Popular schoolgirl dies in ’emo sucide cult’
A popular and fun-loving schoolgirl killed herself after becoming involved in a self-harming youth cult which glamorises death, an inquest has heard.
Hannah Bond, 13, hanged herself from a bunk bed in her bedroom with a tie believing her death would impress fellow followers of the “emo” movement, it was said.
The teenager, who left a suicide note and used the nickname “Living Disaster”, committed suicide after flippantly telling her parents, “I want to kill myself”, when she returned late from a friend’s house.
They dismissed the comment and said “don’t be silly” but an hour later found her suspended an inch from the floor.
They dialled 999 and paramedics battled for over an hour to save her but she had lost consciousness and died.
Roger Sykes, the coroner who recorded a verdict of suicide, found aspects of the youth movement, which began in America, “very disturbing”.
He said: “A girl of 13 years old has taken her own life for no reason that by anyone could be found to be justifiable.
“It is a terrible and tragic explanation to what happened. It is not glamorous, just simply a tragic loss of such a young life.”
Maidstone Coroners’ Court heard that Hannah, of East Peckham, Kent, had lived a double life, outwardly a bright fun-loving family-orientated schoolgirl, but inwardly a devotee of “emo” which stands for emotional.
She had secretly chatted to “emo” followers online all over the world, talking about death and the glamorisation of hanging and speaking about “the black parade” – a place where “emos” believe they go after they die.