Fil-Am girl kills self, apparently after online shaming by her father

By: INQUIRER.net US Bureau

TACOMA, Washington — A 13-year-old Filipino American girl committed suicide by jumping off a bridge into a busy interstate highway Friday, May 29 at 5 p.m. apparently after being publicly shamed on social media by her father for a reason still unknown.

Izabel Laxamana’s father cut off the teen’s long and flowing black hair and posted the video online, deciding it was the proper punishment for the offense, reported Inquisitr.com.

The video it shows the girl with her newly chopped off hair as she stands next to a pile of her beautiful black locks on the floor.

However, the public humiliation and punishment apparently took an emotional toll on the child, who committed suicide just days after the video was uploaded online. Izabel, who attended Giaudrone Middle School in Tacoma, exited the passenger seat of her grandmother’s vehicle, climbed over the bridge railing, and jumped “without hesitation,” landing on a car below.

The News Tribune reports that she died in a Seattle hospital on Saturday.

Since the incident, friends and parents who knew “Izzy” have taken to social media to express their disbelief and sadness over her death.

Extra counselors were at Giaudrone Middle School in Tacoma on Monday, following Laxamana’s weekend death, school district officials said.

Tacoma police reported that the incident occurred at the South 48th Street bridge over Interstate 5. She was taken to a Seattle hospital, where she died Saturday. On Monday, the King County Medical Examiners’ office ruled the death a suicide.

Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel said that counselors met with staff before school started Monday to coach them in how to talk to students about the girl’s death. He said district counselors and police and fire department chaplains were meeting with students in small groups.

Giaudrone staff and students were also informed about a request from the dead student’s mother for privacy during the family’s time of grief. She asked that the family not be contacted