TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about suicide, which may be triggering to some.
A family in Kansas thought their teenage daughter who ran away would return home, but sadly, her story has a devastating ending. Jaylee Chillson, 14, reportedly shot herself in front of a Cloud County sheriff's deputy who was trying to get her back to her family. Several witnesses saw the heartbreaking incident.
Jaylee's family alleges the teen was subjected to years of bullying and that administrators at school did nothing to help her. They believe the system failed their daughter, and now they will grieve a life gone far too soon.
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Jaylee's bullying allegedly began in seventh grade.
Her parents told The Messenger News that their daughter had trouble during middle school. She was a student at Clay Center Community Middle School in the rural community of Clay Center.
Her father, Jeb Chillson, said classmates told her to cut herself and another dumped glue in her hair. Jeb Chillson added one girl even told his daughter she would kill her. He and his wife, Stacie, brought their concerns to the school, which allegedly did nothing to stop the bullying.
The family moved Jaylee to another school, but the bullying continued.
At the beginning of her eighth grade year, Jaylee's parents said she was unhappy, and they moved her to another school in the district. At this school, the abuse from classmates reportedly became physical. Jeb Chillson told the Messenger his daughter came home with bruises.
"One of them grabbed her crotch in a sexual manner against her will," he said. "The same boy was bruising her up. He took her AirPods and stole money from her."
Although the district reportedly said the bullying would stop, it didn't.
Jaylee's parents said the bullies targeted their daughter relentlessly throughout the summer online. She saw a therapist to help her work through the difficult time, and everything seemed OK. Neither her therapist nor her family expected her to die by suicide. But on September 16, life changed forever.
Jaylee told her family she was taking a walk with their dog.
The teenager took off on a walk, but her family quickly realized she had run away. They contacted police around 11:30 p.m. September 16, and sheriff's deputies began their search. They found Jaylee at an outdoor party attended by high school and college students, KAKE reported. A deputy tried to convince Jaylee to return home, but as they were headed back to his patrol car, things took a gruesome turn.
"The deputy located the girl, and tried to convince her to return to her family," the Cloud County Sheriff's Office explained in a release. "He was escorting her to his patrol vehicle, when she pulled out a firearm and shot herself."
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The teen's death devastated her family.
Stacie Chillson took to Facebook to share her grief after her daughter's death.
"I'm angry with those that hurt my baby. I'm furious with those I KNOW hurt her and will talk about her now like they didn't play a part in crushing her. I've read days worth of messages from her 'friends' that treated her absolutely awful," the post reads. "Watched as she was not included with girls on her sports teams. Watched adults on a school level repeatedly fail her. Watched as girls that were once her best friends not even acknowledge her when she would walk by them, and watch a handful of parents who used to gush about her and how amazing she was turn to calling her names and talking badly about her to their kids.
"No one outside of our family and her [therapist] know what the last year of her life has been like," the post continues. "Please stop making assumptions, please don't judge her. And please do not, if you know YOU were part of the problem, if you knew YOUR child was part of the problem, use my daughters name now that she's gone. You don't deserve to."
Jeb Chillson told the Messenger that others are talking about similar experiences in the wake of Jaylee's death. "Tons of families have reached out to me saying that their families are experiencing the exact same problems in school. Bullying is just a terrible pandemic in this area," he said.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to help with final expenses. It has raised more than $16,000 of a $20,000 goal.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
