14 DAY TRIAL // “Completely alone” in life but mourned by millions after she decided to take her own life because of bullying, Amanda Todd and her tragic story continue to move and, sadly at the same time, inspire even more despicable behavior.
Todd was found dead on Wednesday, in an apparent suicide. She’d been struggling with severe and constant bullying, both at school and online, for some time, after an incident she was involved in in 8th grade.
Two memorial pages have been set up for her on Facebook, “RIP Amanda Todd,” gathering so far many likes and even more visitors – but not all of them come there to pay their respects, The Star reports.
For every handful of heartfelt comments, there is a bully looking to have his or her say, to the point where these two pages have become inundated with nasty things said about the dead teen.
“Even after the death of Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd, bullies are actively posting hateful messages on Facebook memorial pages,” the report says.
“Messages that poke fun at her death and make Todd out to be a villain are followed by reactions from the online community, shaming those attacking her,” The Star adds.
As it happens, at the same time, authorities are monitoring the situation, in a bid to determine the moment when bullying became criminal in Amanda’s case and, afterwards, who is responsible for her death.
The RCMP is aware of the new bullying comments, Sergeant Peter Thiessen says in a statement to the same media outlet, even setting up an email address ([email protected]) where tips can be sent in relation to the case.
About 400 of them have been received from all over the world as of now, with Thiessen saying police officers are looking into possible leads as we speak.
Even so, their mission is not an easy one.
“We are looking at what transpired in regards to Amanda, what transpired on social media, what transpired face to face, who may have had contact with her in that regard, and whether there’s evidence to support any sort of criminal charge to any person or persons who may have had an impact in the type of decision Amanda made,” Thiessen says.
For the time being, no charges have been formulated against anyone.
We’ll keep you updated on the situation, as more details emerge.