Sean Mulveyhill, Kayla Narey Charged in Phoebe Prince Suicide

by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | March 30, 2010 at 03:29 pm
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Phoebe Prince Death  9 Teens Charged

Sean Mulveyhill, Austin Renaud, Kayla Narey, Ashley Longe, Flannery Mullens, and Sharon Chanon Velasquez are 6 of 9 students at South Hadley High School implicated in 15-year-old Phoebe Prince's suicide and who now face criminal charges of criminal harassment, stalking, and statutory rape.

Prince was from County Clare Ireland moved as a freshman to South Hadley High School in western Massachusetts. She had briefly dated Mulveyhill, inciting ire on the part of Narey and Longe. When Mulveyhill broke up with Prince he turned on her and engaged in the group bullying.

Prince hung herself in a stairwell at home after massive bullying at school and online which continued for 3 months.  

review of the Phoebe Prince case is bringing new students who had possible involvement to light. Prince was  an "outsider," and a sensitive girl who became fair game when she briefly dated Mulveyhill, a popular boy at the school.

Bullying Legislation Required or Overkill?

Prince's case helped catapult Senate's anti-bullying legislation into the forefront. 

 District attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said Prince was a target  of a "nearly 3-month campaign of verbally assaultive behavior and threats of physical violence ... It appears that (her) death on January 14th followed a tortuous day for her, in which she was subjected to verbal harassment and threatened physical abuse."


It has been posed by some that anti-bullying legislation is redundant.  If the prosecution of Prince's alleged tormentors is merited, it suggests that laws against bullying may be redundant, or worse yet,  may infringe on civil rights and liberties. 

The use of child porn laws to crack down on sexual texting of teens and the policing of online written material may be going overboard.  Criminal harassment, stalking, and statutory rape are crimes in themselves.  Anything falling outside of these would best be left out of legislator's hands, Wendy Kaminer of The Atlantic asserts.  

Proponents of anti-bullying legislation have pointed out that many teachers and school administrators will not take action unless this legislation is in place.  Kaminer points out  that such school personnel are obviously unfit to serve in schools in the first place. 

Cyber-Bullying or Felony Abuse?  
  
Too much emphasis on cyber-stalking can even distract from the kind of actual physical abuse suffered by Prince, and which led to her suicide.  

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6
glinda

At 17 you know what you are doing..........  they should be thrown in prison for a while.  Maybe someday when they all have kids of their own and someone is bullying their kids..........they will realize what they have done......let them worry that their own kids might kill themselves. I assume they all have been spoiled............maybe their parents should also be held accountable for the crappy job they did raising these "monsters"............

2
GeeREG

The law needs to be blind and consistent. What I mean is that the law shouldnt take into consideration who you are etc. If you commit a crime then you commit a crime, the crime shouldnt be dealt with or treated any different in regard to ones race, gender etc. Im pretty sure that if a female was to harras a male student then there wouldnt be much of a reprecusion. Also it was noted that one kid is going to be charged for assault with a dangerous weapon for throwing a can( of soda?) at Phoebe. If he is charged for with assault with a d with throwing a can at phoebe then EVERY body else after him needs to be charged with same scrime for same act. Im not belittling what happened. My heart goes out to the girl as I hate bullies bit in order for this to be effective then we need consistencies, we need standards. In the military we always get briefed about new rules in which we sign after the brief agreeing to the fact that we were told and we always get tested our knowledge of the rules. Well before every single last one of these degenerate children even stepfoot into a class room they need to get a similar brief. The principal needs to say youre in  school here to learn, if you can respect the rights of another person then you are going to get put out. Three Strikes and your out. This behavior will not be tolerated.

4
Crackpipah Shyneegra

i lol'd

3
hem gate

This is by far one of the stupidest things i've ever read. Some girl kills herself because kids are teasing her and she had a can thrown at her? If shes so stupid and can't deal with her own problems properly then thats her fault. These six (or maybe nine) kids had nothing to do with her death in my opinion. They were simply being teenagers, teenagers will make fun of just about everyone. The kids who can't take the teasing and break down will be teased worse, the ones who show some backbone, ignore it, laugh it off or even make comments back will generally be passed on quickly. So her death is her fault for taking what other people thing far too seriously and generally being a crybaby for lack of a better term. The world as whole in fact take what others think or do way too seriously. Also, anyone who thinks these kids should face jail time, think of it this way. Have you yourself ever called someone a name, teased someone, threw something at someone, done anything purposely to get under anyone's skin? If so then if they go to jail, or face any punishment for that matter, then you should be right there along side of them. Plus, to the comment made about about it may be the "bullies" parents fault for raising "monsters". What about the girl's parents? Isn't it their responsibility to raise their child to be able to hand pressure, critisizm and the same teasing a 9 year old can do? Not to mention their responsibility to see when their child is going through harsh times and look into it and protect them? So if this is the teen's parents fault, it's also the girl's parents fault by that logic, which it's not. The only person at fault for her death is her. However, 99% of the people who read this will be far too retarded to fully comprehend it and will automatically assume "oh no hes wrong and just being an asshole." So hey, to each their own. I myself, will continue to look at this the way it truely is, one less whiny little kid who can't handle the pressures of the world, as harsh as that sounds.

2
Glad your not my parent

Wow, I am glad your not my parent....

3
you suck

Obviously you were one of the kids that did the bullying in school you ignorant ass. What age are you.....actually lets change that question are you fucking stupid??? The girl was 15 and they were beyond evil little bitches, just like you. Its pretty clear that you have no friends, or maybe you think you do.....but let me tell you.....NOBODY LIKES YOU! With fabulously fucking stupid opinions like you yours ......your "friends" or what people you talk to on the net from your parents basement, slag you! I hope you get bullied and feel beyond the pain that little girl went through.

1
Allia

Yes, you're wrong, and yes, you're an asshole.

0
kim Wilde

you're ignorant, nuff said!!!

0
Kat 989898

Yea 99% of people with a bit of common sense are the retards.Catch yourself on you idiot.Obv you are someone who is friends or related to these obvious bullies. They took it too far. How can you even think that it is the girls fault it was a 6/9 maybe more campaign agaisnt her I would love to see how you would have coped. Brushed it off so strong. I really hope you experince some kind of bullying in the future you deserve to. Not every child has the strength to stand up to bullies 15 years old. I wonder what you would do if your child was being bullied.You are a shit person. Fail at life.

1
hem gate

i like how you guys remove comments not mourning the dead yet still making a valid point just cause it's not a point you agree with. You should meet my three year old nephew, you would get along.

2
Anomynous

Phoebe the attractive one. The girls who bullied her were ugly. No wonder their boyfriends like Phoebe and not them. All this was over worthless boys. If the guy cheat on you forget him hes a jerk. It so sad wheres their self-respect. Was punky boys worth fucking up their lives over and their future. Stupid jealous ungraceful bitches.

1
Anomynous

Phoebe the attractive one. The girls who bullied her were ugly. No wonder their boyfriends like Phoebe and not them. All this was over worthless boys. If the guy cheat on you forget him hes a jerk. It so sad wheres their self-respect. Was punky boys worth fucking up their lives over and their future. Stupid jealous ungraceful bitches.

1
Susan Marie Kovalinsky

I have to agree with you.  What a waste of this poor girl's life, over such petty and vicious stuff.

0
anomynous

I know how it feels for someone to break up you and your boyfriend out of jealously. One time the girl tried to steal my boyfriend out of jealously. She talked shit to me on myspace and over the phone. She called me the slut and the whore. Which didnt bother me because I knew she was jealous. She was probably just mad because she couldnt find anyone else who would go out with her. She was just as ugly as the girls who bullied Phoebe Prince. She look like Serena and Venus Williams(whos ugly)but she was short and had short curly hair and glasses. She is just like the girls who bullied Phoebe. She and them are a bunch of ugly jealous ungrateful bitches.

0
fuck you hem gate

you are obviously very alone in this world. absolutely no one would ever agree with you. thats just pathetic. and you are right 99% of people wont agree with what you just wrote because it is absolutely ridiculous. you have an incredibly sick mind and the "pressures of the world" dont include people physically and emotionally beating you everyday. sorry your daddy must have not loved you when you were child, otherwise you would have some kind of heart and not think this way.

0
Anomynous

I agree with the above comment. Some people just isnt sensitive about others feelings. You obiviously wasnt bullied too much in school.

0
becky1

sorry i agree with hemgate to a point..life is tough..you need to be tough to get through it. its sad this girl thought her life was over just because of her classmates were being mean....and its equally sad her parents couldnt recognize her issues before she took her own life. high school is only a few short years..her mother should have transferred her or homeschooled her if she thought her child was being threatened. maybe the bullying was the cause..maybe there were more causes. cant find out now because she is dead. but none of those girls put the noose around her neck...unless anyone can prove they did.

1
wake up

hem gate (and others):I don't think that the average adult would disagree with the point that the world is tough and every individual needs to have some amount of resiliency in order to find happiness. That said, your assertion that "to each his own" is an appropriate way to view the actions of others is disturbing. First of all, read some research. The teenage brain (specifically the emotional processing and critical thinking - or as you wold say, problem solving portions of the brain) are not fully functional. Don't confuse the legal definition of "adult" with the brain's actual capabilities. Second, consider the magnitude of the situation. This girl was not simply "teased." At some point, most people experience teasing and in many cases teasing can provide learning opportunities and teachable moments for character development and growth, as you seem to sort of, in a very obscure and unfortunately disturbing way, understand. This was not TEASING. This was BULLYING. There is a difference in terms of the magnitude and force behind this behavior. Furthermore, there is a major difference between a single person teasing and a group attack that takes place over months. I am a teacher and by far the most disturbing thing to me is the lack of relationship and communication between the administrators, teachers, community members, and parents to identify these tendencies and teach students other ways to develop self-confidence, communication, and social skills. It seems to me that what starts as the typical behavior and response cycles of teens are not being molded into appropriate skills...possibly because we've put so many fears into teachers about speaking up when they see inappropriate behavior that doesn't specifically break rules but doesn't promote good citizenship. In any case, open your eyes. The world doesn't exist separate from us - we make the world the way we want it. And if you want bullying, that is your opinion, but I'd prefer a little more pleasant environment for my family.

2
duh

Ummm - To the ignorant people who keep using the words "just" - It was a CRIME. You are the type of people that raise these inhuman heartless freaks - "I was just teasing" They don't understand boundaries or that other people besides them have Rights. The violated Phoebe's RIGHTS.Assault is threatening a person and is a crime.Battery is physically striking someone - metal cans count, especially when thrown from moving cars ( can traveling faster then the speed of the car - go fast enough you can kill someone)A 17 or 18 year old male manipulating a girl 14 or 15 into having sex with them is, in more intelligent states - a CRIME known as Statutory rape.Educate yourselves before you become the pathetic parent saying "She was just teasing, my daughter is a nice girl." because you weren't smart enough to teach your child that they are not the only ones with rights and that the law applies to them too.

1
Susan Marie Kovalinsky

I agree with the above poster.  This was criminal intent, criminal behavior. 

0
Angry!

good. glad they are being indicted. they deserved everything that comes their way!

0
Flor

That Chanon Velasquez skum is the biggest piece of dirt of all of them. This arrogant little piece of garbage should pay for her crime. Hopefully her ugly face will be recognized throughout the world. Hopefully no one who sees this subhuman whore ever lets her forget how she totured and killed an innocent child.

0
hayate

Alot of people are seriously overeacting......Ok bullying is wrong but that's part of life sometimes....she was supposed to learn how to deal with it...also, why didn't her parents take interventions(Homeschool, transfer, or ect) if they knew she was so weak and being a victim...If anyone is to blame, it's prince's parents for not reconizing an issue, the bullying didn't kill her. She killed her.It's sad it ended that way but these students shouldn't be punished they didn't kill prince. Her parents, if they cared about her would've taken time to see how she felt and got her help before it was too late...I don't expect or think the students should have figured/cared that she was "SUICIDAL"...that's her "PARENTS JOB".Lots of teens could be victims but they stand firm or deal with it.....so because "ONE" decides to kill herself it's a crime...whatever..this is an angry mom trying to ruin other children's lives because she failed to protect her own child properly.Expelling, criminal charges, acting like others killed her....that is so wrong...these people need to open their eyes to who's really the murderer.....suicide is suicide....prince chose to be a victim and her parents supported that choice.

0
US Marine 0341

I truly hope these sick fucks come to NYC one day and people find out who they are. They'll be returning to their hometown in several pieces. Bullies, murderers, and rapists need to be punished accordingly.

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Rory Cripps
First Flagged at 4:02 PM, Mar 30, 2010 by Rory Cripps
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