Girl, 14, killed herself after online hate campaign which coroner called ‘banter’
An ‘I hate Megan Evans’ social media campaign which targeted a 14-year-old girl before she killed herself was ‘only banter’, a coroner has said.
Schoolgirl Megan Evans was found dead at her home in February 2017 after allegedly being told online to ‘go kill herself’.
But a coroner who investigated her death said other personal factors were involved instead of pinning the blame on online bullying.
Coroner Paul Bennett said phrases such as ‘go kill yourself’ were in ‘regular use’ online.
He added that children and young people had ‘different perceptions of bullying’.
Experienced coroner Mr Bennett said the phrase could be perceived in different ways: ‘What may be bullying to one could be banter to another.’
‘The decision to do so was not influenced by bullying or, per se, by social media.’
Megan’s mother and friends told an inquest how she was unhappy at school from online bullying and feeling she was being ‘persecuted’ by staff at Milford Have School in Pembrokeshire.
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Mr Bennett said the ‘key issue upsetting Megan’ was her boyfriend’s alleged relationship with another girl.
Although she received messages about this, the hearing heard it was the substance of the messages rather than social media itself that upset Megan.
‘She was troubled by concerns over her father’s illness and there were arguments with other children over suggestions that her boyfriend was behaving badly,’ the coroner said.
‘It is, however, impossible to be certain what drove her to take the steps she did. I am equally satisfied that the steps she took were not related to bullying or a failure to prevent such bullying.’
The inquest heard that a photo of Megan ‘smoking’ had also been posted on social media which resulted in students name calling her at school.
She was told to ‘kill herself’ and sent a picture message saying ‘die’ on social media.
The hearing was also told the ‘I hate Megan Evans’ group had been created.
Mr Bennett did not find grounds to support the family’s claims that the school had done nothing to combat bullying before her death in February 2017.
He said the school had a range of safeguarding and anti-bullying policies.
On the night Megan took her own life, her parents were out and she was at home with three of her siblings.
She did not leave a suicide note but the coroner said the fact she was in a room rarely used by her family and had barricaded the door suggested that she did not want to be interrupted or found quickly.
Megan was described as a talented artist and hockey player who had been looking forward to attending a Justin Bieber concert.
In the years following Megan’s tragic death, Nicola has worked to raise awareness of mental health and the dangers of social media bullying.
She has since founded Megan’s Starr Foundation which provides free counseling and peer support to young people in Pembrokeshire.
Following his conclusion of suicide, Mr Bennett expressed his condolences to Megan’s family and apologised for the delays in investigating the tragic loss.
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