WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The investigative file of a Florida girl who authorities say committed suicide in 2013 because of bullying reveals a more complete portrait of her and her life.
Twelve-year-old Rebecca Sedwick had a spotty relationship with her father, was concerned by her mother and stepfather's fighting and had just broken up with an online boyfriend before she jumped to her death at an abandoned cement plant.
Days after Rebecca's death, authorities charged two young girls with stalking because they bullied her in-person nine months before her suicide. The charges were later dropped for one of the girls and the other entered into a diversion program.
However, the file contains scant evidence of cyberbullying, even though officials publicly described cruel text and social media messages as reasons for Rebecca's suicide.