http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/22987784/detail.html?hpt=T2
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Nine teenagers have been charged in connection with the suicide death of South Hadley High School student Phoebe Prince, 15, who took her life after she was bullied by other students at her school, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said Monday.
Two male teens, ages 17 and 18, were also both charged with statutory rape."The investigation revealed relentless activity directed at Phoebe," in the three months before her death,
Scheibel said, until the situation became "intolerable" for the girl.Prince, a student at
the school whose family had recently moved to the U.S. from Ireland, took her own life in January, authorities said, after she was bullied for three months both at school and online by other students."It appears that Phoebe's death on Jan. 14 followed a tortuous day for her in which she was subjected to verbal harassment and threatened physical abuse," Scheibel said.The district attorney said according to the investigation, which involved interviews with more than 50 people, on the day of her death Prince was harassed as she studied in the school library, and as she walked in the school hallways and later as she walked home.The bullying in the library was witnessed by a faculty member and other students but was not reported until after Prince's death, Scheibel said, adding that the bullying of Prince was "common knowledge" at the school."On the day of her death, primarily three individuals -- one male and two females -- were involved in this assaultive behavior, which appears to have been motivated by the group's displeasure with Phoebe's brief dating relationship with a male student which had ended some six weeks previous," Scheibel said."Their conduct far exceeded the limits of normal teenage relationship-related quarrels," Scheibel said.Six teens and three juveniles were charged in connection with the case, the charges including criminal harassment, violation of civil rights and disturbing a school assembly.
Among those charged, three were teenaged girls, Scheibel said.The teens were identified as:
A 16-year-old from South Hadley was charged with violation of civil rights, as a youthful offender. A 16-year-old from South Hadley was charged with violation of civil rights as a youthful offender, stalking as a youthful offender. Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley, charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly. Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley, charged with violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly. Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield, charged with statutory rape. A 16-year-old from South Hadley was charged with violation of civil rights as a youthful offender, stalking as a youthful offender. All of those charged will be summoned to court at a later date and more charges could follow, authorities said.The indictments were handed up Friday, Scheibel said.Three are still students at the school, and three were expelled in February, authorities said."These students' lives have also been dramatically altered, and they won't be graduating from South Hadley High School," Principal Daniel T. Smith said at the time the expulsion was announced.The district attorney said there were three months of intense harassment that ended when Prince hanged herself at her Newton Street home in South Hadley after school. Her younger sister found her in the staircase heading up to the family's second-floor apartment.The case, and the earlier bullying-related death of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, of Springfield, sparked outrage across the commonwealth and prompted calls for strict anti-bullying legislation to be passed.Lawmakers approved an anti-bullying law earlier this month that requires schools to report incidents of bullying to local police if it's believed any laws may have been broken. The bill is in conference committee to settle differences between House and Senate versions.The district attorney said South Hadley school officials were aware of the Prince bullying but none were charged in connection with the case because officials said their actions did not rise to the level of a crime.She did, however, say that Prince's mother had spoken to at least two school staff members about the bullying, and some faculty had intervened and reported it, but administrators failed to intervene, which Scheibel called "troublesome.""A lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships seems to have been prevalent at South Hadley High School. That in turn brought about an inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of the school's code of conduct when incidents were observed and reported," Scheibel said.
9 Charged In Student's Bullying Death | 
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