A 12-year-old boy committed suicide after relentless bullying because of his sexual orientation forced him to drop out of school.
A 12-year-old boy committed suicide after constant homophobic bullying at school
Riley Hadley’s mother, Alison Holmes, told the inquest into his death that “he was afraid to go to school for fear of being bullied.”
Holmes said her son had told her that he questioned his sexuality and had told her he had feelings for boys, but that “he was still young, he didn’t see it as a big concern.”
She was more concerned about bullying and, at the beginning of school, home-schooled Riley. But she couldn’t do that for the whole year because she had to work.
Holmes said he seemed fine overall and didn’t think he was being hurt.
“I think we had a good relationship and he would tell me if something was bothering him,” she said.
Jody Hadley, Riley’s father, who said he hadn’t seen his son in weeks, said their relationship was “very good.”
Police said they spoke to his school and 30 of his classmates and the school reported him missing. He was found shortly afterward and his absence was due to “pressure at school.”
Classmates said he had already tried to hang himself.
The assailants allegedly told him to “slit his wrists” and that they wished he was dead. Police said they believe the bullying was due to homophobia.
On the day of his death, he had a doctor’s appointment and confided to them that he felt “anxiety” about going back to school.
“He cried. We talked and he seemed a little better,” his mother said when they returned home from the doctor. Then she went to work.
“I’m sure, on the balance of probabilities, Riley placed a ligature around his neck and, in doing so, sadly intended to take his own life,” said assistant coroner Alison Longhorn at the inquest. An examination, she explained, showed that he died from asphyxiation.
The hearing concluded that there was no criminal or third party act involved in her death.
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