Bullying concerns: 11-year-old disable child commits suicide after assault
30 Sep
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Disabled boy told his grandmother he would kill himself if he had to go to school
Bullying in the Canadian school system is being examined following the suicide of an 11-year-old boy just months after he was assaulted.
Wilson’s condition meant that his muscles were weak and deteriorating over time. He found it difficult to walk or climb stars and used a walker while at school. Doctors had urged him to exercise regularly which was difficult for the 11-year-old from Pickering, Ontario.
Three years ago Wilson’s mother died after a battle with skin cancer. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy last year.
The young boy was mugged last November by a 12-year-old from his school. The bully was after Wilson’s iPhone, which he had borrowed from his father. Wilson’s face and teeth were smashed during the attack.
The bully was arrested and removed from the school.
The young boy’s father, Craig Wilson, found his son with a plastic bag tied around his head earlier this month. He committed suicide one day after he received the subpoena to testify against his alleged attacker.
He told the Toronto Star newspaper “He was never the same”.
As the court date drew closer things for Wilson did not improve and the bullying continued.
He said “Subsequent to the beating that he took, he just lost that spark you see in a kid’s eye. He had huge anxiety attacks about going outside and going for his walks and going to school by himself.”
Pam Wilson, the young boy’s grandmother told the National Post “At the cottage in July, he said, ‘If I have to go back to that school, I’ll kill myself.’”
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His father said the 11-year-old was scared that he would run into the bully again.
Mitchell Wilson’s suicide has raised fears that justice will not be served.
Initially it was feared that the case against the bully, who attempted to steal his iPhone, would be dropped as Wilson would not be able to testify. However the Court are now preparing an affidavit of the statement Wilson made before his death.
The case will be heard on November 21.
Wilson’s family only wish that the bully can atone for his crimes. Pam told the National Post “He’s a lost kid. He hasn’t been loved, hasn’t been cared for. We don’t want to be a lynch squad. We want him to do community work with disabled people. All we are trying to do is help this kid understand that his life is going to be zip if he keeps on the road he is on.”
It is Craig Wilson’s hope that his son’s death will have a positive effect on others. He told the Sun “I can’t do anything for my child anymore…So let’s hopefully save some other people’s children so they don’t have to go through this mess.”
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