Katelyn Nicole Davis, 12, of Cedartown, Georgia, hanged herself in her garden on December 30, 2016. The heartbreaking event was live streamed by the tormented young girl. After the video went viral, police were powerless to remove it.
Katelyn reveals to her viewers in the first half of the 42-minute video that she was sexually abused by a family member. She can be seen tying a rope around a tree branch in her front yard. “I’m sorry that I’m not pretty enough,” she says with sadness on her face. I apologize for everything; I truly apologize. But I’m not going to be able to do it.” Katelyn then ties the rope around her neck, bids her friends and family farewell, and kicks a bucket out from beneath her feet.
The footage, however, does not end when her life does. It goes on for another 20 minutes before a woman shouts her name off camera. It was far too late by the time police arrived. Katelyn died at Polk Medical Center’s emergency department.
Before Katelyn was even buried, the video depicting her suicide had gone viral on the internet. The video was requested to be removed by the public, but Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd stated, “We want it down as much as anyone for the family and it may be for other kids.” He stated that they contacted various websites that had uploaded the video and requested that they remove it, but when informed that they were not required to do so by law, they simply denied the request. “But it’s just the common decent thing to do in my opinion,” he explained.
Charities would also demand that the video be removed. “These videos must be removed immediately,” said an NSPCC spokesperson. “We are pressing social media sites to do so as soon as possible.” In this case, graphic content warnings are insufficient.” There was widespread concern that impressionable and depressed children and teenagers might come across the video, which would be extremely upsetting.
Katelyn detailed the abuse she had endured on her YouTube channel, “ITZ DOLLY!!!” just days before she committed suicide. She told her audience that she had been beaten with a studded belt and sexually abused. In one video, she claims that her father neglected her and that her stepfather physically and sexually abused her.
In one video, Katelyn has an argument with her mother, who simply dismisses everything she says. Her mother would verbally abuse her daughter in front of the camera, threatening to “whip her ass.” Katelyn stated in another video that her stepfather even encouraged her to commit suicide, saying, “He told me I should go hang myself because I was worthless.” She frequently mentioned being bullied at school and being a victim of catfishing.
To say Katelyn had a difficult life would be an understatement. Investigators would state that they would be looking into Katelyn’s allegations of abuse. However, nothing came of the investigation.
Katelyn, on the other hand, posted additional videos. She was a YouTuber who would share details about her life. She would occasionally sing and crack jokes in front of the camera. She appeared to be the primary caregiver for her siblings, warning them not to “wake up” their mother in one video. In some videos, she tries to reach out to other kids who are depressed and may have felt the same way she did. In some ways, it appeared that she was looking for someone to relate to, someone who could understand how she felt. She posted videos urging people not to mock others and demonstrating her deep compassion for others.
Her videos show that she had cried out for help but nobody listened. They show a compassionate and intelligent young girl that would have excelled in life if just given the chance.