1. An 11-year-old boy took his own life after his girlfriend’s horrific “social media prank”.
“I don’t feel like it should be taken lightly. She should be held legally responsible for this horrific prank” https://t.co/qDo76pT2a1
— New York Post (@nypost) April 6, 2017
A mother is in mourning after her 11-year-old son took his own life when his 13-year-old girlfriend “faked her own death” for a prank, The New York Post reports.
Tysen Benz died in a Michigan hospital on Tuesday, with his mother telling reporters his death was related to a sick online joke pulled on him by his girlfriend and her friends.
“She did a prank that made it look like she killed herself and used other friends and their [social media] accounts to make it look like she killed herself,” Tysen’s mother Katrina Goss told The New York Post.
“So, he believed her and said, ‘I’m going to kill myself.'”
Katrina now wants the girl – who cannot be named since she is underage – to face legal consequences for the prank that led to her son’s death.
“When you’re 13, you’re completely knowledgeable of your choices and you know right from wrong. You can make your own choices,” she said.
“I do feel like she took advantage of a younger boy to control and manipulate him. I don’t feel like it should be taken lightly. She should be held legally responsible for this horrific prank.”
Katrina said her son was “the most amazing kid you would ever know”.
“He was in every sport, he was super social, he had tons of friends and every single person who knew him loved him.
“[He] was the last person who would choose this choice, which I think was an impulsive choice based on a controlling, harassing and manipulative prank from this girl.”
Top Comments
#5 - I'm still wondering why a three year old girl was living with two men who had previously spent time in jail, and not her mother???
I'm wondering how on earth is 80% of a pitiful 9 year sentence possibly considered justice for abusing/neglecting this child until she died. Everyday Australians are overwhelmingly outraged by the appallingly short sentences given to cases like these, and demanding more severe sentences for serious crimes and all crimes against children. Why isn't it happening???