Teen girl commits suicide after public shaming video posts to YouTube, leaves note telling father it wasn’t his fault

By Jose Serrano (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jun 18, 2015 11:42 AM EDT

Tags Bullying, teen bullying, teenager bullying, Teen Suicide, Izabel Laxamana, suicide prevention, teen girl suicide, teen girl death, youtube suicide, youtube, public shaming, teen public shaming, teen girl public shaming, public shaming youtube, public shaming social media, tacoma teen suicide, tacoma teen public shaming, dad public shaming

Izabel Laxamana, a 13-year-old girl from Tacoma, Washington jumped to her death on May 29 after a video of her dad cutting off her hair went viral.

She was taken to a Seattle hospital where she died the next day. The county medical examiner's office deemed Izabel's death following a jump off of an interstate overpass a suicide.

The video, which has since been taken off of YouTube, opens with a short-haired girl staring blankly at the camera.

"You lost all that beautiful hair," a male voice can be heard saying. Sternly, he says "was it worth it?" as the camera pans long strands of black hair scattered on the ground.

Rumors about the 15-second clip began circulating soon after. Many believe that public shaming led to her suicide. Some even called for her father to be prosecuted criminally. The Tacoma Police Department, however, decided not to press charges based on the fact that her father did not upload the video, and Izabel's death may not even be connected to it.

The teenager left a series of notes just before she fell from the city's South 48^th Street bridge. In one, she told her father how much she loved him. Another talked about being bullied at school. In speaking with the local FOX affiliate, one of Izabel's friends said that "there were a lot of things going on in her life."

Another friend said "I think [being bullied] pushed her too far to where she wanted to do what she did."

Giaudrone Middle School staffed extra counselors the Monday after news broke. They, along with police and fire department chaplains, met with small groups of students, according to Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel.

A Facebook page called Justice for Izabel urges parents to stop publicly shaming their children. It calls for attention to be brought to bullying of all kinds. "The bad side of social media shaming: Izzy's Story," a video posted by Izabel's friend, aims to discourage parents from shaming their kids by showing the video of Izabel's hair getting cut.

Teens struggling with depression are urged to call 866-833-6546 (866-TEEN-LINK). The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day by either contacting 1-800-273-8255 or chatting online with an NSPL aid.