Police Investigate Whether Suicide Pact To Blame For Students' Deaths
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - Students at Plano East High School are dealing with the shock of two suicides over the weekend.
Police are trying to find out whether the deaths of two girls were part of a suicide pact.
The body of Ritu Sachdeva was found in her home Sunday morning after she overdosed on pills.
Hours later, police found Hillary Kuizon's body in a wooded area south of Kimbrough Stadium. She had hanged herself.
Police said the girls knew each other, and students who knew the girls, don't understand why they would take their own lives.
"Both the girls were AP students and both were involved in lots of clubs so its affecting a lot of people."
Another teen said the mood on campus is eerie.
"It came as a shock to me. And to do it just a few hours apart, I mean, its just crazy."
North Texas psychologist Sylvia Gearing said a teen suicide can affect an entire community, and that depression among teens is at epidemic levels.
"Kids are vulnerable to actions of others. And this kind of behavior is contagious." she says. "One that we really get worried about is what we call the smiling depressant. They are getting all A's and appear to be doing beautifully in all other areas, but there is this underlying depression that no one knows about."
More than a hundred people met with grief counsellors on the Plano East campus over the weekend.
Anyone contemplating suicide or is dealing with the suicide death of someone they know is encouraged to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to talk with a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in their area. Call 800-273-TALK — that's 800-273-8255.A
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
