Samantha Kelly Bullied to Death: Mich. 14-Year-Old's Suicide Followed Harassment After Rape Claim

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

Samantha Kelly Bullied to Death: Even After Suicide the Taunts Continue on Facebook

Samantha Kelly (Personal Photo)

HURON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS/AP) Samantha Kelly was taunted and harassed for making rape allegations against a senior boy at her high school until she finally collapsed under the stress and killed herself, according to her mother, and her family has apparently endured more of the same treatment on the memorial Facebook page they set up in her name.

It all started in September. The 14-year-old girl and her mother, June Justice, went to the Huron Township police station, the day after the teen's alleged encounter with 18-year-old Joseph Tarnopolski, to file a sexual assault report. At the time it was considered a statutory rape case, meaning the pair had consensual sex but that she was under the age of consent.

But then on Oct. 18 a local t-v station aired an interview with Samantha Kelly and Justice, in which Justice criticized the school for not protecting her daughter, and further accused Tarnopolski of rape. That's when the taunting started, according to Justice.

Kelly hung herself on Monday, Nov. 8, after an especially brutal day of taunting and harassment. By Wednesday the sexual assault charges against Tarnopolski were dropped, with prosecutors saying they had no case without the accuser's testimony.

Samantha's mother screamed at Tarnopolski after his brief court appearance and had to be restrained by a relative. She told reporters she was not consulted about the decision to dismiss the third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge.

"My daughter did not get any justice," Samantha Kelly's mother said.

The memorial Facebook page "RIP, Samantha Kelly" has over 3,500 members and has also reportedly been under the same onslaught of taunts that drove the 14-year-old to suicide.

The offending comments appear to have been removed but the reactions to the comments remain and at least one suggests that photos were involved.

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by aceangel2454 November 22, 2010 11:04 PM EST: There are a lot of legal case precidents that state that another persons actions leading directly and/or indirectly to the victims death, whether by injury or by the victims suicide results with murder charges. Because the victim commited suicide as a result to actions following the "alleged rape", there should then be charges of murder filed. This unfortunate situation should not go unpunished at all. The senior was well aware of his actions being wrong at the time. The actions of threats and bullying should also be charged as harrassment resulting in death. They wont get murder, but they will see that all actions have a consequence and that we are all held accountable for our actions whether good or bad. There should be changes in how the educational system handles bullying and threats. Unfortuneatly there will be many more victims who hear about this and will not report the crime for fear of being harrased. Who knows what will happen next with the senior in question. If he is let to go scott free, will he continue to sexualy assault others? And if he does, will he find a way to permanently silence the victim to avoid charges? Please let us all not let Samantha Kelly die in vain. Lets show victims that there is help, and that we want to help no matter what.; Reply to this comment

by ArizonaCriminalDefense November 15, 2010 11:31 AM EST

When will this sort of thing ever end? It is a shame that in America's schools, these unfortunate incidences occur and result in American youth feeling the only way out is through suicide. Schools take a zero tolerance on bullying, but is it really carried out?

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by Prismacat November 17, 2010 11:16 PM EST: Well, it's definitely problematic when schools have a zero tolerance policy... and then they don't do anything.

I read another comment somewhere else about this sort of thing. It went something along the lines of how schools don't punish bad behavior and then when it gets out of hand, any punishment brought forth is ineffective. Schools are also WAY too worried about political correctness, tolerance, and getting sued by someone.

Too caught up mucking around all of this crap to actually raise and teach these kids to grow up to be intelligent and upstanding human beings.

We gotta put the foot down and say enough is enough.


by sadtosay November 12, 2010 1:04 PM EST: This story repulses me to no end. First off the parents of the kids bullying this Samantha, throwing things at her and here facebook memorial be disgraced,should be ashamed and I hope karma enters their lives. Who knows when and if the same should happen to these other adolescents. I can't believe society has raised children as such. I thought we were an evolving species. I definitly think that no one would would pay any mind if she hadn't committed suicide which is sad. Females that fake rape usually don't go for a rape kit. Females that have been raped usually feel the safest place is their shower, for the mental reasons we all know, so therefore alot of evidence is lost. I feel if she hadn't of committed suicide, it would of been viewed as another trailor trash momma and her ****** daughter, tossed away the papers, closed the case. I also feel if this had been an african american boy from Detroit doing the same thing, no questions asked, he would of been drawn and quaterd by the court system so quickly, we would of never heard about it. Yes hormones are an issue and we need to get back to making our children mentally competent, not just book wise. We need more classes with sex ed, but not of the physical level, but a realistic level. Taught by true counselors and prepare our children mentally for the battles ahead. For we have created one horrible world for them to face.; Reply to this comment


by mick7744 November 12, 2010 8:11 AM EST: Does this Joseph Tarnopolski have a website...an emmail address or a home address?

I'm sure that lots of people would like to discuss the case with him.

As for the pain and humilation this would cause for Joseph Tarnopolski's family...SCREW `EM!; Reply to this comment

by TxJusticeBoy November 12, 2010 12:24 AM EST

Unfortunately peers at high school level continue to have sexual relationships. We should not be surprised that teenagers are engaging in sexual relationships, we have to remember that their hormones are going crazy. I believe that continued sexual education needs to include a curriculum going over the age of consent laws in every state and how they are different. This case is sad and I believe as well as everyone else could have been prevented. The media is not always the right outlet for specific crimes, and unfortunately this is one of them. I believe the media outlet or news organization that conducted this interview should have done their research or get their facts straight before putting a victim?s parent or relative in front of the camera. This is a case where a number of blame needs to be shared between the media, the mother of the young victim, and the legislatures that fail to recognize these relationships occur each and every day, and that they are not one in the same as the 30 year old engaging in sexual relations with a 15 year old. What is upsetting in this case the prosecution should have suggested from the beginning of the case not to pursue charges if all the evidence suggested it was not forcible rape and simply explained to all the parents several negative out comes that can fallow; only if this eighteen year old kid or young adult has never been in trouble with the law.
It is easy for us to say what if. But the criminal justice system continues to focus on all the entities of the criminal justice system, like the police, prosecution, the offender, and judge failing to think of the victim. This is a case where the victim was forgotten and all we can do is pray for her.

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by Prismacat November 12, 2010 8:09 PM EST: The unfortunate thing is that it was rape, which seems to be a fact overlooked in this article.

Here is a link to another: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/huron-high-school-student-takes-own-life-20101109-wpms This article about Samantha was from a couple of days ago which includes how she told him that he was hurting her and that she wanted him to stop. She was crying and he pulled her down by her legs. Sounds pretty forcible to me. Definitely NOT consent from the girl.

I know that charges were pressed before the suicide. Statements taken. I'm not sure what has happened with the rape kit, that is, if authorities even bothered to collect evidence via rape kit. It's wrong that the charges have been dropped just because the victim/witness has died. I call ******** on that. You wouldn't drop a murder case since the murder victim is dead-- if you have evidence, any evidence, you see it through. That's how justice needs to work.

I do agree though-- in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening again, people need to be educated and aware. It is a good idea to include state laws about consent in sexual education, and people need to be more aware of consequences. People should not only fear the consequences of committing a crime like rape, but I wish they would feel like they would never want to do that to another person.

As for the police, there is more that can be done all over this country with how rape cases are handled. Often, when a victim comes forward, they are revictimized. A rape victim is already blaming themselves for what occurred, and they can't stop reliving it. Don't make it worse by saying it didn't happen or treat them with further disrespect. I think the expectation is that all victims should be blubbering in a corner in a fetal position, and if they aren't, they become suspect. A rape case should be handled more seriously and with a greater sense of duty for protecting the community. Just because some people do come forward with false charges doesn't mean every case is a hoax. Each case needs to be handled with utmost care and thorough investigation, and THEN, if it turns out it was a lie, THEN you punish them.

The schools also need to be better. Zero tolerance for bullying. I know there are plenty of educators out there who work to put a stop to this, but there are others who are not active when dealing with bullies. When I become a teacher someday, I am going to make it VERY clear from day one: if a student is harassing another student, negatively affecting their physical, mental or emotional health, that student will have no place in my classroom. Every student is going to school to learn, and in order to produce a good learning environment, students need to feel that they are safe. If a student is threatening the safety of another student, they are going to find out very swiftly that there are consequences coming their way.

Every action has a consequence. My goal is to not only pass along knowledge to my future students, but I want them to be on their way to becoming conscientious, responsible adults.

I mean, really.

It's sad what things are coming to. How many more eye openers do we need before everyone does something to make it better?

I know I'm already doing something. On the link I posted previously, the article said that donations are being accepted to help ease the cost of the funeral. My first step is helping there. The next step is to stay loud about this issue so that we don't forget about Samantha Kelly. Keep her in your heart and in your mind. The more aware, the more we care. The more we care, the more likely something can be done to prevent future victims all over this country.