ‘you ugly,’ ‘black bitch,’ ‘just die,’” Harris told the newspaper.
Harris said she’s speaking out about her niece’s death because she wants to promote anti-bullying.
“There are so many voiceless kids,” Harris said. “God is opening great doors for justice for my niece.”
Boy, 15, and best friend found dead in apparent murder-suicide
A Houston mother found her teen son and his best friend fatally shot Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
The boy and his friend, both 15, were found dead inside the upscale Park at River Oaks apartment complex by his mother when she came home around 5 p.m., police told the Houston Chronicle.
It’s unclear which of the boys shot the other before turning the gun on himself. But the mom who discovered the grisly scene told investigators that her son was “going through chronic mental issues,” according to Assistant Police Chief Henry Gaw.
The boy’s mother had spoken to him earlier Thursday and nothing seemed to be off. He lived in the apartment with his mother and older brother, and the firearm used in the shooting belonged to the family, Gaw said.
Investigators wouldn’t say whether there were signs of a struggle prior to the shooting or whether a note was left behind, KTRK reports.
“It’s a very sad scene,” Gaw told the station. “You have two 15-year-olds who are dead.”
The teens attended Lamar High School, where crisis counselors were expected to help students start the grieving process on Friday, according to the station.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to each student’s family and friends, as well as the school community,” Houston Independent School District officials said in a statement.
A medical examiner is expected to perform autopsies on Friday, KPRC reports.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/11/09/boy-15-and-best-friend-found-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide/
Teacher commits suicide in classroom during school hours
A Texas middle school teacher committed suicide in his classroom Monday while school was in session, officials said.
A staff member at Wessendorff Middle School in Rosenberg found fine arts teacher Jordan Halane unconscious. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died, ABC reported.
The school district believes it was the teacher’s intent to harm himself, though they did not provide any details on his cause of death.
The district said students were not in danger and no weapons were found on the campus. They noted that Halane’s classroom was in a portion of the campus not directly accessible to students.
Following the tragic discovery, students were placed on hold in their classrooms. The school notified parents of the supposed suicide before notifying students.
“Our focus is always on the safety and well-being of our students. We felt that you should be aware of the situation in case your child comes home with questions or concerns,” the school’s principal, Sonya Sanzo, said in an email to parents.
The school said counselors would be available to speak with students or teachers throughout the week.
According to Halane’s Facebook page, he was married in 2016.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/11/07/teacher-commits-suicide-in-classroom-during-school-hours-officials/