Bullied teen in US commits suicide

A 13-year-old girl who was the target of taunts and insults for years at her California school has died after she hanged herself, leaving a message describing herself as “ugly” and a “loser.”

Rosalie Avila hanged herself in her room on November 28 and was rushed to hospital, where she was declared brain dead a day later. Avila was kept on life support until Monday so that her organs could be donated, local media reported.

“My daughter is a victim of bullying,” Rosalie’s mother, Charlene Avila, wrote on the GoFundMe crowdfunding site, in which she sought money for funeral and medical expenses.

“She was a beautiful person inside and out. She was a great artist, very lovable (and) loving.”

Avila, who was a student at a public middle school in the town of Calimesa, about 114 kilometers east of Los Angeles, left a farewell note for her parents.

“Sorry, Mom and Dad. I love you,” it read, Freddie Avila, her father, said.

“And it said, ‘Sorry, Mom, you’re gonna find me like this’.” 

The Avilas said their daughter, who dreamt of being a lawer, was bullied at school and on social media. On the day before she hanged herself, bullies had made fun of her braces.

“Rose just kept this to herself,” said Freddie. “On the inside, it was just tearing her to pieces that they were always making fun of her.”

The New York Post said the parents received a meme via social media taunting them over their daughter’s death.

Some 5,900 people between the ages of 10 and 24 committed suicide in the United States in 2015, according to government figures.