Police say criminal charges have been brought against a juvenile in Michigan after an 11-year-old boy killed himself following what the boy’s mother claims was a social media prank.

Authorities in Marquette, Michigan, confirm that charges of malicious use of a telecommunication services and using a computer to commit a crime have been brought against an unidentified juvenile after the boy was found unresponsive from a suicide attempt on March 14.

Marquette police declined to identify either juvenile involved and said only that the boy who died was “engaged in communication with another juvenile via social media prior to the incident.”

However, Katrina Goss tells PEOPLE it was her son Tysen Benz who tried to kill himself that March day – though he did not die until this week.

Goss claims that the charges have been brought against a girl that Tysen knew, who faked her own suicide on social media as a prank and thus triggered her own son’s successful attempt.

Goss says the accused juvenile was Tysen’s girlfriend.

(PEOPLE attempted Thursday to reach the girl that Goss claims has been charged but was not immediately successful.)

Tysen’s mom says the accused juvenile allegedly faked her own suicide using various social media sites and also allegedly used social media accounts of her friends to circulate the rumor of her suicide.

An hour into her prank, Tysen hung himself, his mom claims. Goss says she found him on March 14 and that emergency response teams managed to resuscitate him. Machines kept Tysen alive for weeks after his suicide attempt, but he died in a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Tuesday.

“We had to let him pass on,” Goss says. “He was severely brain-damaged and the doctors told us he would never recuperate, that it wasn’t even really him anymore. I was at his bedside for three weeks. We are utterly devastated and we will never get over it.

“He was amazing – an amazing athlete who was super fun and had a great sense of humor. He was extremely social; the whole community is upset.”

Goss alleges that her son contacted the girl’s friends, expressing his thoughts of suicide – but she allegedly kept up the ruse.

“She did nothing to contact me or the authorities,” Goss tells PEOPLE. “I truly don’t know what the point of this prank was. I don’t even know how that’s supposed to be funny, especially if she cared about him at all. I am not sure how that could be a joke. She must have severe psychological issues to go forward with something like that and to keep the joke going even after he told her he was going to kill himself.”

Goss says Tysen will be buried next week following services scheduled for Tuesday. She says she is trying to keep things together for her other sons, ages 10 and 14.

Of the girl whom she claims is responsible, Goss says “she’s intelligent enough to know right from wrong.”

Goss says for months, she tried reaching out to the girl’s father and aunt several times, asking that she cease all communication with her son. But “they blew it off,” she claims.

“He was 11 – little kids don’t need to worry about that stuff,” Goss says. “These kids don’t even think what they’re doing online is real. They don’t comprehend the magnitude of their words and how their actions can impact other people. Parents need to monitor their children’s online activities so things like this don’t happen.”

A GoFundMe campaign for Tysen’s medical expenses has thus far raised over $30,000.

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com

International Business Times

Grieving mother claims her 11-year-old son killed himself after ‘girlfriend faked suicide’ in prank

Jordan Bhatt,International Business Times 16 hours ago

Tysen Benz

A grieving mother has claimed that her 11-year-old son killed himself after his 13-year-old girlfriend faked her own death as part of a social media prank.

Tysen Benz, 11, died at hospital on Tuesday (4 April), after he was found hanged almost a month ago.

He had started dating a girl in secret after buying a phone without his mother’s knowledge.

Now his mother, Katrina Goss from Marquette, Wisconsin, has spoken out to allege that the girlfriend faked her death as a prank with her friends.

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She had made it look like she had killed herself, Goss said, and used other friends and their social media accounts to add authenticity.

“So, he believed her and said: ‘I’m going to kill myself.’ I’m quite angry,” Goss said to the New York Post.

“I feel like, yeah, they’re young and all that… you’re completely knowledgeable of your choices and you know right from wrong. You can make your own choices.

“I don’t feel like it should be taken lightly,” she said, adding those involved must be held “legally responsible for this horrific prank”.

Captain Mike Kohler, of the Marquette Police Department, confirmed an investigation into Tysen’s death is underway, but declined to comment directly on Goss’ allegations.

Precisely what motivated the prank is unclear, Goss said.

William Saunders, superintendent of Marquette Area Public Schools, said in a statement that it had few details because the incident happened away from school grounds, but that officials were cooperating with investigators.

He also warned that young students need to be careful online.

“Many of us have followed Tysen’s mother on social media and agree wholeheartedly in her statements regarding the dangers of social media,” Saunders said. “After the gut-wrenching loss of a student we ask ourselves, ‘How can we do more?'”

More than $30,000 (£24,000) had been raised by in a GoFundMe campaign created shortly after he was hospitalised.

The Samaritans provides a free support service for those who need to talk to someone in the UK and Republic of Ireland. It can be contacted via Samaritans.org or by calling 116 123 (UK) or 116 123 (ROI), 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, please contact a free support service atMind.org.uk or call 0300 123 3393. Call charges apply.

Associated Press

Michigan boy, 11, hangs himself after social media prank

COREY WILLIAMS,Associated Press 5 hours ago

DETROIT (AP) — Tysen Benz was at home when he saw social media posts indicating that his 13-year-old girlfriend had committed suicide. The posts were a prank, but the 11-year-old boy apparently believed them.

Moments later, his mother found him hanging by the neck in his room in Marquette, Michigan. Now a prosecutor is pursuing criminal charges against a juvenile accused of being involved in the scheme, which Katrina Goss described as “a twisted, sick joke.”

Goss described her son as appearing “fine” just 40 minutes before she found him.

“I just want it be exposed and be addressed,” Goss said of school bullying in general and cyberbullying in particular. “I don’t want it be ignored.”

Using a cellphone he bought without his mother’s knowledge, Tysen on March 14 was reading texts and other messages about the faked suicide and decided he would end his life too, his mother said.

After seeing the posts about his girlfriend, Tysen replied over social media that he was going to kill himself, and no one involved in the prank told an adult, Goss said.

The boy died Tuesday at a Detroit-area hospital.

Authorities would not release the age of the juvenile charged or comment on what relationship the person had with Tysen. The juvenile is being charged with malicious use of telecommunication services and using a computer to commit a crime.

The girl whose death was faked and friends who were in on the prank attended the same school as Tysen, Goss said. Even though the prank occurred outside of school, she said, the school should have done more to protect her son.

“The principal, the assistant principal — that’s their job, especially for little kids,” she said. “Kids take things to heart.”

In a statement released Thursday, Marquette Area Public Schools Superintendent William Saunders agreed with Goss’s concerns about the dangers of social media. He said the district has been educating students and parents through its health curriculum, health fairs, community forums and other efforts.

“After the gut-wrenching loss of a student, we ask ourselves, ‘How can we do more?'” Saunders wrote.

Most states, including Michigan, have enacted legislation designed to protect children from bullies.

Michigan’s anti-bullying act, signed in 2011 by Gov. Rick Snyder, requires school districts to have anti-bullying policies on the books. It was known as “Matt’s Safe School Law” after Matt Epling, a 14-year-old who killed himself after a 2002 hazing incident.

The law was updated two years ago to direct school districts to add language to those policies that address cyberbullying.

Former Republican state Rep. Phil Potvin, who sponsored the original bill, said schools have a responsibility to do more than include anti-cyberbullying rules in their written policies.

“They have to have a person — spelled out — to make sure that policy is followed,” said Potvin, of Cadillac in northern Michigan. “Some schools have failed to do that. They may have put something in, but there is no follow-up. There is no checking up on these things.”

In 2006, Megan Meier committed suicide after a woman who lived in her family’s neighborhood in St. Charles County, Missouri, encouraged the 13-year-old to kill herself. The woman had created a fake MySpace admirer named “Josh,” who befriended Megan.

The woman was convicted in a California federal court of three misdemeanors, but a judge overturned the conviction.

Pranks “definitely happen,” said Tina Meier, who runs a national bullying and cyberbullying prevention foundation named after her daughter.

“The problem is when they are pranking somebody … to them it’s just been a joke,” Meier said. “To the other person, it’s been real.”

Grieving mother claims her 11-year-old son killed himself after ‘girlfriend faked suicide’ in prank

Michigan boy, 11, hangs himself after social media prank

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