When Stacy Conner picked up her daughter Ashlynn from her elementary school the day before she died, she found the 10-year-old in tears, a drastic change from the bubbly fifth-grader who had hopped out of her car that morning.
Ashlynn told her mother she had been picked on by the same group of girls who had been harassing her all week on the playground of Georgetown Ridge Farm Elementary School in Georgetown, Ill.
Kids had bullied Ashlynn for years, calling her a “{word meaning one who engages in sexual acts for financial compensation has been redacted},” “fat,” and “ugly,” so that day’s incident seemed relatively minor to Stacy: The girls had poked fun at Ashlynn’s initials, “A.C.,” saying it sounded like “air conditioner.”
Three different teachers at the school had told Ashlynn to “stop tattling” after she reached out for help, the girl told her mother. It was the Thursday before Veterans Day, and Stacy told Ashlynn she should go straight to the principal the following Monday if the bullying continued.
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