Mother of 8-year-old who killed himself promises he "will be heard"
CINCINNATI -- The mother of an 8-year-old Ohio boy who killed himself after he was allegedly bullied at school has pledged to speak out on her son's behalf.
Cornelia Reynolds said in a Friday statement that her son's voice "will be heard" and she urged parents to tell their children to seek help if they are being hurt.
"It is my obligation to make sure that this will never happen again," she said. "No, this will not go away. People need to know the truth and help fix this epidemic in our society by spreading awareness and speaking up."
Reynolds' attorneys say she didn't learn her son, Gabriel Taye, was bullied until they saw an email written by a Cincinnati police detective that describes the scene outside a boys' bathroom where the attorneys say Gabriel was knocked unconscious. He hanged himself two days later at his home.
The Cincinnati school district says the boy told staff he had fainted and never said he had been bullied or assaulted.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said his office is looking into possible charges in the case. The Hamilton County coroner said earlier that she is reopening the investigation into Gabriel's suicide.
Cincinnati Public Schools on Friday released copies of a choppy 24-minute-long video that shows one boy bullying other students. The mother's attorneys say he pushed Gabriel into a wall, knocking him unconscious.
"It is our firm position that the allegations portrayed in the media are not supported by the video," the district said in a statement. The release also noted that police reviewed the video and no charges were filed.
Jennifer Branch, Reynolds' attorney, told CBS affiliate WKRC-TV that her client could have had her son properly examined if the school informed her of the incident.
"If the school had told mom that 'your son was assaulted,' 'your son had lost consciousness for seven minutes,' she would have immediately taken him to the hospital and had him examined," Branch told the station. "She's devastated that her son's second-to-last day was so painful for him and that she didn't know and that she couldn't protect him."