Death of boy, 10, at Ill. declared as school suicide, WTF?

[Blackwater Rafter]

what are they learning in school these days

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/student_hanged

EVANSTON, Ill. – A 10-year-old boy reportedly found hanging from a coat hook at his suburban Chicago school took his own life, according to a preliminary coroner's office ruling on Wednesday. A daily ledger released by the Cook County medical examiner noted "hanging" and "suicide" as the cause of death for fifth-grader Aquan Lewis, who was found unresponsive in a bathroom at the Evanston school Tuesday afternoon and was pronounced dead at a hospital Wednesday morning.

The boy's distraught mother, Angel Lewis, left a school district building hours earlier, not speaking directly to reporters but saying over and over, "He should have been accounted for. He should have been accounted for."

A janitor at Oakton Elementary School, Elliott Lieteau, said he found Aquan on the floor of the restroom and that others told him the boy had been pulled off a hook. Lieteau said he performed CPR.

Speaking before the coroner's finding, a community activist who accompanied Lewis and acted as her spokeswoman said Lewis did not believe her boy committed suicide.

"She sent her son to school yesterday morning in good spirits," Dawn Valenti said. "The next thing she knows she's getting a call that her son died. ... He did not commit suicide. There was nothing wrong with her son."

[NWOSCUM]

Oh I see.......he jumped up and hung himself on the hook, yea right.....and Obaaaaaama is gonna bring change.   

[Hagbard Celine]

What do you guys suggest happened then?Sounds almost like it's related to the nwo and that everyone should know it.

[JonTheSavage]

Public schools are now death camps.

[EchelonMonitor]

She had him on psychotropics no doubt.

[Pheonix Renewed]

I would say that some bullies were "having fun" with him, and killed him. He didn't get himself up onto a coat hook. If he could touch the ground, he would have naturally stood up to save himself. It's instinctive, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself.

[aviana]

I posted this article yesterday on a well known Christian forum that I (used to) frequent, and the thread got removed - no explanation.  I couldn't email the mods to ask why as the email function had been disabled. Then when I publically questioned why it was removed, I got a warning.  Nice.

There is no way this was suicide.  imho, they are trying to cover up a case of bullying they can't control.  This hit me particularly hard as my almost 10yo is having problems with bullies right now. 

[EchelonMonitor]

I posted this article yesterday on a well known Christian forum that I (used to) frequent, and the thread got removed - no explanation.  I couldn't email the mods to ask why as the email function had been disabled. Then when I publically questioned why it was removed, I got a warning.  Nice.

There is no way this was suicide.  imho, they are trying to cover up a case of bullying they can't control.  This hit me particularly hard as my almost 10yo is having problems with bullies right now. 

Talk to the parents--bully them if you have to--they'll stop it.

[Pheonix Renewed]

Yep, it is proof that the system of zero punishment that they have does NOT WORK.

[aviana]

Talk to the parents--bully them if you have to--they'll stop it.

You're right - it's a long story, but the one kid's parent's are completely on board with appropriate measures.  He was coerced into an attack on my son by the ring leader.  The ring leader got off scott free and his parents are not listed, so I cannot get their info.  I'll get to the bottom of it.

The parents that are on board - the woman is a teacher - she recognizes that the classrooms are in chaos and teachers are apathetic at best. 

This incident in Ill. seems to have fallen off the radar.  I'll be keeping a close eye on this one.

[aviana]

Yep, it is proof that the system of zero punishment that they have does NOT WORK.

No kidding.  A lot of eye opening going on recently. KWIM? 

[Geolibertarian]

I would say that some bullies were "having fun" with him, and killed him. He didn't get himself up onto a coat hook. If he could touch the ground, he would have naturally stood up to save himself. It's instinctive, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself.

Although the following is a satire, it's also an eerily accurate depiction of what warped little demon factories most schools have become (by design, I might add):

-----------------------------------------------

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29298

Columbine Jocks Safely Resume Bullying

September 8, 1999


LITTLETON, CO—On April 20, when two students at Columbine High School opened fire in a brutal shooting spree that left 12 classmates and a teacher dead, many feared that this affluent suburban school would never be the same.

But now, more than four months after a tragedy that shook the nation to its core and marked the most notorious incident of school violence in U.S. history, the atmosphere is optimistic. Slowly but surely, life at Columbine is returning to normal.

Thanks to stern new security measures, a militarized school environment and a massive public-relations effort designed to obscure all memory of the murderous event, members of Columbine's popular crowd are once again safe to reassert their social dominance and resume their proud, longstanding tradition of excluding those who do not fit in.

"We have begun the long road to healing," said varsity-football starting halfback Jason LeClaire, 18, a popular senior who on Aug. 16 returned to the school for the first time since the shooting. "We're bouncing back, more committed than ever to ostracizing those who are different."

Added LeClaire's girlfriend, cheerleader Kellie Nelson: "A school where the jocks cannot freely exclude math geeks, drama fags, goths and other inferiors without fearing for their lives is not the kind of school I want to go to."

The resilient attitude displayed by LeClaire and Nelson speaks volumes about Columbine administrators' deep commitment to making the school a safe place for members of the popular cliques. Last spring, the entire nation watched in horror on live television as terror-stricken students fled the school, running with their hands above their heads, flanked by SWAT teams. But when Columbine reopened its doors on Aug. 16, a spirit of boosterism, school pride and unquestioning conformity once again prevailed as the elite jock crowd "took back the school" as its own.

On Sept. 6, amid a pep-rally atmosphere of marching-band fanfare, cheerleaders and mass chanting, a group of jocks wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan, "We, Not You, Are Columbine" were escorted by armed guards into the school for the first day of the new semester. Approximately one hour later, the rest of the student body was allowed into the building through a side door.

"It's almost as if a helpful 'big brother' is watching us now," homecoming queen Lori Nowell said. "None of the losers can mess with us. Now that the entire school is blanketed by surveillance equipment, the popular kids, like, totally rule the school!"

"Its gonna be a great year!" best friend Jessica Wohlpert added with a high-five.

As the school year begins under the watchful eye of 24-hour electronic monitoring and police protection, a sense of normalcy has returned to Columbine. Just like at any other school, the computer geeks are mocked, the economically disadvantaged kids are barely acknowledged, and the chess-club, yearbook and debate-team members are universally reviled. While these traditions are nothing new, from now on they will be much easier to preserve, thanks to the high-tech, draconian security measures that now dominate Columbine life.

Prior to the April shootings, it was thought that Columbine's unpopular students were under control. After all, geeks like Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the "Trench Coat Mafia" members who committed the killings, had been persecuted for years as a matter of policy. But according to vice-principal Dr. Frederick Mondrian, the tragedy made Columbine administrators realize that not nearly enough had been done to enforce adherence to the school's dominant social pecking order.

"We thought that the systematic cruelties inflicted on our school's desperate, alienated outcasts would be sufficient," Mondrian said. "Those kids were beaten up, pelted with rocks and universally rejected by their more popular peers, not only because they were smart and computer-literate, but also because of the way they dressed and the music they liked. But the shootings sent a clear message to this school and this community: We hadn't done nearly enough to keep such misfits shunned and in their place."

To rectify the problem, school authorities consulted with top ostracization experts and developed a comprehensive jock-safety plan. Cameras were installed on school grounds, enabling authorities to more closely monitor the activities of all students for suspiciously nonconformist behaviors or modes of dress. All entrances to the school are now locked and accessible only by intercom or specially coded key card, preventing the sort of open, comfortable learning environment that might encourage students to express themselves. The soothing presence of armed patrols, coupled with high fences surrounding the grounds, reassures jocks that they can feel free to once again torment the school's geeks as they did before April 20, without fear of reprisal.

In addition to these changes, school authorities have brought in special fashion consultants, who are lending their time and expertise to help educators identify "at-risk" clothing and hair. Students who are seen wearing "red-flag" items such as thick eyeliner, long coats, tattoos, Marilyn Manson T-shirts, non-designer jeans and the color black are now required to attend special makeover sessions with a trained psychiatric professional, who will assess the student's potential for nonconformist behavior and then outfit him or her in Tommy Hilfiger jeans, Gap T-shirts and Abercrombie & Fitch baseball caps with a curved brim, on penalty of expulsion.

Thus far, the beefed-up security measures have done wonders to restore the self-esteem of Columbine's jocks, who say they feel safer shunning, berating, belittling and picking on those who are different from themselves than ever before. And the jocks are doing their part to keep the untouchables in line, more than doubling the number of swirlies, noogies and wedgies doled out to Columbine's many outcasts since last year.

Happily, the many efforts to protect Columbine's jocks seem to be working. In fact, schools across the country have begun to pick up on the Columbine model, with many districts imposing measures even more stern than those at Columbine itself. These include mandatory dress codes, transparent book bags that are subject to random search, metal detectors, electronic handprint-identification systems and automatic expulsion of anyone who goes out of his or her way to "separate themselves socially" from classmates or "break the status quo."

[Continued...]

-----------------------------------------------

[donnay]

I posted this article yesterday on a well known Christian forum that I (used to) frequent, and the thread got removed - no explanation.  I couldn't email the mods to ask why as the email function had been disabled. Then when I publically questioned why it was removed, I got a warning.  Nice.

There is no way this was suicide.  imho, they are trying to cover up a case of bullying they can't control.  This hit me particularly hard as my almost 10yo is having problems with bullies right now. 

That's terrible that those so-called Christians refused to discuss this issue--it's better to dust it under the rug then face the reality of the evil wickedness that is around us.

I certainly hope your child is not on any psychotropic drugs?  Dealing with bullies is never easy--maybe you should enroll your child in some martial arts programs, it worked for me when I had to deal with bullies.

[TelepesT]

I'm sure that the school will install cameras in the bathrooms now - and armed guards in the hallways

[donnay]

I'm sure that the school will install cameras in the bathrooms now - and armed guards in the hallways

But of course--public schools these days are there to get the students acclimated to prison life.

[aviana]

Agghh - I had written quite a long post and my power went out at home before I could post it.  So I jumped on my motorbike and came to my offce    (After reading so much NWO stuff and then having your power go off like that makes you kinda jumpy - haha!)

That's terrible that those so-called Christians refused to discuss this issue--it's better to dust it under the rug then face the reality of the evil wickedness that is around us.

I really don't know what the reason was.  And, quite frankly, I'm not interested because it will probably be a weak argument, vaguely backed up by the rules, and in total hypocrisy to what a lot of the mods post...  anyway, I need to get over it...

I certainly hope your child is not on any psychotropic drugs?  Dealing with bullies is never easy--maybe you should enroll your child in some martial arts programs, it worked for me when I had to deal with bullies.

He's not on anything, but I am sure he would be in a heartbeat if I took him to be assessed (and that is NOT going to happen!).  He is GT - gifted and talented - and shows text book traits of a type IV GT, which could be construed as ADD, but he just needs constant stimulus.  He's a smart kid and needs to keep his brain working.

We are pleased that he has kept up with his karate.  He's now a second degree purple belt.  Up until now it has been made perfectly clear that he does not use that at school.  My last advice to him was to get right up in the face of the bully, point in his face, look him in the eye and tell him to "BACK OFF", and even if he got into trouble for it, to expect a high five from me.  I am not sure he was forceful enough as there was another incident yesterday.  The next step is for him to take one of his karate trophies to school to show his friends.  An old friend of mine used to say, "it pays to advertise".  If further action needs to be taken, he will have my full consent to use his karate as needed.  The school are being quite unresponsive.  It won't be the first time I have sought an audience with the Sup.

Glad it worked for you, Donnay.  I like a good testimony 

[Blackwater Rafter]

Just realized I messed up on the title, should read "Death of boy at Ill school declared suicide" can a mod fix it, thanks in advance

[Optimus]

Family Upset With Suicide Ruling in 10-Year-Old's Death
Aquan Lewis Was Found Dead After Hanging by Shirt Collar in Bathroom Stall at Elementary School
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6812036&page=1
By SARAH NETTER
Feb. 5, 2009

The family of a 10-year-old boy who died after being hanged on a bathroom hook at his school Tuesday is unsatisfied with the medical examiner's suicide ruling and believes the boy may have been the victim of bullies.

Aquan Lewis, an Illinois fifth-grader who loved football and basketball, was found dead on the bathroom floor by a school janitor at Oakton Elementary School in Evanston, Ill. The janitor, Elliott Lieteau, told The Associated Press that others had pulled the boy off the hook and attempted to perform CPR.

Lallie Marshall, Aquan's great-grandmother, told ABCNews.com that the family believes he was hoisted onto the hook by a group of boys. In the days after Aquan's death, she said, they have heard he might have been the target of school bullies.

"The way the stall is made and everything, he couldn't hang himself," she said.

Aquan's mother, Angel Marshall has hired an attorney to investigate the circumstances of her son's death. The family wants to know why school officials didn't keep track of him and why officials believe a seemingly happy child would take his own life at such a young age.

"The medical examiner, before the police have ever done the investigation, has concluded suicide … I think it's reckless, frankly," said Chicago attorney Todd Smith.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Aquan had told a teacher he planned to kill himself, and the teacher may also have shared the boy's comments with another staff member. One of the sources, according to the newspaper, charged that school personnel failed to take the threat seriously. According to a law enforcement report, Aquan had been scolded by school staff earlier Tuesday.

Neglect allegations have been lodged against the school with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in connection with the death, DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow confirmed.

A doctor with the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, who requested her name not be used, said Aquan was hanged on a bathroom stall door by the collar of his polo shirt. A foot print was found on the toilet in the stall, she said, indicating he had used the seat to get to the door hook.

The doctor said attempts were made to resuscitate him, "but I think it was too late."

Police said Aquan had vital signs while en route to the hospital, but was pronounced dead early Wednesday morning. The doctor at the Medical Examiner's Office said she did not know how long the child had been hanging from the hook.

But Smith said that Aquan, the middle of three children, was a "happy kid" who told his mom before school Tuesday that he was looking forward to basketball practice in the afternoon. Lallie Marshall said Aquan helped get his 5-year-old sister on the bus and then hopped on his own bus to school.

While Angel Marshall has not made formal plans to sue the school, "I think all things are on the table," Smith said. "The mother is really trying to find out what happened to her son."

Video

Child Suicide 'Very Rare'
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=6812036&page=2

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists suicide as the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 to 24, it lists just 11 deaths for children under age 10 in 2005, the most current data available.

Lanny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology, told ABCNews.com that the suicide of a 10-year-old is "very rare" and usually doesn't happen without clear warning signs, such as "very serious symptoms of aggression ... or just being out of control in some other ways."

"Suicide at this age is very impulsive," he said.

And if Aquan had indeed threatened suicide to a school employee, it should have been taken seriously no matter how flippant it may have sounded, Berman said.

"We always advise to take every threat seriously," he said. "If you're wrong, big deal. If you're right you may save a life."

Evanston Police Commander Tom Guenther told ABCNews.com today that his office was aware of the medical examiner's ruling, but would not draw its own conclusion until the investigation is complete.

Police are continuing to talk to a wide swath of people, including students, parents and school employees.

He declined to say whether foul play was being considered and said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on whether police have had previous dealings with the family.

A public records search showed Angel Marshall pleaded no contest to cocaine possession in 2003 and was sentenced to community service in 1999 on a handgun charge.

Lallie Marshall said her great-grandson loved his video games and his time playing sports. He'd been playing on football and basketball teams for about two years.

Marshall said Aquan's older brother Adam told her that Aquan wanted to be an NBA star when he was older.

"He was a nice little boy," she said.

The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 posted a message to parents and the community on its Web site Wednesday mourning the loss of "an Oakton School fifth grader" and saying that counselors, staff and psychologists would be made available to students.

"It is important for us to let you know that at this point in the investigation, it appears this is an isolated incident involving one student," the message read. "No other students were in harm's way."

"If there is someone to blame, I have to take the blame for that because I'm the superintendent of schools," Superintendent Hardy Murphy told an ABC affiliate.

Few who knew Aquan wanted to talk about him or his death today. Though one member of the Oakton Elementary School PTA expressed sadness over the incident, no one would comment further.

Aquan's football coach Tracey Wallace was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying he had potential "not only as a citizen, but as an athlete."

But when contacted by ABCNews.com today, Craig Thompson, executive director of Evanston Jr. Wildkit Football, said he had been advised by the club's attorney not to comment in light of possible forthcoming litigation against the school district.

[Revolt426]

Well that just confirms the original logic followed approach from the forum. He was hung on a coat hanger by a / a group of bull(ies) and was strangled to death. I would suggest a charge of Involuntary Manslaughter for whoever was involved.

[aviana]

My prayer is that this poor boy's tragic death will send a message to others in schools that there is much at stake when you are not properly supervising the children that have been entrusted to you.

[PaganMomInPA]

I have pulled my Daughter out of public school, and my son any other children I have will NEVER attend public school.

My daughter faced bullies in one form or another almost the entire time she was in public school. One of the worst cases was when she was threatened by a group of children while in VA. They told her they were going to beat her untill she repented her sins or died. All of this was brought about by a group handing out bibles in her school, she refused one and then had one forced into her hands. During lunch when she was not seen reading her bible like the majority of the other teens in the lunch room she was threatened in fron of a teacher who "turned the other cheek".

Very shortly after this we moved back to PA, thinking the schools were better here. Her last year of public school, between all of the schools in our district, there were 25 bomb or "other" threats. The school refused to share information on ANY of these with the parents.

I wish everyone were able to home school their kids. Horrible things like this needless death would not happen.

ps
My daughter is thoroughly ENJOYING learning about how the states recently declared their soverignity!

[Scarbo]

Good for you, Paganmom. I don't blame you, and I can't for the life of me understand why bullying is tolerated in schools. It scars some people for life and in this case, it looks as though it took one. 

[sweethoney]

If there'd been cameras this "incident" would never have taken place! Do you think this is a good way to get more parents to ASK for more cameras on their kids?

[aviana]

Good for you, Paganmom. I don't blame you, and I can't for the life of me understand why bullying is tolerated in schools. It scars some people for life and in this case, it looks as though it took one. 

+1

It's a big and brave step to home school and I admire you, Paganmom, for taking the initiative

If there'd been cameras this "incident" would never have taken place! Do you think this is a good way to get more parents to ASK for more cameras on their kids?

Yikes - had not thought of that.  I am in two minds about that though.  I am a British ex-pat and grew up with big brother - we did not know any different.  It is only since coming to the US and really learning what it is to be an American, have liberty, freedom, and what the Constitution stands for, that I am able to understand the American way of thinking.  Now, I get mad at those Americans that are so willing to let go of what they should hold dear.  I do think there are some circumstances when it is okay to have a certain amount of control or surveillance, such as in the schools... but, then where does it stop?!   

[FreeinTX]

what are they learning in school these days

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/student_hanged

EVANSTON, Ill. – A 10-year-old boy reportedly found hanging from a coat hook at his suburban Chicago school took his own life, according to a preliminary coroner's office ruling on Wednesday. A daily ledger released by the Cook County medical examiner noted "hanging" and "suicide" as the cause of death for fifth-grader Aquan Lewis, who was found unresponsive in a bathroom at the Evanston school Tuesday afternoon and was pronounced dead at a hospital Wednesday morning.

The boy's distraught mother, Angel Lewis, left a school district building hours earlier, not speaking directly to reporters but saying over and over, "He should have been accounted for. He should have been accounted for."

A janitor at Oakton Elementary School, Elliott Lieteau, said he found Aquan on the floor of the restroom and that others told him the boy had been pulled off a hook. Lieteau said he performed CPR.

Speaking before the coroner's finding, a community activist who accompanied Lewis and acted as her spokeswoman said Lewis did not believe her boy committed suicide.

"She sent her son to school yesterday morning in good spirits," Dawn Valenti said. "The next thing she knows she's getting a call that her son died. ... He did not commit suicide. There was nothing wrong with her son."

I couldn't belive this when I read it.  The same thing happened here in Austin Texas.  They called it an accident.  A kid hung himself on a hook in the bathroom!!!

Here is the local news stroy;

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/100208kvue_NYOS_APD_report-cb.d3c4327f.html

They said he was playing a game and accidentally hung himself on a hook in the bathroom where he was left unattended for 10 to 20 minutes, but the similarities between these two stories are earie.  Here in Texas, we have public/private charter schoold that are government subsidized, but have no FOIA requirements, so this whole story has been very hush, hush.

What do ya think?

[winddancer144]

Get your children out of the public sewer system NOW, don't wait till something bad happens DO IT NOW, if you love your children , then do it now.
I recently pulled my son out of the public school (sewer) system, after he came home, with a 103.6 fever, and they refused to let him call home.  One lady said he looked fine go back to class, then the teacher reached over and grab his ear and squeezed it and said, you dont have a fever. OH HELL NO, I marched my 5'4 125 lb butt  down there and said, WITHDRAW HIM NOW. They took one look at me and said  OKAY, omg I was so mad, I could have tore the gates to hell down. 
Oh btw he was in 3grade and this was in mississippi, they all can kiss my buttermilk white butt and I will mark the spot.
We homeschool and thats that.  No more public sewer system for me or mine.
we did have other problems like him always being in detention for something someone elsa said he did.  But that was the straw that broke the camels back.

Nothing will make a mother or father madder than hell,  then when someone messes with their children. 

[CarolinaWildcat]

I have pulled my Daughter out of public school, and my son any other children I have will NEVER attend public school.

My daughter faced bullies in one form or another almost the entire time she was in public school. One of the worst cases was when she was threatened by a group of children while in VA. They told her they were going to beat her untill she repented her sins or died. All of this was brought about by a group handing out bibles in her school, she refused one and then had one forced into her hands. During lunch when she was not seen reading her bible like the majority of the other teens in the lunch room she was threatened in fron of a teacher who "turned the other cheek".

Very shortly after this we moved back to PA, thinking the schools were better here. Her last year of public school, between all of the schools in our district, there were 25 bomb or "other" threats. The school refused to share information on ANY of these with the parents.

I wish everyone were able to home school their kids. Horrible things like this needless death would not happen.

ps
My daughter is thoroughly ENJOYING learning about how the states recently declared their soverignity!

She is getting the very best education right now and I am sure she doesn't miss the bullies.I prefered home schooling my kids and hope to continue with the grands.I think home schooled kids are going to be the only ones truly capable of critical thought when this is all done.