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The Story of Dawn-Marie
Dawn-Marie seemed like your typical 14-year-old girl. Feisty. Outspoken. What her mother, Cindy, didn't know was that Dawn-Marie feared for her life. At school, she faced a hidden world of bullying that she kept secret from her parents.
After several days of intense bullying at school, Dawn-Marie received a phone call from two girls. One girl accused Dawn-Marie of spreading a false rumor about her; the other girl threatened her life. She may have believed the threat because of a case in a nearby community: Three years earlier, 14-year-old Reena Virk was bullied, beaten, and then killed by her classmates. Cindy says, "I believe Dawn-Marie believed she had a choice to make: 'I'll die like Reena Virk or I'll do it myself.'"
An hour after the threatening phone call, Dawn-Marie committed suicide. In the suicide note that she left behind, Dawn-Marie said she took her life because she feared three girls (named in the letter) were going to kill her.
 Cindy wants everyone to learn from her daughter's death. "I will carry guilt forever that I let her down. I let her down as [her] mom."
The three girls named in the suicide note were brought to trial. One girl was found guilty of making threats, the second girl is waiting to be tried, and the third girl, Kyla, was acquitted. According to Cindy, Kyla is the only girl that has shown any remorse.
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