Bullied To Death: 10-Year-Old Houston Boy Takes His Own Life

KATY, TX — Kevin Reese Jr., a 10-year-old fifth grader at Robinson Elementary School, got off the bus for the last time on Jan. 21 with his big sister. His mom was out of town, and his stepfather was on his way home from work.

Kevin went into his room, tossing his books and backpack onto his bed. Several minutes later, Kevin's mother, Crystal Smith received a phone call from her daughter that struck her at her core.

Her daughter, in a panic, was screaming into the phone that Kevin, her smiling little boy who loved art and painting, had hanged himself, Smith told Houston ABC affiliate news station KTRK.

In a moment that will stick with her the rest of her life, Smith told her daughter to stay on the line, to cut her brother down and then call 911. She did as she was told, but it was too late for the little boy who'd endured a constant barrage of bullying at his elementary school of a period of months.

Kevin is among a disturbingly long list of children who have chosen suicide to escape relentless bullying. For the past two years, a Patch national reporting project — inspired in particular by children like Kevin who felt so hopeless that they chose to take their own lives — has brought awareness to the terrible toll bullying takes on America's youth.

One in three students is bullied in some form by their peers, according to No Bully, the largest anti-bullying advocacy group in the country. No Bully calls that an epidemic.

"When one in three kids is involved in a bullying situation on a daily basis, you know that's epidemic proportion," Erik Stangvik, No Bully's vice president for development and strategy, told Patch earlier this year. "If this was something brought to the CDC and one in three people were getting some kind of disease, that would be an epidemic. We see this as such, so we're constantly speaking to how we can eradicate this."

'I Just Want To Find An Answer'

By Jan. 21, Kevin decided he had enough.

"Everything was not real. I was in a place where I just couldn't move," Smith told KTRK.

Kevin was a seemingly happy boy, and a typical fifth grader, but inside, he was sad and tormented.

He struggled each day as he dealt with kids at his school who scrawled hateful messages on his tablet and told him he didn't belong and he should "kill himself."

One day in November, the bullying turned physical, and Kevin came home in tears. One of the boys punched him on the way in from recess and he just wouldn't fight back, his mother said.

Kevin reported the bullying to the school, but the other boy denied a fight had taken place, KTRK reported. Nothing else was done, and just a few weeks later Kevin was dead.

It's been just over two months since Kevin took his own life. His backpack and books, with his student ID badge attached, are where he left them on the day he died.

Smith can't bear the thought of moving those things, and she desperately wishes her boy was still with her.

"I just want to find the answer, what happened that day, what was going through his mind," she said.

Smith told KTRK that she hopes sharing Kevin's story will spur other families to sit down and talk about bullying and suicide prevention.

If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide, or would like emotional support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255.

The Bully Menace: A Patch Series

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you concerned about how your local schools handle bullies and their victims?

Email us at bullies@patch.com and share your views in the comments.

Earlier In This Series

• Bullied To Death: When Kids Kill With Words
• America's Shameful Truth About School Shooters And Bullying
• Girl-To-Girl Bullying: Why It’s Different, Difficult To Confront
• Bully Upstander: Whatever He Said Caused Bullies To Back Down
• Patch Partners With No Bully To Eradicate Bullying
• Bullying Caused 11-Year-Old To Attempt Suicide, Mother Says
• Bullied 10-Year-Old's Suicide 8th In School District This Year
• Cyberbullying Is Now Against The Law In Michigan
• Shooting Incident Linked To Bullying At School, Mom Says
• Girls More Likely Than Boys To See Bullying As Harmful: Study
• 13-Year-Old Hangs Herself, But Bullying Killed Her
• 3-Week Nightmare: How Bullying Pushed My Son To Run Away
• Teen Tells Bullies In Video: 'Every Day, I Wear Your Words'
• 'The Hero Myth': Why Expecting Kids To Fight Bullies Is Harmful
• 'Mr. Anti-Bully': Reformed Bully, 12, Sets Mistake Right
• Mallory Grossman Bullying Detailed In Wrongful Death Suit
• Malden Schools Were Non-Compliant Through Bullying Saga: DOE
• 'They All Failed And Changed A Child': Malden Bullying Detailed
• Mom Speaks About Bullying Heartbreak: 'I Feel I Failed Him'
• Why These Kindergartners Start Each Day With A Handshake
• The Bully Menace: 'The Hurt Never Goes Away'
• Bullies And Their Targets The Same: Digital Self-Harm Rising
• Boy, 6, Overcomes Bullying, Heart Condition To Spread Kindness
• Williamsburg Poetry Teacher Helps Bullied Kids Open Tortured Minds
• Bullying Tougher To Confront When It's Bias-Based: Researchers
• Bullied New Hampshire 5th Grader Makes Tearful Plea
• The Bully Menace: 13 Age-Appropriate Reads
• Teen's 'I Wear Your Words' Video Inspires Nashville Songwriters
• Bullying Caused 11-Year-Old To Attempt Suicide, Mother Says

From The Experts

• 'The Anti-Bully': Talk And, Especially, Listen To Your Kids
• The Bully Menace: Patch Experts Offer Tips To Parents
• Anti-Bully Experts Offer Tips On Sometimes Deadly Encounters
• Understanding The Bully: They're Often Victims, Too, Experts Say

What We've Learned

• The Bully Menace: What Patch Has Learned About Childhood Torture