12-Year-Old Girl’s Facebook Live Suicide Video Goes Viral: Police Helpless To Stop Its Spread


In one of the more morbid displays of human apathy, the Facebook Live suicide video of a 12-year-old girl, Katelyn Nicole Davis, continues to go viral, and the police are helpless to stop its spread.

Katelyn was a bright young girl, a student at Cedartown Middle School in Polk Count, Georgia, when she became the victim of abuse.

The young girl hung herself from a tree in her yard on December 30 after alleging in her blog that she had been both sexually and physically abused by a male relative. According to the blog, Davis claimed the man had struck her with a studded belt and had tried to rape her.

When she begged him stop “stop being so perverted in front of my younger siblings,” says the Daily Mail, the man told her to go hang herself. Katelyn apparently suffered from depression, and in an additional blog post on December 27, she discussed different ways of committing suicide.

https://www.facebook.com/Justice4Dolly/photos/a.1264192680315067.1073741828.1264186873648981/1264587623608906/?type=3&theater

Katelyn hung herself in a video that lasted approximately 20 minutes, and a woman’s voice can evidently be heard in the background calling Katelyn’s name. The suicide video was streamed over Facebook Live and was taken down quickly by Facebook authorities.

Unfortunately, the video was up long enough for the dark side of the internet to get its fangs into the tragic broadcast. Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd told the media that he is unable to stop people from sharing the video. There is currently no legal recourse for the law enforcement agencies to take down and stop the spread of the horrific video.

Chief Dodd got in touch with some of the websites that are continuing to show Katelyn’s death but has been less than successful in convincing them to remove the video.

Dodd told local news Fox5, “We want it down as much as anyone for the family and it may be harmful to other kids. We contacted some of the sites. They asked if they had to take it down and by law they don’t. But it’s just the common decent thing to do in my opinion.”

Another sad aspect to the whole mess is that after Katelyn shared on her December 27 blog post the allegations of sexual abuse, an investigation by local authorities had been immediately launched. Unfortunately, the inquest was too little, too late for Davis.

A spokesman for the NSPCC told the Sun, “This video must be taken down immediately and we are pressing social media sites to get this done as soon as possible. In this instance warnings of graphic content do not go far enough. Every child should be safe to use the internet without seeing harmful content, and children who are contemplating self-harm or suicide should be directed towards support and help rather than graphic and distressing content. This video highlights the urgent need for the law to protect children from unsuitable and harmful content, including violence and self-harm, through removing or blocking content online age verification measures.”

https://www.facebook.com/Justice4Dolly/photos/a.1264192680315067.1073741828.1264186873648981/1265196060214729/?type=3&theater

Incidents like Katelyn’s viral suicide video exacerbate the need for law enforcement agencies to have the legal recourse to fight against these things. While Katelyn should never be forgotten, and the tribulations she underwent should not be diminished, many feel that such a pointed reminder such as the actual footage of her death do not need to be in the public domain.

If you, a friend, or loved one are suffering from depression or are considering taking your own life, all the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

So what are your thoughts on Katelyn Davis’ suicide video? If you want to help stop the spread of similar broadcasts, contact your local representative today and push for reform.

[Featured Image by Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock]

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