Cyber-bullied Michigan girl dies from Huntington's disease

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Kathleen Edward

/ Facebook

(CBS/AP) - WYANDOTTE, Mich. - A 9-year-old girl who endured cyber-bullying because of her diagnosis of Huntington's disease has died.

Pictures: The deadly cost of bullying

Kathleen Edward's plight made national news in 2010 when a former neighbor posted pictures on Facebook that pictured the then 7-year-old above a set of crossbones, and one with the little girl's mother, Laura Edward, who died of Huntington's disease in 2009, in the arms of the grim reaper.

The former neighbor, Jennifer Petkov, also allegedly attached a coffin to her truck, labeled the vehicle "Death Machine," and drove it around the neighborhood honking the horn after Laura Edward's death, according to CBS Detroit.

Residents told the station that the taunting was set off by a feud between the Petkovs and other neighborhood families.

In October 2010, Petkov was charged with assault after she allegedly tried to run over a neighbor who was going to visit the Edward family. She later pleaded guilty to assault and battery in the case and was ordered to undergo anger management, a psychological evaluation and complete 18 months of probation. She was also told to move out of the neighborhood, reported CBS Detroit.

According to Kathleen's father, the girl died Wednesday at home. She will be buried next to her mother.

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The deadly cost of bullying

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by williamhardcore January 18, 2012 10:32 AM EST: A great piece on bullying and this poor girl:

http://angryamericanman.blogspot.com/2012/01/group-session-2-sleep-well-sweet-girl.html; Reply to this comment


by fastdraw2 January 15, 2012 6:57 PM EST: Jennifer Petkov must lead a charmed life. I know of more than a couple of neighborhoods where she would be dead by now.; Reply to this comment


by Farver4girls January 15, 2012 2:45 PM EST: Rest in peace, little angel.; Reply to this comment


by innerjuju January 13, 2012 11:19 PM EST: I'm sure there are two sides to every story but in a house where there are two dying individuals, one of whom is a child, that household deserves wide latitude in just about everything. They were short when they spoke to you? Didn't take out the trash?? Whatever it is, I'm sure there was an awfully good reason. Even if there wasn't, it's no excuse to terrorize a child, make fun of their tragedy by wheeling a coffin on your truck, etc. As my daddy used to say, "There's a special place in hell for those who hurt children."; Reply to this comment


by FACEITT January 13, 2012 7:08 PM EST: The Anti-Christ is here and it is not a human being. It is the internet: Facebook/Twitter/YouTube. Everything God despises in human beings is on there.; Reply to this comment

by FACEITT January 13, 2012 7:05 PM EST

How or why did this lovely child "endure" cyber bullying when all she had to do is not turn on her computer? Endure seems a far stretch to me. I read this same line in story after story of kids who killed themselves after continuous bullying online. Simple solution, turn the damn thing off!! Why do they keep going back to Facebook and those other stupid social websites if there is something on there that disturbs them? I don't understand that silliness at all.

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by innerjuju January 13, 2012 11:16 PM EST: I live in a household with a chronically ill person and where I understand your comment, "just turning off the computer" shuts an already socially limited person from a multitude of good wishes and tons of entertainment. This is a tragic situation.


by cinesimon January 14, 2012 6:42 AM EST: In other words you don't understand the lives of those with debilitating illnesses, and clearly can't be bothered trying to.


by angelofurnightmare January 16, 2012 11:11 AM EST: You are not the brightest FACEITT maybe you should turn off your computer...the world should not be limited because people are cruel....if your child were bullied maybe you might think differently because they have the right to be on the internet or facebook if they like...and this child endured having a coffin driven thru her neighborhood while she was dying....maybe she should have moved from the home she knew and the memories of her mother too


by MMBR50 January 17, 2012 10:01 PM EST: So, you are blaming the victim because a grown woman has resorted to bullying a sick 7 year old because she's mad at her grandmother. Why should this little girl have to turn off her computer...You evidentally have no understanding or empathy for someone who suffers from a chronic illness. I am disabled from severe Arthritis and Fibromyalsia, and most days, my computer is the only life I have. Please don't run your mouth when you have no understanding about someone's situation...as for this animal who did the bullying, there needs to be some sort of device attached to her that sends an alarm to law enforcement anytime she gets near a computer.


by mysteryj33914 January 13, 2012 3:41 PM EST: Hundreds of thousands of people are praying for the family of Kathleen Edwards. Hundreds of thousands of people have read about Jennifer Petkov and hate her. What a poor excuse of a human being.; Reply to this comment


by lauracarnell1 January 13, 2012 3:01 PM EST: She should be ashamed of herself. That little girl didn't ask for her disease and she surly didn't ask to die at such a young age. I wonder if this woman has children of her own and if she does how she would feel if someone did the same thing to one of them? It really makes you wonder how a person that would do something like that to a child was raised. In my own opinion she has no heart and no sympathy at all. Shame, shame shame on you. You disgust me and everyone else that saw what you did to that sweet little girl.; Reply to this comment

by slatep January 13, 2012 2:34 PM EST

Jennifer Petkov should have been commited to a mental institution.!!

This is just one more example of the courts turning a criminal (murderers, rapists, pedophiles etc.) loose on society.

Petkov's sentence does nothing to protect the public and prevent her from doing the same thing in another neighborhood.

Bullying anybody should be made a criminal offense; no matter what their age.

The number of people (mostly kids) who have committed suicide because they were bullied rises every week.

Maybe a couple hundred hours of community service would encourage bullies to think twice before they do it again.!!

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