Sadie Riggs (Facebook)
The family of a 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl who hanged herself are using her obituary to call out bullies who made the teen’s life worse at school.
Sadie Riggs died Monday and her family posted her obituary online to debunk any rumors of the death.
“It is hard to fathom that someone so young could be so troubled,” the family wrote, adding that the teen went to counseling and took medications for emotional issues complicated by bullying, much of it on social media. “For a young lady so excited about going to high school, things sure went terribly wrong for her.”
The bullies, the family said, made Riggs feel “worthless.”
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“To all the bullies out there, I just want you to know that as much as we despise your actions, never, ever do we wish for you to feel the paralyzing pain that engulfs our bodies, a pain so severe that it makes the simple act of breathing difficult or the guilt that leaves us wondering what we could have done different,” the obituary continued.
Bedford Area Superintendent Allen Sell says that he can't comment on the specific situation but that policing social media bullying is difficult because schools don't have jurisdiction if it happens outside school hours. The district is offering counseling to students affected by Sadie's death.
The family is asking people to “be kind of one another” instead of sending flowers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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