11-Year-Old Kills Himself After Thinking Girlfriend Committed Suicide

RadioOnFire.com - 11-year-old Tysen Benz of Michigan has died three weeks after he hanged himself following a disturbing social media prank. After believing his girlfriend had killed herself, Tysen followed suit mimicking the story of "Romeo and Juliet." His mom, Katrina Goss, who was not fond of the relationship, wants the girlfriend to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Tysen had been secretly dating the 13-year-old girl, whose name is being withheld due to her age, for four or five months. He was communicating with her using a cell phone he'd acquired with his own money, Goss said.

The night of March 14, the mom said, the girl "decided it would be funny to do a prank where she pretended she’d killed herself."

According to Goss, whose oldest son got a copy of the messages that were being sent to Tysen that night, here is what happened:

Tysen was texting or Snapchatting with a person he thought was his girlfriend's friend. He read a post that said his girlfriend had committed suicide. Tysen responded, saying he was going to kill himself, too. But those involved in the prank never texted him back that it was only a joke, nor did they alert any adult about Tysen's plan.

According to Goss, the person who wrote the post was actually the girlfriend, who had borrowed a friend's account, pretended to be her and faked her own death.

When Goss, 41, went to tuck in her son, she found him hanging by his belt in the closet, she said. She hysterically extricated him and attempted CPR while her two other sons, ages 10 and 14, dialed 911. Tysen was rushed to an area hospital and later transferred to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, near Detroit. He died Tuesday.

The eighth-grade girl was arrested this week because authorities said she made a false report of someone’s death, according to the Detroit Free Press. She was charged with telecommunication services-malicious use and using a computer to commit a crime, Marquette city police Capt. Michael Kohler said in a news release.

"I don't know what possessed her to do such a weird prank. It's a twisted, sick joke," said Goss. "Even when you're young you can still commit a crime. She's intelligent. She knows right from wrong. She's 13. She took advantage of a little 11-year-old. I feel like she deserves the full extent of punishment for her age."

"Social media harassment, bullying and pranking is a huge issue," Goss added. "The way it's used nowadays, kids are desensitized to social media and it really does hurt people."

A GoFundMe page was set up for Tysen's family. If you want to donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/tysens-medical-expenses.

Source: youtube.com