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Google PlayA 12-year-old boy in Tennessee has died by suicide after he was bullied by classmates for being gay, Nashville’s ABC affiliate WKRN reports.
Eli Fritchley, a seventh-grader at Cascades Middle School in Wartrace, TN took his own life on November 28. Eli’s parents believe their son was driven to commit suicide by his classmates, who allegedly teased him that he would go to hell for being gay.
“He was told because he didn’t necessarily have a religion and that he said he was gay that he was going to go to Hell. They told him that quite often,” Eli’s mother, Debbey Fritchley, told the outlet.
“It was really abusive. I don’t think it was ever physical. I think it was just words, but words hurt. They really hurt,” his father, Steve, added,
Eli’s mother discovered her son’s lifeless body in his bedroom the Sunday following Thanksgiving.
“That’s been really hard. That image was terrible until we got to hold him yesterday,” she said. “Now that image is gone, because the only thing we could think of yesterday when we were kissing and loving on him was how angelic he looked. He absolutely looked angelic. He’s just an angel.”
As the Fritchleys are looking to start a foundation to bring awareness to bullying, the owners of Penalties Sports Bar & Grill, a local restaurant in Shelbyville, TN, have created a GoFundMe for Eli.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a prevention network of 161 crisis centers that provides a 24/7, toll-free hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. If you need help, please call 1-800-273-8255.
