A fifth-grader in Illinois is dead and her family says bullies are to blame. The 10-year-old girl committed suicide after asking her mom if she could be homeschooled.
"I really thought she had it all under control because I thought she was listening to me," said Stacy Conner, Ashlynn's mother.
Stacy has talked to her daughter about bullying before but she never expected that her daughter, Ashlynn, an honor roll student at Ridgefarm Elementary, would take her life at just 10 years old.
"I thought my kids are strong kids, that my words to them for guidance and advice was going to have more weight than what these kids could be saying," said Stacy.
Her mother said Ashlynn was teased by kids around the neighborhood and at school.
"Ashlynn's ugly, look Ashlynn's ugly. She's fat. They'd call her a slut."
She knew what was going on, she just didn't know what to do. Conner said when Ashlynn came home last Thursday, she had asked to be home schooled.
"It was the first time ever that she had asked me if she could be homeschooled and I told her 'no.'"
The next day, Ashlynn's sister found her inside a closet. She had hanged herself with a scarf.
"I will never see that smile ever again."
The family is at a loss for words.
"It is so unnecessary. It shouldn't be," said Lory Hackney, Ashlynn's grandmother.
They are struggling to cope.
"She wanted to be a veterinarian because she loved animals and she didn't want to see any of them sick or hurting," Hackney said.
She said she's hoping Ashlynn's story can keep it from happening again.
"I don't know what it is going to take to stop it, but no child should ever have to feel that they need to kill themselves to stop that kind of pain."
"I really thought she had it all under control because I thought she was listening to me," said Stacy Conner, Ashlynn's mother.
Stacy has talked to her daughter about bullying before but she never expected that her daughter, Ashlynn, an honor roll student at Ridgefarm Elementary, would take her life at just 10 years old.
"I thought my kids are strong kids, that my words to them for guidance and advice was going to have more weight than what these kids could be saying," said Stacy.
Her mother said Ashlynn was teased by kids around the neighborhood and at school.
"Ashlynn's ugly, look Ashlynn's ugly. She's fat. They'd call her a slut."
She knew what was going on, she just didn't know what to do. Conner said when Ashlynn came home last Thursday, she had asked to be home schooled.
"It was the first time ever that she had asked me if she could be homeschooled and I told her 'no.'"
The next day, Ashlynn's sister found her inside a closet. She had hanged herself with a scarf.
"I will never see that smile ever again."
The family is at a loss for words.
"It is so unnecessary. It shouldn't be," said Lory Hackney, Ashlynn's grandmother.
They are struggling to cope.
"She wanted to be a veterinarian because she loved animals and she didn't want to see any of them sick or hurting," Hackney said.
She said she's hoping Ashlynn's story can keep it from happening again.
"I don't know what it is going to take to stop it, but no child should ever have to feel that they need to kill themselves to stop that kind of pain."
