Kelly Yeomans
Encyclopedia
Kelly Yeomans was an English
school girl from the Allenton
suburb near Derby. Her 1997 suicide
, at the age of 13, became widespread news when the cause was traced to excessive bullying to which she had been subjected by other local children.
In evidence to court, Yeomans was described as a pleasant and friendly girl. However, she was reported to be the victim of repeated harassment
and taunting, particularly about her weight. Her parents said that the incessant bullying had left Yeomans feeling miserable. Her mother asserted that she had gone to her daughter's school, Merrill College
, Shelton Lock
, thirty times to complain about the issue, but received no assistance. School officials, however, claimed they had received only one complaint.
Matters came to a head in September, 1997, when a group of youths reportedly gathered at Yeomans's home on several consecutive nights, on each occasion throwing food at the house and shouting taunts aimed at Yeomans. Her mother later said that the incident prompted Yeomans to tell her family, "It is nothing to do with you Daddy, nothing to do with you Mummy, and nothing to do with you Sarah [her sister]. I have had enough and I'm going to take an overdose."
The parents said they were worried and sought help for their daughter's obvious depression
, but did not believe she would carry out her threat to take her own life. However, Yeomans was soon found dead in her bedroom after taking an overdose of painkillers.
After they admitted having done so, five youths between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were convicted of intentionally harassing Yeomans in the months leading up to her death. At their sentencing, they were given attendance centre orders. For a time, Yeomans's death put the issue of child bullies and their victims into the public spotlight.
In his 2003 recording "More Jack than God", former Cream
bassist Jack Bruce
wrote a tribute to her - "Kelly's Blues".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
school girl from the Allenton
Allenton (Derby)
Allenton is a suburb of the city of Derby, England, situated about three miles south of the city centre. It is located between the suburbs of Osmaston, Boulton, Alvaston and Shelton Lock.-History:...
suburb near Derby. Her 1997 suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, at the age of 13, became widespread news when the cause was traced to excessive bullying to which she had been subjected by other local children.
In evidence to court, Yeomans was described as a pleasant and friendly girl. However, she was reported to be the victim of repeated harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
and taunting, particularly about her weight. Her parents said that the incessant bullying had left Yeomans feeling miserable. Her mother asserted that she had gone to her daughter's school, Merrill College
Merrill College
Merrill College is a residential college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The theme of the college, and the name of its freshman core course, is "cultural identities and global consciousness."-Location:...
, Shelton Lock
Shelton Lock
Shelton Lock is a small suburb in the south of the city of Derby, England, United Kingdom, located between Chellaston and Allenton.The area gets its name from the lock on the Derby Canal that once ran through the area. The only traces of the canal's existence are seen in the form of a road bridge,...
, thirty times to complain about the issue, but received no assistance. School officials, however, claimed they had received only one complaint.
Matters came to a head in September, 1997, when a group of youths reportedly gathered at Yeomans's home on several consecutive nights, on each occasion throwing food at the house and shouting taunts aimed at Yeomans. Her mother later said that the incident prompted Yeomans to tell her family, "It is nothing to do with you Daddy, nothing to do with you Mummy, and nothing to do with you Sarah [her sister]. I have had enough and I'm going to take an overdose."
The parents said they were worried and sought help for their daughter's obvious depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, but did not believe she would carry out her threat to take her own life. However, Yeomans was soon found dead in her bedroom after taking an overdose of painkillers.
After they admitted having done so, five youths between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were convicted of intentionally harassing Yeomans in the months leading up to her death. At their sentencing, they were given attendance centre orders. For a time, Yeomans's death put the issue of child bullies and their victims into the public spotlight.
In his 2003 recording "More Jack than God", former Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
bassist Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
wrote a tribute to her - "Kelly's Blues".
See also
- BullycideBullycideThe term bullycide is a portmanteau word first used in 2001 by Neil Marr and Tim Field in their book Bullycide: Death at Playtime. It refers to suicide attributable to the victim having been bullied, either in person or via social media. Bullycide has also been defined as the killing of the bully...
- Bullying
- It Gets Better Project
- Suicide of Tyler ClementiSuicide of Tyler ClementiTyler Clementi was an eighteen-year-old student at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge on September 22, 2010. His roommate Dharun Ravi had video streamed Clementi kissing another man over the Internet without Clementi's knowledge,...
- Suicide of Ryan Halligan
- Suicide of Megan MeierSuicide of Megan MeierMegan Taylor Meier , was an American teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, who committed suicide by hanging three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. A year later, Meier's parents prompted an investigation into the matter and her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social...
- Suicide of Phoebe Prince
- Suicide of Nicola Ann Raphael
- Suicide of Dawn-Marie Wesley
Sources
- "Teenage bullies convicted", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, February 10, 1998 - "What makes one child a bully and another a victim?", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, March 3, 1998 - "Tormented teenager killed herself", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, August 10, 1998 - "'Anuguish' of bullied teenager", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, August 10, 1998 - "Bullied to Death: Taunted London Teen Commits Suicide", Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, October, 1998 - "Jack Bruce - "My song for tragic Kelly" http://www.thefreelibrary.com/My+song+for+tragic+Kelly%3B+Rock+legend+Jack+Bruce+opens+his+heart...-a0107843031.