Gabriel Taye's mom: 'I feel he was cheated'

Previous reporting:Video of Gabriel Taye incident, CPS to release video, Students beat him, others kicked him, Youth suicides rising in Hamilton County.

The mother of Gabriel Taye urged parents to “help fix this epidemic in our society” that she said took her 8-year-old son’s life in a Jan. 26 suicide two days after another student assaulted him at Carson Elementary School.

Separately, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Saturday his office has opened a review of Gabriel's death and wants to examine a computer Gabriel owned for any clues.

“I am my son’s voice, and it will be heard,” said a statement from Gabriel's mother, Cornelia Reynolds of Cincinnati. “It is my obligation to make sure that this will never happen again. No, this will not go away. People need to know the truth and help fix this epidemic in our society by spreading awareness and speaking up.

“Parents: It is OK to tell your children to reach for help when someone is hurting them, whether it is at school, outside, home, or anywhere.”

Reynolds issued the statement Friday evening, hours after Cincinnati Public Schools released a 23-minute security-camera video from Carson Elementary in West Price Hill. The video shows the entrance to a boys’ restroom over the noon hour Jan. 24.

Saturday morning, Hamilton County Prosecutor Deters said his office is looking into the incident. "We are all over it," he said.

Deters said his office wants to look at a notebook computer that Gabriel owned “to see if there’s any indication on it of what had happened to him. It’s just so bizarre to everyone who’s looked at this thing. How could an 8-year-old do this?”

Deters said he has assigned Mark Piepmeier, first assistant prosecutor in the office’s criminal division, to handle the case. Deters said his office is working with Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco, who on Thursday reopened her investigation into Gabriel’s death.

“Obviously, we’re her counsel on this, and we’re available for anything she needs,” he said. “These are very delicate areas when dealing with juveniles.” According to Deters, CPS officials “have been very cooperative."

“It’s just heart-breaking,” Deters said. “The whole thing is sickening.”

A week after Gabriel's death, a Cincinnati police homicide detective investigated and reviewed the video with a CPS security officer. The detective, although he called the incident bullying that bordered on criminal assault, left the matter to CPS. Police spokesman Lt. Steve Saunders declined questions about the investigation because the Hamilton County coroner has reopened her review of the facts.

In the video, Gabriel Taye walks into the restroom and reaches out to shake hands with another student. That student instead pulls Gabriel into the restroom wall, and Gabriel drops to the ground. The other student disappears. For more than six minutes, Gabriel does not move as other students poke, kick, touch or walk past his unmoving form. Then the assistant principal arrives, joined by other adults. They get Gabriel on his feet, and he walks away with them.

Reynolds said she got a call from the school to pick Gabriel up because he had fainted. She said the school did not tell her that her child had been assaulted. Later that night, he began vomiting. She took him to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated and released the next morning as a case of stomach flu. He stayed home from school that day but returned to Carson Elementary the next day, Jan. 26. That evening, he hanged himself with his tie from his bunk bed.

On Friday, leaders of the Ohio Senate asked that chamber’s education committees to look into the matter.

Gabriel’s death was the first youth suicide in Hamilton County this calendar year and came amid a county outbreak of such deaths. The usual number of youth suicides is about five every year in Hamilton County. But last year, there were 13 deaths by suicide in people 18 and under. So far this year, there have been seven. Experts say bullying at school and through social media has escalated and is a major risk factor for suicide.

This past week, The Enquirer learned of the existence of the Jan. 24 video at Carson Elementary, asked CPS for a copy and published a story about it. Initially, CPS declined to release the video, then it relented Friday.

Gabriel’s death has triggered an international outcry — The Enquirer received an email from a Rotary Club member in Perth, Australia. The lawyers representing his mother, Jennifer Branch of Cincinnati and Carla Leader of Loveland, have been issuing statements this week under her name. Friday evening, Cornelia Reynolds responded to calls of support.

“Gabriel was a shining light to everyone who knew and loved him. We miss him desperately and suffer every day,” her statement said. “His life was not only stolen from him but from those of us who expected to watch him grow up and enjoy life. If I could, I would give anything to have him back. I feel he was cheated. I feel robbed. My only child, my best friend and my first true love isn't here with us physically, but I know he's here in spirit.”

The statement used the hashtag #IAmGabe and added that Gabriel’s last name is pronounced “TIE-ay.”

A GoFundMe online account that Reynolds opened in January to pay funeral expenses then closed has been reopened: https://www.gofundme.com/gabriel-reynolds

Warning signs of suicide

People who are wrestling with thoughts of suicide give off indicators. Here are a few things to watch for, and if you see them, ask if help is needed immediately.

• Talking to others or posting on social media about suicide, about wanting to die or about feeling hopeless or trapped or a burden to others. 
• Looking for ways to die by suicide -- gathering medication, sharp objects, firearms, or looking online for methods.
• Expressing unbearable emotional pain.
• Visiting or calling people to "say good-bye."
• Giving away prized possessions.
• Suddenly becoming calm or cheerful after a long period of depression.

Resources for youth and adolescent mental health care

• Talbert House's 24-hour hotline line: 513-281-CARE (2273). 
• Talbert House's 24-hour text line: Send the phrase 4hope to 839863
• The state of Ohio has a 24-hour text line: Send the phrase 4hope to 741741
• Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio: 859-431-1077
• Mental Health Access Point mobile crisis line: 513-558-8888. 
• Mindpeace, at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 513-803-0844.
• SEAS the Day, dania@seasthedayfoundation.org, 513-212-6631
• Mental Health Recovery Services of Warren & Clinton Counties: 1-877-695-6333.