A sophomore at Glenn High School committed suicide Wednesday night after receiving harassing text messages from other students, school officials said today.
Ashley Rogers hanged herself at her home in Kernersville, said Dr. Donald Jason, a Forsyth County medical examiner. She was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m. at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Her mother, Christine Rogers, called administrators at Glenn on Tuesday to tell them that two students had been sending her daughter harassing text messages. After investigating, the school's resource officer determined that the students had sent text messages starting at 10:30 p.m. April 8 and continuing until 7:30 a.m. on April 9.
"The administrators talked to all the students involved," said Theo Helm, a spokesman for the school system.
The students were told that such behavior would not be tolerated. Because the messages were not sent during school hours, no disciplinary action was taken against the students, Helm said.
Officials would not say what the messages were about.
School officials have been talking to teachers, guidance counselors and others at the school to find out whether there had been other incidents of students harassing Rogers, Helm said. So far, he said, they have not found evidence of other incidents.
The Kernersville Police Department is investigating Rogers' death, Chief Ken Gamble said.
Investigators are checking computers and cell phones involved in the case.
"The case is more complicated that it appears at first blush," Gamble said.
He declined to comment further.
Rogers' death occurred three months after Phoebe Prince, a high-school freshman in Massachusetts, endured months of taunts and threats after she briefly dated a popular boy. Prince, 15, hanged herself at home on Jan. 14, and six of her classmates face charges.
In October 2006, Megan Meier, who lived in Missouri, committed suicide by hanging herself in her closet. Meier was the target of cyber bullying via her MySpace account.
The N.C. General Assembly passed a cyber-bullying law last year, making it a misdemeanor to use various computer activities to intimidate, harass or torment a minor.
The school system sent a crisis team to talk to students and others at the school after Rogers' death.
"Everybody is very upset by it," Helm said.
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