The suicide of Kelly Louise Yeomans (13 December 1983 – 28 September 1997), a 13-year-old English schoolgirl from Allenton, a suburb of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, became widespread news when the cause was blamed on

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

, to which she had been subjected by other local children.

Incident

In evidence to the court, Yeomans was described as a pleasant and friendly girl. However, she was reported to be the victim of repeated harassment and taunting, particularly about her weight. Her parents said that the incessant bullying had left Yeomans feeling miserable. Her mother asserted that she had gone to her daughter's school,

Merrill Academy Alvaston Moor Academy is a secondary school for students aged 11–16 years, located in Alvaston, Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent ...

, thirty times to complain about the issue, but received no assistance. School officials, however, claimed they had received only one complaint. Matters came to a head in September 1997, when a group of delinquent youths reportedly gathered at Yeomans's home on several consecutive nights, on each occasion throwing eggs, margarine, butter, cakes, and mud at the house and shouting taunts aimed at Yeomans. Her mother later said that the incident prompted Yeomans to tell her family, "It is nothing to do with you Daddy, nothing to do with you Mummy, and nothing to do with you Sarah er sister I have had enough and I'm going to take an overdose." The parents said they were worried and sought help for their daughter's obvious depression, but did not believe she would carry out her threat to take her own life. However, Yeomans was soon found dead in her bedroom by her father and sister after taking an overdose of co-proxamol, a painkiller her mother used for a knee problem. After they admitted having done so, five youths between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were convicted of intentionally

harassing Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...

Yeomans in the months leading up to her death. They were sentenced to attendance centre orders. For a time, Yeomans's death put the issue of child bullies and their victims into the public spotlight. In his 2003 recording '' More Jack than God'', former

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

bass guitarist

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

wrote a tribute to her – "Kelly's Blues".

Incident

References

Further reading