Teen whose picture with cat and lasers made him famous has died in apparent suicide

Published December 31, 2016

FILE - In a Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 file photo, Draven Rodriguez and his cat Mr. Bigglesworth at their home in Schenectady, N.Y. Rodriguezâs parents tell the Times-Union of Albany their son committed suicide Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015 at their Schenectady home. He was 17. Rodriguez had wanted his senior yearbook portrait to show him holding his cat Mr. Bigglesworth, with lasers in the background. The school denied his request but said the photo could appear somewhere in the Schenectady High School yearbook.(AP Photo/The Daily Gazette, Patrick Dodson)

An upstate New York teen — who had a burst of fame last fall over his senior portrait depicting him, his cat and lasers — has died.

Draven Rodriguez's parents tell the Times-Union of Albany their son committed suicide Thursday at their Schenectady home. He was 17.

Rodriguez had wanted his senior yearbook portrait to show him holding his cat Mr. Bigglesworth, with lasers in the background. He posted the photo online, and it went viral.

The school denied his request but said the photo could appear somewhere in the Schenectady High School yearbook.

Principal Diane Wilkinson got in on the act and posed similarly with her Chihuahua. The portraits were to appear on the principal's yearbook page to raise awareness for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and rescue animals.