Bullied Girl Would Have Turned 13 Saturday
WINTER HAVEN (CBSMiami/AP) — The young girl who police said was bullied by her classmates and jumped to her death would have turned 13 Saturday.
Family and friends gathered at the grave site of Rebecca Sedwick to mark the day.
"I miss you so very much and my heart is aching for you! Not a second, a minute, an hour or a day goes by that you are not thought of," her mother Tricia Norman posted on a Facebook memorial to her daughter over the weekend.
Norman promised she was doing everything she could to bring awareness to bullying and to make sure Rebecca's tormentors were punished. She told her daughter to hug "Peepaw" in heaven and promised to bring cupcakes and ice cream to her grave.
"I did my very best to protect you and now I feel like I failed that very important job that God gave me," her mom wrote in a heartfelt message.
About a month ago, Rebecca decided she couldn't take the bullying anymore and jumped to her death at an abandoned concrete plant.
It was a Facebook comment posted after her death by one of her alleged tormentors that led authorities to arrest two girls in the case. The girls, 14 and 12, were charged with third-degree felony aggravated stalking.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd summarized the posting he said was written by one of the suspects.
"'Yes, I bullied Rebecca and she killed herself but I don't give a ...' and you can add the last word yourself," he said.
Friends of Rebecca said being together made the sad birthday a little easier.
"Waking up this morning was really hard," Alecia Wilkins told Bay News 9. "To think that it was her birthday and we wouldn't have an actual party with her being there is really hard."
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