Rachael's Story

Rachael had a passion for sunglasses and lip gloss, It was her trademark. She loved animals, her friends, and especially her family to whom she was very close. It seemed Rachael could tell her parents anything. Or so they thought.

As with most teens her age, Rachael also loved to chat on the Internet with her friends. She had a MySpace account – a popular social network for kids. In April of 2006, she wrote to her Aunt Sara "I am so happy." No one would imagine that six months later, this beautiful, fun-loving teenager would end her own life.

Because of her small size, Rachael was an easy target for bullies. She seem to take everything in stride until the summer of 2006 when she began receiving threatening emails through her MySpace account. Rachael would keep this from her parents, maybe fearing they would make her close her MySpace account, or maybe she didn't want them to worry.

The emails continued, but still Rachael did not confide in her parents. Instead she told her friends how terrified she was. Later, she would tell her older sister, Peyton, about the threats, and Peyton would tell her mom and dad. When her parents, Mark and Donna, learned of the bullying, they were concerned for her safety. The emails were not the usual type of bullying. These notes had a stalking terroristic nature. Also, the person sending the emails was anonymous. Why Rachael kept going back and reading the emails no one will ever know. Maybe the fear of the unknown was worse than knowing the threat. Mark and Donna didn't ignore the problem. They went into action, taking the emails to the principal at Bullitt East High School. It was obvious that the bully was another student at the school, since the emails contained details of her movements during class and after school. The bully knew when she caught the bus and where she lived. The principal had school officials watch Rachael as she got off the bus and walked to class. But this did nothing to relieve Rachael's fear.

Desperation came early in October when Rachael received an email stating " I am not going to put you in the hospital, I am going to put you in the morgue." After receiving that email, Rachael did not want to go to school or go out with her friends.

On October 9, shortly after receiving the threatening email, Rachael took her own life.

Since Rachael had been receiving threats, her death was put under investigation by the Mt. Washington police. In the end, it was ruled a suicide. The toxicology report show no drugs or alcohol. No chemical reason for depression.

Mark and Donna feel certain that it was the cyberstalking that caused Rachael to end her life. No person was ever arrested. Even though the police know the computer from which the emails were sent there was not enough evidence to press charges.

"My little sister committed suicide October 9, 2006. Her name is Rachael Neblett. I am here to tell you a little about her. She was 17 when she died, and the most amazing girl you would ever meet. She was an out-going, loving, and caring person. You would never dream that she would do that to herself. But these days you just don't know anyone anymore.

I would take her just about everywhere she wanted to go. I took her to school when I could, and be there to pick her up. There would be times when I would let her practice driving my truck on weekends. Just watching the smile come across her face when whe was behind the wheel was the most amazing thing I have see. If she went out with friends, I was there to take her there and to pick her up. I would even talk to mom and dad to let her stay a little bit longer with her friends. She was not just my sister, she was my best friend. We would do alot of things together, and I loved that. I miss that so much today. All I have now is a big, black hole where my heart was. Because my little sister is gone, I won't be able to see her anymore--no more trips to the mall, no more smiles, hugs, late movie nights, nothing. It's gone.

How can someone ever get that back?"