suicide

The death of the 8-year-old boy in a suspected suicide became a cautionary tale, warning parents of the dangers of social media when his mother revealed she had denied him watching YouTube the moments before he was found.

“These devices are addicting,” one social media user Carline Mcfarlane said. “I had to take away the tablet from my daughter. That’s all she wants to stay on. We as parents need to realize when these things become addicting and find ways to ease them from being on them too long.”

Bianca Simpson advised other parents, “Get your children outside and break the addiction they have for electronics.”

Mariano Chery, the third grader was watching television with his mother and siblings on Thursday when his mother suggested that they watch another movie. Mariano though, opted for YouTube instead. When his mother denied him, Mariano then retorted, “Y’all never let me watch what I want to watch’ and sulked to his room. He was found, ten minutes later unresponsive.

Crystal Taylor said her son reacts similarly when he is without his phone.

Monalisa Rolle reminisced that in times past, children’s playtime included activities like reading books and playing on the outside. Now, times have changed. Digital devices and social media have taken over daily life.

Mariano enjoyed watching TikTok, YouTube, and playing Roblox, according to his mother.  Since his unfortunate death, she wants to limit her other children’s time spent on devices and encourage other activities.

Most social media apps require users to be 13 years or older, but many children under that age, still use the apps, and without an adult monitoring what they are consuming.

Some parents argue that some social media apps expose their children to various ills and could fuel suicide.

“I sat and watched Roblox one day. I was mortified. The theme was about suicide. The messages are repetitive almost to indoctrinate the children,” Ana Azariah said.

Now, her children are only permitted to watch TV on a big screen where she can monitor what they consume, and she has limited their tablet and cell phone use.

“We need to protect our children’s eye and ear gates.”

Pediatricians recommend children only spend up to two hours a day on social media with more time spent engaged in physical activities and face-to-face interactions.

The 8-year-old boy who died after he was found hanging was described as “intelligent and high-spirited.”

He was identified as Mariano Chery, a student of T.G Glover Primary School, a third grader.

According to police, Mariano was discovered by his brother, hanging from a security bar in his home on St Alban’s Drive.

Schools were initially closed for two days due to the effects of Hurricane Milton, but the Ministry of Education made a prompt decision to reopen schools on Thursday instead of Friday due to improved conditions.

Mariano was at home around 10am when he was discovered with a belt around his neck.

The school said in a statement that Mariano had a special interest in reading and learning. “His prospects of success were indeed promising.”

A woman believed to be his mother was seen overwhelmed with grief as she cried aloud.

Other children aware of what occurred, were led away from the scene.

After being alerted to the incident, the boy’s father accompanied him to the hospital but the boy died some time later.

Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin gave her condolences to Mariano’s family.

It is still not known if the child intentionally caused harm to himself. Police are conducting an investigation.

An 8-year-old boy died hours after he was found hanging from a security bar in his home.

Police confirmed that the boy of St Alban’s Drive died in hospital on Thursday in what police initially believe to be a ‘suspected suicide’.

A woman was seen visibly distraught as children were led away from the home.

The child was found hanging from a security bar at a home with a belt tied around his neck.

The boy’s older brother discovered his younger sibling and alerted the family and the police.

Medical personnel discovered him unresponsive with a slight pulse and attempted to resuscitate him. He was transported to the hospital in an ambulance, accompanied by his father, but he died a short time later.

Friends and family of the woman who jumped to her death are stunned, expressing regret that they perhaps could have been a listening ear had they known she needed help.

“[We’re] so sorry [that] we failed you.  We are so sorry… [We] passed you everyday and didn’t know you were hurting,” Andica Miller, a cousin lamented in a social media post.

Another cousin, Cari Forbes joined in the chorus, “My cousin, I can’t stop crying…It’s like we failed her.”

Friends have identified her as 38-year-old Chrishna Stuart, affectionately called, “Butta.”

Stuart, a security guard at the Cove, Atlantis, was found dead in waters around Paradise Island on Sunday after witnesses near the eastern area of Potter’s Cay Dock alerted police that a woman was perched atop the Sir Sidney Poitier bridge and jumped into the waters.

A boater sailed out into the waters to retrieve her, but she was pronounced dead.

Trevor Wilson pulled her from the water. The look on her face still haunts him.

“Even though I don’t know her, this will be a face I never forget.  The look she had on her face when I pulled her face out of that water…”

Stuart is a mother and is married.

“We love you Butta…my Butta. No words just tears,” Perry Bethel another relative, wept.

Coworker Giovanni Hanchell said he remembered her with a smile on her face. “This right here hurt me because she was always happy.

“My heart is broken.”

Friend Erica Corneille remembers her as a “humble soul and loving person.”

Miller hopes people will become their brother’s keeper. “Check on those family and friends that distance themselves. That call or text can go a long way. Let’s get back to uplifting each other rather than tearing each other down. You never know what silent battles people are fighting.”

A motive for the suicide remains unknown.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, call the Bahamas Crisis Center at 326-0121. Or speak to a trusted friend or clergyman.

The family of a 16-year-old boy who was found dead in an apparent suicide is grieving the loss after he was discovered on Thursday evening.

Relatives took to social media to express shock.

“[I]can’t believe [it].Daddy call[ed] me to tell me this bro. I can’t believe it. Love twin,” a sibling wrote.

Cecil Roberts said, “You hurt me.”

A family member found a sheet tied around the neck of Avyian Stubbs, a student of Doris Johnson. Police say they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

Dasa McPhee asked, “How do I say goodbye to you? How?”

Patrisha Vixamar described Stubbs as a “real one who took his leave too soon.”

Joan Stubbs said, “Please wake me up out of this nightmare. Never felt pain like this.”

Two days before his death, Stubbs posted this to social media:

If you or anyone is considering suicide, please do not hesitate to ask for help or contact the Bahamas Crisis Center at 242-328-0922.

The ex-wife of the 52-year German man found hanging on a construction site on West Bay Street says her family is “desperate” for answers.

Guna Rapa of Baldone says it is difficult to get in contact with officials to identify the beloved man.

“[We] called twenty phone numbers for the police [and] sent emails. Nobody knows anything, where the deceased is and what is the situation. We have also contacted the embassy, the answer is the same,” she lamented.

Jānis Jahimovičs, though not officially identified by authorities, is a construction worker and was found on Saturday around 3 pm, hanging by tie straps around the neck on the Wynn Construction site.

Co-workers found Jahimovičs on the second floor of the building, where he worked for Paul Wynn the developer of Wynn Construction.

Police are investigating the case as an apparent suicide.

Rapa, who was married to Jahimovičs for 14 years and shares two children with him, asked, “What should loved ones do? The children want to say goodbye instead of getting a bowl of ashes?”

She said the family still has no information on the deceased man. “Is anyone in your country interested in contacting relatives? Where [did] they put him, we don’t know.”

The man’s death came days after a 41-year-old man was found. This is the fourth suspected suicide in the last month.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from suicidal thoughts, reach out to someone who can help or contact the Bahamas Crisis Center at 242-328-0922.

The man found dead in a suspected suicide has not been officially identified but he was recognized among friends and social media users as Traevonn.

He was found at Miller’s Creek Close, Carmichael and was discovered on Tuesday afternoon. Police have not given his age but he appears to be in his 20s.

Two days before his death, Traevonn took to social media, posting what seems a trail of depressing posts, demonstrating his feelings of sadness.

On Sunday he posted, “Another problem with having a good heart is that people think you’re stupid.”

He later posted, “…at the end of the day, nobody knows how hard you work/hustle…how lonely you feel sometimes, or how much sleep you lose, or your daily pressures.”

On Saturday, his post appeared to further show a degree of helplessness and isolation. “All you need is one real supporter in your life.”

He then posted, “Depression isn’t always, ‘I’m going to kill myself.’ Sometimes it’s, ‘I’ve been in bed all day and I haven’t showered, I skipped work to sleep, What’s the point of finishing? I’m not hungry or I can’t stop eating.’”

Then he says, “Never expect to get what you give. Not everyone has a heart like you.”

In a moment of gratitude, he expressed, “I survived a lot privately this year. For that, God, I’m grateful.”

It appears the thoughts of suicide haunted Traevonn before his demise on Tuesday when his friend, Jacqueline Davilmar who expressed sorrow and disbelief at his death said, “No man Trae. You gave up like that. I thought the suicidal thoughts were gone…”

Another friend said, “…wish I had it (resources) when you were asking for help. You were on the right course, started your business and everything… It’s bugging how little situations get to our minds sometimes…”

Experts say many young people use social media to express suicidal feelings and they commit the act after sharing their thoughts on social platforms. But they might be reluctant to express their feelings with close family members or a physician.

Patron Rolle took note of Traevonn’s gloomy posts, questioning the little help he received. “How haven’t you as his friend, his homie, noticed? Yall failed him.”

She warned other users to check on the welfare of family members who use their social media walls to express their feelings, “From I see a post like this on a friend’s wall, I’m jumping in the direct message quickly.”

Oral Neely encouraged others to “learn to see people in need of love and give love.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, reach out to a trusted family member, or friend, or call a doctor for help.

You can also contact the Community Counselling and Assessment Centre at (242) 323-3293/5.

Police reported the death of a 25-year-old woman on Thursday where she was found after 8 pm in a room, at the Landshark  Hotel on West Bay Street.

Police are still investigating her death, though the initial investigation indicated a possible suicide. She was found hanging with a rope around her neck.

Who was she?

Though police are still waiting to notify the next of kin before publicly revealing her name, she has been unofficially identified as Carissa Culmer.

Carissa was adopted as a baby from the Ranfurly Home and was reared by Christian adopted parents, the father being a pastor and fisherman, and her mother, an ordained missionary.

The Culmer family has one son and she joined the family as the only girl.

As she advanced in age, Carissa faced tension with her adopted mother and was eventually taken from the home by Social Services, while maintaining a close relationship with her adopted father.

Carissa is believed to have three biological siblings, with whom she had no relationship.

In a social media post, she lamented, “Lord you heard my cry night after night just feeling so alone in this cold world. Even as a child, I would cry my eyes out to know that I have a mother that I never met and three siblings I never met.

“I felt so lost growing up because I didn’t know anything about my background. It really made it hard to stay focused,” she said.

Despite the hardship, Carissa graduated last year from Nurse’s Edge Training Institute as a patient care technician.

What was Carissa’s history with abuse?

When Carissa was released from the hostel, she was left to fend for herself and wound up in abusive relationships.

“After leaving the institution, things didn’t get any better believe it or not. I stayed with over fourteen or more people. I even found myself homeless from time to time I would stay in the club until 5 am because I had nowhere else to go,” she said.

Last year November, she pleaded for assistance in a social media post, claiming her boyfriend and father of her baby boy, often abused her and she was in fear for her life.

“I so tired. I so tired. I done lose my mind twice. Yes. Yes, I strong. I’m strong yes, but I tired. I tired. I ain’ saying I’m perfect. I’m not perfect,” she wept.

She was featured as a guest on Beyond the Headlines to tell her story of domestic abuse which led to Social Services offering help.

Carissa was invited to the Senate and sat in the gallery as senators addressed domestic violence in the country. Senate President Lashell Adderley said, “The continuous courage and fortitude demonstrated by vulnerable women like Carissa Culmer, who stand and say a resounding no to traumatic stress and pain of domestic violence, must be stopped by the enforcement of legislation, policies and procedures to eradicate gender-based violence.”

Cause of death

Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. They do not know as yet, whether or not foul play is suspected.

Audley Peters said it appeared she could have been dead for around two hours before she was discovered.

The toddler was discovered in the room where her body was found.

The boyfriend and father of the boy arrived later and was seen holding the son as he spoke with the police.

Where to get help if you face domestic abuse or contemplating suicide

Bahamas Crisis Center: (242) 328-0922

Royal Bahamas Police Force: 911, 919, (242) 322-4444

Antivirus software developer John McAfee who once accused Bahamian officials of corruption was found dead in his Barcelona prison cell on Wednesday after Spanish courts agreed to extradite him to the USA to face tax evasion charges.

Spanish officials said McAfee committed suicide and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Sandilands Rehabilitation Center confirms a woman took her life at the health facility.  The suicide remains under investigation.

What is known

• The woman is 52-years old.
• She was a patient at SRC.
• She attempted suicide on Sunday 8th.
• She was transported to the Princess Margaret Hospital by ambulance.
• The woman was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

What is unknown

• The identity of the woman has not been released.
• A motive is unknown
• Authorities have not revealed how she was discovered, neither the means by which she ended her life.