Phoebe Prince Update: Nine Teens Charged in Girl's Suicide

By: Kealan Oliver
Topics: Daily Blotter

Phoebe Prince (Personal Photo)

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (CBS/AP) Nine teenagers face charges for allegedly hounding and harassing 15-year-old Irish immigrant Phoebe Prince, bullying her to the point where she hanged herself to end her misery.

Out of the nine teens, two boys are charged with statutory rape and they and a clique of girls are facing charges including stalking, criminal harassment and violating Phoebe's civil rights.

Candlelight Vigil for Phoebe (Associate Press/The Republican, Don Treeger)

School officials are not charged even though authorities say they knew the girl was being bullied and they didn't stop the harassment even after Prince's mother came to two of them with her concerns.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said the events before the teen's death on Jan. 14 were "the culmination of a nearly three-month campaign of verbally assaultive behavior and threats of physical harm" widely known among the student body.

The 15-year-old was insulted and threatened almost from her first day at South Hadley High School, bullying her in the halls, library and through text messages. Prince was harassed for having a short relationship with a popular boy in school.

On the day she hung herself, Prince was pelted with a beverage container and cursed at as she walked home from school.

Scheibel said the harassment began in September, occurring primarily in school and in person, although some of it surfaced on Facebook and in other electronic forms. At least four students and two faculty members intervened to try to stop it or report it to administrators, she said.

Prince's family has since moved away from the area.

Some students accused of participating in the bullying have been disciplined by the school and will not be returning to classes.

The teens who face criminal charges under the indictments announced Monday are:

Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley. Charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley. Charged with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield. Charged with statutory rape.

Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury.

Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury.

Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury.

Three 16-year-old South Hadley girls, whose names were not released, face delinquency charges that include the civil rights offense, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
February 5, 2010 - Phoebe Prince "Suicide by Bullying": Teen's Death Angers Town Asking Why Bullies Roam the Halls
January 27, 2010 - 15-Year-Old Girl's Suicide May Have Been the Result of Cyberbullying

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by ashleyxbabieey April 22, 2010 9:04 PM EDT: i think what happened to this girl was wrong because she had so much ahead of her, she didnt need to take her life because of some immature people who think what they did was cool. i am 15 myself and in my school there is no bullying and if there was it would of been settled. i just wish the best for her parents and just remember that she will always be looking after you. she did this to herself because she didnt want to go through with it she did what she thought was best, but we know that she didnt want to hurt her family, she just did it so it wouldnt happen again. i wish the best for her family & im so very sorry; Reply to this comment


by 199427 April 10, 2010 6:44 PM EDT: yes it is sad what happened to this girl especially since it could have been avoid but i, too, am a 15 year old girl in high school. what happened to this girl happens every where and it happens a lot. in our school we learn ways to deal with it and we learn about suicide. it makes me really upset to know that these students lives will be ruined for something everyone in high school does, i'm in no way saying it is right though. this girl should have realized there was much better ways to get rid of her problems than taking her own life. everyone thinks what happened was so sad but don't they realize how many people go through or have went through that? and the only reason those people care is because a girl died. people should care more even if someone didn't die.; Reply to this comment


by javasgirl April 1, 2010 11:26 AM EDT: In United States law
Courts in the United States primarily apply the doctrine of in loco parentis to educational institutions.

Primary and secondary education
The first major limitation to this came in the U.S. Supreme Court case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1942), in which the court ruled that students cannot be forced to salute the American flag. More prominent change came in the 1960s and 1970s in such cases as Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), when the Supreme Court decided that "conduct by the student, in class or out of it, which for any reason - whether it stems from time, place, or type of behavior - materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others is, of course, not immunized by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech."

Many provisions of in loco parentis have been upheld over time. New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) upheld the search of lockers and other personal space while on school property, indicating that students are not afforded the same rights as adults in other settings and stating that while acting in loco parentis, school officials are still representatives of the state. In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1987) the Supreme Court similarly ruled that "First Amendment rights of students in the public schools are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings, and must be applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment" and schools may censor school-sponsored publications (such as a school newspaper) if content is "...inconsistent with its basic educational mission." Other student issues, such as school dress codes, have not yet been tested in the Supreme Court.

Private institutions are given significantly more authority over their students than public ones, and are generally allowed to arbitrarily dictate rules. In the Kentucky State Supreme Court case Gott v. Berea College, it was upheld that a "college or university may prescribe requirements for admission and rules for the conduct of its students, and one who enters as a student implicitly agrees to conform to such rules of government", while publicly funded institutions could not claim the same ability.

If these educators were parents, they would be facing child neglect charges of some form or fashion. Why are the educators in loco parentis not being held to the same standards? They too should be facing criminal charges.; Reply to this comment


by Meash33 March 31, 2010 12:27 AM EDT: ***!!! First all of the teachers and administrators that were aware of the abuse and did not report it should lose their jobs and licenses. Second the parents or guardians of these 9 students should also be held accountable, and I don't want to hear the infamous line that all parents say "I HAD NO IDEA MY CHILD WAS LIKE THAT!!!" To those parents I say BS, you knew don't think the world believes your crap! Third there is a difference between bulling and torture. This was torture physically and mentally. Fourth, who the hell do these kids think they are, animals in the wild behave better then them. These kids should do HARD TIME IN PRISON!! Then when they get out of prison they should have to serve a LIFE SENTENCE by sending a dollar every year to a suicide prevention center as a constant reminder of what they did FOREVER!! They KILLED A CHILD!! She may have taken her life, but they caused it, by their actions, so for those who will argue they killed her!! Enough is enough with this crap in our school systems. We as the public need to take a stand and stop encouraging the on going moral bankruptcy of our society! Make the school board FIRE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, CONTACT YOU STATE EDUCATION DEPT, file complaints force action!! How disgusting are the actions of ALL those involved in this tragic and senseless loss of a life. I hope they NEVER have a goodnights sleep again and see that little girl's face every time they close their eyes!!; Reply to this comment


by redneckmama7 March 30, 2010 8:03 PM EDT: it just sickens me that the people who are supposed to protect our children while in their care yet again walk away scott free its completely out of line when are we gunna start holding school administrators responsible too i mean come on they are with our kids more during the day then we are so they should be held accountable just as we as parents are if our children do wrong when they are in ours. my heart goes out to pheobes famly. and too all the kids and their parents who are involved how can you sleep at nights know what you all did yes parents did it too because they dont teach their kids manners easier to spoil them then be there for them; Reply to this comment


by ljbauer March 30, 2010 6:17 PM EDT: I am a 1977 graduate of SHHS and was deeply saddened to hear this story. I now live in Colorado and worked with some of the first responders to Columbine. Will we as a society ever learn? Not only should the 9 students be held accountable, but so too the adults who did not step up and protect this child from the abuse she suffered at the hands of these 9 children.; Reply to this comment

by pak31 March 30, 2010 6:04 PM EDT

What I don't understand, it seems very vague in any news article I read on this case, is exactly what transpired during those 3 months. I would consider what these kids did to be much worse than "bullying" it was more like mental and physical torture. I also don't understand why more wasn't done to protect this girl. I don't read any stories about how her parents reacted or the school than to say the school tried to stay within the guidelines of conduct. Kids have been bullied since the dawn of time, I find it hard to see how someone could kill themselves over it(I am referring to a stable kid). I am not saying she wasn't stable, it just seems that this was more than a case of bullying, like I already mentioned. How could she be stalked and hounded like that and no one did anything to stop it?? If it were my daughter I'd be raging mad. Does anyone know if her parents tried to have these kids arrested prior to her death? Or were any of these kids warned/punished prior to? It's just really sad and hard to believe that kids could be this evil. I wonder how THEIR parents feel right now? Kind of hard to be proud of them at all.

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by pak31 March 30, 2010 6:06 PM EDT: Replying to my own comment because for some reason the entire article didn't open up for me until after I posted, so I don't want anyone to think I am an idiot. LOL. I see some of the things I asked answered but still seems odd to me.


by Heart4 March 30, 2010 5:05 PM EDT: Instead of hate, revenge, coping, pointing the finger... WE are responsible for these actions happening. I am, for my inability to act and do what is right, Step in where my heart calls me. To care for another human being (cause we're the same) not just the one being bullied but the ones doing the bullying. They need love, too.

Here are some song lyrics from a singer named Warren Barfield

She sat a table away
Staring into space
In her own little world
And I saw a tear in her eye
Like a window to the mind
Of a frightened little girl
She never said a word
But I know I clearly heard
A cry for help
And I wanted to answer
I wanted to tell her

CHORUS:
My heart goes out to you
You don't even know me
You don't even know
Oh my heart goes out to you
And I don't know what else to do
To reach you now
My heart goes out

But I'm still glued to my chair
She's unaware
There's little time
And though my intentions are good
If I'm misunderstood
The price could be high
I can't fix whatever's wrong
But if I fail to pass along
Someone cares
The price could be greater
This can't wait til later

(this is solely my perspective and opinion on the matter, W.B.'s song has no direct correlation to what I've said in this comment post)

I just like this song as a motivating factor to act always when I should, with love, and nothing else. Protect that which is most precious, the life next to you, especially if that person is a stranger - what better example to set than to save a person you do not know.; Reply to this comment


by x0xBrookersx0x March 30, 2010 1:54 PM EDT: Poor girl. What even was their problem with her?!?! And how could the school not do anything after her mother went to them on TWO separate times with complaints. UGH. These kids are heartless and need to be hung up by the neck.; Reply to this comment


by pstanich March 30, 2010 12:47 PM EDT: What horrible horrible people. Am I to understand that employees - teachers, etc. at the school were aware and did nothing? Try to imagine the torment this poor girl endured. Were her parents aware?

Sean Mulveyhill should rot in hell. Kayla Narey should be stripped and placed in the town stocks.

I think castrating Austin Renaud would be a blessing for society.; Reply to this comment