15 girls under investigation after 12-year-old's suicide

Rebecca Sedwick's mother blames bullying

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – There are 15 young girls under investigation for bullying after a preteen committed suicide Monday.

Sheriff Grady Judd with the Polk County Sheriffs Office says at least 15 young girls may have been involved in the bullying that led 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick to commit suicide Monday.

"Some of the juveniles have told us that Rebecca was absolutely terrorized on social media by some girls," Judd said at a press conference Thursday.

Monday morning Sedwick left for school, but deputies later found her body at a closed cement plant near her home. She had jumped to her death.

Sedwick's mother, Tricia Norman, blames bullying.

Norman said the bullying started late last year at Crystal Lake Middle School by a group of girls, and it was all over boys. Norman said she complained to school officials.

"She used to come home everyday and tell me how she wasn't worth anything, (that) she was ugly," Norman said earlier this week.

Norman did put Sedwick in homeschooling in February.

Norman said Sedwick closed her Facebook account to stop the other girls from having contact with her daughter, and this year she put her daughter in a different school, but Norman says the bullying continued.

After Sedwick's death, family members found disturbing posts on her ask.fm site.

One post read, "nobody cares about you. I hate u. You seriously deserve to die."

The sheriff said if he can find evidence any of the children violated the law, he will recommend criminal charges.

The investigation may be difficult for the sheriffs office because the website where the most recent posts were made, people are able to remain anonymous.


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