Detroit 7 Year Old Commits Suicide

A reader sent me the following a news release about this story :

May 24, 2012 at 7:47 pm

Detroit boy, 7, who died was depressed, mom says

• By Oralandar Brand-Williams, George Hunter and Christine Ferretti
• The Detroit News

Detroit— The mother of a 7-year-old boy found hanging in his bedroom Wednesday told police her son had been depressed over the separation from his dad and bullying by schoolmates.

The boy was discovered by his 14-year-old sister hanging from a bunk bed by a fabric belt at the family’s home in the 700 block of Pingree near New Center.

The sister, looking through a keyhole of the boy’s bedroom, saw the child hanging. She summoned her mother, who quickly grabbed him and held his body upwards “to relieve the stress of his body weight” as a neighbor removed the belt from around his neck, according to police.

The mother told police the boy was bullied at school because he was being raised in a mostly female household. Neighbors said he was the only boy among his mom’s four daughters.

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said authorities are continuing their investigation, although they suspect suicide.

“The report from my officers indicates bullying may have been the genesis of this, or had a connection,” Godbee said Thursday. “To a person, it’s difficult to comprehend a 7-year-old planning a suicide like that, so we’re keeping all possibilities open. We haven’t come to a final conclusion on anything, and are waiting until we do, but preliminarily, that’s what we’re going on. I spoke to homicide, and they won’t leave any stone unturned. We’re going to investigate this fully.”

While results are pending from the autopsy completed Thursday, a neighbor whose child played with the boy said there was no sense anything was wrong with the youngster.

Tina Garrett, a neighbor across the street, said the little boy played with her daughter, 8, as recently as Wednesday.

“He was a bubbly little boy. He went back in the house. He seemed to be OK,” Garrett said Thursday.

The child attended University Preparatory Academy in Detroit. “We’re diligently looking into everything,” Sgt. Eren Stephens, spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department said Thursday. “On the surface, it appears to be a suicide.”

Schools officials refused comment on the incident, as did family members. Garrett said the little boy often played with her daughter, riding up and down the street on his bike.

Garrett said she had to explain to her daughter what happened to her friend.

“She cried so bad last night; she didn’t want to go to sleep,” she said. “I told her, ‘If someone bullies you, don’t get depressed. Come talk to me so we can solve it.'”   

Kevin Epling, who advocated for the passage of the state’s first anti-bullying statute, said it’s a growing problem that students are being confronted with daily.  “A lot of adults think it’s not that big of an issue or no worse than it was when they were in school,” said Epling, who lost his 14-year-old son, Matt, to a bullying-related suicide in 2002. “It’s a totally different environment today in schools. There are a lot more pressures at younger ages on students. We as adults need to understand that it’s a different world.”

Epling said Thursday he’s “very saddened” by the boy’s death, but said it’s too early to make assumptions.

“We need to step back and wait for the information to come in,” said Epling, who is also co-director of Bully Police USA, a grass-roots anti-bullying nonprofit. “Right now the family needs the community’s support, especially the boy’s friends need support and guidance on how to deal with a loss and how the school needs to deal with the loss.”

Epling added he’s not heard of any suicides in children this young in the area.

“This is really the low-end of the scale that we’ve lost someone this young,” he said. “We have to really figure out what was going on in this young man’s life and draw the best conclusions we can without jumping ahead of the game.”

Detroit City Council member Saunteel Jenkins, who has introduced an anti-bullying ordinance for the city of Detroit said, “For any child who thinks their only option is death, it’s heartbreaking (and) devastating.”

Jenkins added: “It just bring tears to my eyes to think about what that family is going through and what that baby was going through. Bullying, in general, is a difficult issue that can be dealt with. It takes everybody being on board and putting forth the effort to stop bullying. Fortunately for this chief, it is a priority.”

News staff writers Darren Nichols and Josh Katzenstein contributed.

 From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120524/METRO01/205240428#ixzz1vv2gFHAz

Is It Possible for Suicide to Have Christian Meaning?

This blog is a meditation on suicide and its effects on those whose lives are forever changed by it.  I invite your comments to help me in the search for Christian meaning

In the past year and a half I have experienced both sides of the issue of suicide. In July of 2010, Richard, my husband of 22 years, committed suicide after an 18 year battle with bi-polar illness. Coping with his suicide has triggered profound questions that have forced me to seek answers that are beyond human knowledge

About a year ago I fell into a deep pit of depression and suddenly was dealing with my own suicidal desires which continue to this day. Ironically, I now live with the other side of suicide but the questions of meaning are the same.

What sources of help did I try?

When I learned of Richard’s death I called friends, one was from a church I had previously attended.   About a year prior to my husband’s death, we had stopped attending this church where we had received much support.  We both were overwhelmed by the degeneration in Richard’s condition and hadn’t the energy or desire to continue our church connection.   An amazing thing happened when my friend told the church of Richard’s death.  The members descended on me and helped me every step of the way.  The kind support they gave to me as a church member who had dropped out without explanation was a revelation of the meaning of Christian community.  They have continued their kindness to this day.

Meanwhile help of a different kind came from the therapeutic community.  Professionals of all kinds explained the progression of illness, coping mechanisms and prescribed medications to mitigate the intolerable pain caused by the loss of the very meaning of life. How could I live with this terrible pain which sapped from me the very desire to live?

A few months previous to my husband death I had seen a psychologist for insomnia.  It was a simple matter to reopen that relationship for help with Richard’s death. I had a willing counselor with superb therapeutic skills.  My therapist gave me his unconditional support, especially in the beginning; he sat with me to read the suicide note, he offered to go with me to visit the site where Richard had killed himself and he sat with me for many hours while I wept for my loss and questioned my own complicity.  But what he could never help me with was the why.  Could life ever have meaning in light of this one deed?  He could only see my need for “real meaning” as a failure of courage.  For him meaning was contingent and almost momentary.  For me this led to madness.