A 13 year old girl threw herself to her death from a freeway overpass last May. It was deliberate.

A flash of anger still cuts through me whenever I have reason to drive past the spot where this child used a suicide barrier as a launch pad. In early June it was buried in flowers, candles, photos, balloons, and messages written in chalk. After that was quietly cleared away, only IZZY spelled out in red plastic cups stuffed into the chain link fence – like pegs in a Lite-Brite board – stood as a memorial for those driving on the freeway below. By the time school started, not even that remained.

It’s the kind of story that spreads like wildfire: PUBLIC SHAMING LEADS TO GIRL’S DEATH. Hot debate on the practice of “shaming videos” made by parents soon followed, and much speculation on who first posted it online and why.