A Bullied Staten Island Boy Commits Suicide: Daniel Wrote In Heartbreaking Letter That Nobody Did Anything To Help Him
A Staten Island teen committed suicide after being constantly bullied at school. When nobody would do anything, the boy wrote a heartbreaking letter before killing himself.
A life ended tragically when nobody was there to help a 13-year-old boy from Staten Island, Daniel Fitzpatrick, who was repeatedly bullied at school. He was constantly made fun of because of his weight, as well as his grades at school, but when he begged for help, nobody did anything at Holy Angels Catholic Academy in Staten Island, the boy mentioned in his letter.
“I gave up. The teachers… they didn’t do anything.”
The boy’s parents shared the letter with the Daily News. The letter also revealed that it was written in early July, thus making it even more obvious that the boy had been seeking help for quite some time and nobody did anything.
The boy’s parents are devastated. His mother made this heart-wrenching statement to the Daily News.
“My son shouldn’t have to die to be heard. There’s something wrong with the adults in authority positions when kids can’t go to them for help. No parent is supposed to bury their child.”
When the boy first started going to school at Holy Angels Catholic Academy, he said he liked it there and had a lot of friends, as he stated in his letter. However, things completely changed after he moved away, then moved back and continued at Holy Angels Catholic Academy.
“At first it was good. Lots of friends, good grades, and great life, but I moved and went back, but it was different. My old friends changed. They didn’t talk to me. They didn’t even like me.”
One of Daniel’s three sisters, Kristen, also goes to Holy Angels Catholic Academy. She stated that it was a normal occurrence for teachers to humiliate kids, especially when they got bad grades. She said that one teacher in particular would hold up tests at dismissal to embarrass those who don’t do well.
“If one person didn’t like you, no one liked you. Danny was always left out. He used to come up to me and ask me to get kids to play with him. The other kids would say they thought he was weird.”
The family, as well as Daniel, brought the bullying to the attention of school administrators, but no support was ever provided. They even approached the principal at her home, but his wife claimed he was at the school. When they still couldn’t find the principal at school, they returned to her home, but nobody answered the door. Daniel and his family were continuously ignored and Daniel’s bullying continued.
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Ms. D’Alora, who was the only teacher to help Daniel when he told her about the bullying, refused to speak to the Daily News. Daniel mentioned in his letter that “she was the nicest teacher ever. She understood and did something, but it didn’t last long.”
“Please. Please. This is hard.”
A school spokeswoman, Carolyn Erstad, would not confirm the bullying complaints.
“In light of this tragedy we are reexamining all bullying prevention policies and training. The principal, teachers, and staff of Holy Angels Catholic Academy are heartbroken over the loss of Danny Fitzpatrick. We take the issue of bullying very seriously and address every incident that is brought to our attention.”
Daniel’s parents think that the school staff was just as guilty for Daniel’s bullying.
“Danny said that he was afraid of his teachers. He felt like the whole school knew what was going on and was laughing behind his back. They humiliated him.”
Fox40 reports that his funeral service will take place on Monday and Tuesday at the Harmon Funeral Home. They will also have a service at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Daniel’s family during this tragic time to assist with funeral costs.
[Photo by Robert Hoetink/AP Images]
