Anthony
Super Moderator
Florida authorities have arrested two girls ages 12 and 14, on felony charges for allegedly taunting and bullying a 12-year-old girl who authorities say committed suicide after being bullied online by several girls for nearly a year.
Rebecca Sedwick, of Lakeland, Florida, died Sept. 9. She was "terrorized" by as many as 15 girls who tormented her for months through online message boards and texts, according to police. They also added during in the investigation they seized some of the girls' computers and cellphones.
At the press conference on Tuesday morning, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said they made the arrests after one of the girls posted she didn’t care about the suicide on Facebook on Saturday: "Yes ik [I know] I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF ♥" IDGAF stands for I don't give a [expletive].
"We decided, look, we can't leave her out there," Judd said. "Who else is she going to torment? Who else is she going to harass? Who is the next person she verbally and mentally abuses and attacks?"
The 14-year-old girl appeared to be one who repeatedly confronted Rebecca and telling her classmate she "should go kill herself" and she "should die." Her boyfriend used to be Rebecca's boyfriend, she called Rebecca ugly and told her to drink bleach to kill herself, officials said.
Judd told reporters Tuesday that one of the suspects had posted a message telling the victim she should "drink bleach and die."
He also said the two were allegedly the main culprits, but that the investigation is ongoing and there other young charged.
Tricia Norman, Rebecca's mother thinks that the constant bullying drove her daughter to kill herself, and that the school district did not do enough to protect her.
"They would tell her she's ugly, stupid, nobody liked her, go kill herself," said Norman, who started an anti-bullying campaign in her daughter's name on Facebook.
After the suicide, police were investigating and discovered on Rebecca’s computer that she searched different topics including "what is overweight for a 13-year-old girl," "how to get blades out of razors" and "how many over-the-counter drugs do you take to die." She also had a screensaver that showed her with her head resting on a railroad track.
If the two are convicted, they are not sure how much time the girls would have to spend in juvenile detention because they did not have any previous criminal history, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Officials are not releasing their names because of their age.
