A Connecticut teenager jumped off a 5-story parking garage to her death just moments after posting a chilling video to Snapchat.
Hailey Nailor, 16, was bullied by students at Danbury High School, some friends and social media users suggested.
Luis Lopez, 18, said he saw a video Nailor posted on Snapchat just seconds before she jumped.
“Before she did, she recorded herself contemplating if she should go through with it. She sadly did go through with it,” Lopez told the Connecticut Post.
One social media user posted two Snapchat screenshots, from the same user. One had the caption “rest in peace [expletive] and another showed the girl smiling and saying “I’m so [expletive] happy y’all just don’t understand.”
The Twitter user, Cam, said that the girl who posted the Snaps was celebrating Nailor’s death. “I’m in shock, this beautiful soul was lost today bc of bullying. The fact that anyone would coerce/want someone to commit suicide is beyond me. It’s inhumane & disgusting,” she wrote.
She later added: “There’s multiple pieces of evidence of [another girl] explicitly confessing to telling this girl to kill herself.”
Danbury Public Schools Superintendent Sal Pascarella said that the bullying appeared to continue after Nailor killed herself.
Message from Dr. SalDear Danbury Families, It is with great sorrow that I share information on the untimely passing…
Gepostet von Danbury Public Schools am Sonntag, 10. Februar 2019
“We are aware that an individual posted inappropriate information regarding the deceased online, and Mr. Donovan, DHS principal, is working with authorities to have it removed,” he wrote in a statement to parents. “We strongly recommend that if your child has viewed the posting(s) to have a discussion with them.”
Danbury police Lt. Mark Williams confirmed to the Post that Nailor died from jumping from the garage and said that police are investigating what happened before the jump. He said there was no evidence that the teen “was prodded to jump” by someone else.
A candlelight vigil was planned for Feb. 16 at the Danbury mall, said Nailor’s friend Maria Garcia.
Here’s what we know and what we don’t know yet about the tragic and complicated story of a CT teen’s death. https://t.co/VqXfEXipip
— Connecticut Post (@connpost) February 11, 2019
“She never deserved what she went through or what got her to that point to make that decision. Many many people cared about her and are so devastated by this unbearable tragedy,” she wrote.
“She was a great friend to me and always had my back through everything as well to many others. It’s heartbreaking to know she went the way she did and I wish with every ounce of me I could of helped her make the right decision or someone else could have.”
“But for her, I would like to hold a Candlelight Vigil for her to Celebrate her life and get her story out there and show her that people did care about her,” Garcia added, asking people to wear white and blue because those were Nailor’s favorite colors.
Bullying
According to Stop Bullying, a government group, 28 percent of students in the United States have experienced bullying while 70 percent of youth have seen bullying at school. Some 30 percent of respondents admitted to bullying in surveys, the group said.
In one study, about 49 percent of students in grades 4 through 12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the previous month.
“The most common types of bullying are verbal and social. Physical bullying happens less often. Cyberbullying happens the least frequently,” the group stated. “Most bullying takes place in school, outside on school grounds, and on the school bus. Bullying also happens wherever kids gather in the community. And of course, cyberbullying occurs on cell phones and online.”
The relationship between bullying and suicide is complex, according to Stop Bullying.
While the vast majority of young people who are bullied don’t commit or attempt suicide, Stop Bullying said, “research indicates that persistent bullying can lead to or worsen feelings of isolation, rejection, exclusion, and despair, as well as depression and anxiety, which can contribute to suicidal behavior.”
