Phoebe Prince Bullying Suicide: 3 Plead Not Guilty

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

Phoebe Prince (AP/CBS)

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (CBS/AP) Three Massachusetts teenagers accused of bullying 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, who hanged herself after months of alleged threats and harassment, pleaded not guilty Tuesday through their lawyers.

PICTURES: Phoebe Prince

Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey, both 17 and from South Hadley, and 18-year-old Austin Renaud, of Springfield, will remain free on personal recognizance on the condition that they stay away from Prince's family.

Mulveyhill and Renaud are charged with statutory rape. Mulveyhill and Narey are also charged with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

They are among the nine teens charged in what prosecutors said was the "unrelenting" bullying of Prince, who committed suicide in January.

Phoebe, who had emigrated from Ireland last summer, was a freshman at South Hadley High School.

Authorities said she was harassed and bullied after having a brief relationship with a popular boy. They have not identified the boy, but friends said it was Mulveyhill, who was a star football player at South Hadley High School.

Prosecutors said the bullying went on for three months, and included insults and threats made in school and through cell phone text messages.

Prince killed herself Jan. 14 after a day of what's been described as near-constant bullying, including being hit with a beverage container as she walked home from school.

A pretrial hearing for Mulveyhill, Narey and Renaud was scheduled for Sept. 15.

Three other teens - Ashley Longe, Flannery Mullins and Sharon Chanon Velazquez - are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court in Hadley.

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 lizzy_j April 7, 2010 1:43 PM EDT: To anyone who says she was psychologically troubled or had issues must not have been bullied or harrased in this manner. It raelly doesnt take that much to make you want to die, or to push you in that direction. YOu are at an age where acceptanve is almost everything to you. It was three against one or nine against one. I mean i have never had a coke thrown at my head especially in fromt of my peers. That was just a tuesday for this girl, who eventaully was talked out of living her life by these girls.I dont blame phoebe.It just angers me. We all have to take responsiblity for the words we chose to say. M,y name is elizabeth, and my nickname was lizzy in middle school and even some people calling me "lezzy" made me question my sexuality for a time. Words are important especaily from your peers. Words can build you up or made you want to fall. i can relate a tiny bit here. So please dont say she had problems already, maybe, but she was given a load almost impossible to carry herself and maybe she didnt have support. Either way its so sad and with out excuse for the harm caused her.; Reply to this comment


by pak31 April 7, 2010 9:47 AM EDT: To me this is a case that is way beyond bullying. It's one thing for kids to bully someone but this was torture. While I agree that these kids drove this girl to kill herself, I find it amazing that she was so tormented yet nothing seemed to be done about it. I don't understand how she could have been put through this an no one really did anything. I know if it were my daughter I wouldn't put up with it for a second. The other thing about this case that I want to comment on is that every person is different. Not everyone who is bullied kills themselves over it. I would say it's rare. I would have to think that this girl had some serious psychological issues in order to actually want to die because of harrassment. It's not her fault, I am just looking at the whole picture. Bullying has been around forever, it's sad but true. I think any lesson here is that all parents need to be aware of what their children are doing. They need to communicate with their kids and be aware of what do. The parents of these kids should be questioned as well. Was this issue brought to their attention during all of this? What did they do to stop it? I just think this was a situation where all the adults, parents and school administration, and the students involved should have all gotten together and put an end to it ASAP.; Reply to this comment