[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A bullied 11-year-old girl died by suicide — and her mom is blaming the faculty who ignored her growing concerns.
Felicia LoAlbo-Melendez was found hanging in F.W. Holbein School bathroom on February 6. One of her sixth grade classmates discovered her in a stall around 1 p.m., still alive but unconscious. EMTs did everything they could to save the young girl’s life, but sadly she succumbed to her injuries two days later in the hospital — just days after her father lost his battle to cancer.
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Once surveillance footage proved she was in the bathroom alone, her cause of death was officially ruled as suicide. Prosecutors confirmed no foul play was involved, but the story is far from over. The girl’s mother maintains her daughter was driven to this point by bullies — and that the school did nothing to prevent it despite being warned.
Elaina LoAlbo, who tragically lost her daughter and her daughter’s father within just one week of one another, is now demanding tapes to prove Felicia’s cause of death. And if it was suicide, she’s putting the blame squarely on those who did nothing to help. According to the grieving mother, the 11-year-old emailed school officials herself to tell them she was being bullied — and they did nothing. The email she wrote was one of many, claims Elaina, who spoke to NJ over the weekend. She says the school just didn’t care:
“She herself had written numerous emails to the administration detailing the events, yet no one was ever questioned.”
One of the emails the young girl wrote was a proposal for a “trauma club” for students at the school. In the letter, provided by her mom, she wrote:
“I was watching TV and thinking about the things in my life that happened to me and I got a great idea. Instead of drama club, it would be a trauma club … I would help and provide as much as I can. It would need a room that is not too big and not too small. We would need a couple of chairs too. But I hope this does happen. I for one have heard from my friends and others about things that have happened to them and I think this would be a fantastic thing. Have a great night. Go dragons.”
Felicia even warned school officials they were “breaking the law” by not helping, says her mom:
“Felicia’s last email in the week before her passing expressed to her school that her and her friends were being bullied, that laws were present to protect them, and that they were breaking the law by not taking action.”
Such a thoughtful and mature way to handle things. It’s so devastating and infuriating no one reached out to help her…
In a voice memo her mother shared with the outlet, Felicia told her future self to never be a bully, saying:
“Unless you’re me, well you’re listening to this from the future. Say hello to future mom, future dad… future everyone. Never, never never be bad, never give up on your friends, never, ever… be a bully.”
Heartbreaking. That was from 2021 — two years ago. That shows just how long her suffering had been going on.
Nearly two months after the girl’s tragic death, Elaina is concerned the investigation is going to be just like her daughter’s emails — “swept under the rug”:
“They have swept under the rug, the bullying that she and so many other kids in that school have encountered, and now they’re doing the same with this investigation.”
Since the incident, the mother has created a petition to get signatures demanding the footage from the day of her daughter’s injuries be released — as of Monday it’s gained over 3,500 signatures. She’s also created a GoFundMe to help pay for final expenses. If you’d like to donate, you can find the link HERE.
DailyMail.com contacted the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and questioned them about whether or not they’re pursuing the bullies in this case — to which they offered this non-response:
“An investigation into the student’s death by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, which included a review of the school’s surveillance cameras, determined that she was alone in the restroom when this tragic action occurred. The investigation further determined that no foul play was involved.”
Sorry, but just because no one physically tied a rope around her neck doesn’t mean there was no foul play. Look at the Michelle Carter case! She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for pushing her boyfriend to suicide. With kids this young and impressionable, we need to do more to make sure this isn’t happening to them.
The school, however, wasn’t available for comment. And even more angering, according to NJ, the superintendent didn’t even mention what happened in the announcement letter to the community! It reads simply:
“Dear Mount Holly School Community: Today, we learned of the passing of one of our students. This tragic news impacts the entire school community. Our priority is to provide support and direction during this extremely difficult time. We will continue to work as an administrative team alongside our Board and staff to respond to our school community’s needs.”
Just awful. That could be about cancer for how vague it’s written! It’s understandable why the poor mom feels like they’re just sweeping it under the rug — it certainly looks like that’s what they’re trying to do!
Seth Turner, father to a friend of the 11-year-old, corroborated the stories of bullying. Now, he says, he regrets not taking action sooner:
“My daughter confided in me that Felicia was being bullied by other members of her class. I failed to convey this information to any teachers or staff in time for anything to be done, and I need to apologize for this. While no response to the death of an 11-year-old girl can ever be truly adequate, our response to this tragedy so far has been pathetic … Felicia deserves better. She deserves a full investigation, she deserves a full accounting and she deserves truth, and I hope that we can give it to her.”
Sadly, this is hardly the first time a young girl has died by suicide due to bullying with their schools dodging blame — this happened to another young girl, also in New Jersey, in February. They died within just days of each other.
This has got to stop. Schools should be doing everything they can to protect children, especially the ones that are being bullied. In this case they can’t even argue they couldn’t have known. Felicia herself was reaching out, begging for help. And they did nothing.
R.I.P.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
[Image via Layna Marie/Facebook]
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