Content warning: suicide.
Cherish every moment.
That is a saying we just keep taking for granted.
Another second is never promised.
Sometimes we check ourselves when the death of the young happens.
The unfairness of it all is almost too much to handle.
Let's share some stories.
And maybe learn to appreciate life a little more.
Redditor deadmoby5 wanted to see who would be willing to share about the not-so-great days in school. They asked:
"Has anyone ever died at your school/college/university? What happened to them?"
Death is inevitable, but it's intended to be much later in life.These stories are so sad.
Fallen
"Yes, in front of the whole school. I was maybe 10 yo or younger. The girl was 6 or 7. Everybody was gathering for the national anthem. She just fell on the floor dead. I think it was something on her brain, I'm not sure."
Fun_Computer_8401
"Probably a brain aneurysm."
dndaresilly
Very messed up...
"Someone jumped in front of a train. He had a horrible home situation where his dad died and the mom was on the verge of dying. He was really close with the teachers so they were crying all the time. Very messed up. My mom had a friend that got driven over by a truck. They were waiting for the light and this truck backed up with them in the blindspot. My mom doesn't like trucks anymore."
onixdog
broken cable...
"A guy I know was working on a dredge when a cable broke, cut the top of his head off and his brain popped in the water just before him. It took 4 days to find his body."
"P.S. always wear a hard hat when in a construction site."
WokeUp2
"Hard hat might not have saved him. I have seen countless pics of fatalities from motorcycle accidents where the helmet just prevented brain spillage. The brain still came out of the skull."
Nairbfs79
'tripped'
"When I was a sophomore in high school a girl who I only slightly knew dropped dead during a soccer game. While I wasn’t in attendance I knew a few who were. She was on the team and running when she 'tripped' with a hard fall. She didn’t move at all or try to pick herself up so the ref, coach and medics came to her aid."
"She was stone cold dead, her parents weren’t at the game as she was a junior and had her own car. I can only imagine that phone call. We learned later that she had a brain aneurysm and was likely dead before she hit the ground. She was a very promising student, in a lot of clubs and very friendly. It’s crazy to think at any point that can happen to anyone."
GellertsEyes
Behind the Wheel
"A senior girl died in a car accident my freshman year, fell asleep behind the wheel. The school made it a whole thing. A friend of mine died in car accident (he had a heart attack while driving) our junior year and he got ignored."
carmelacorleone
Well this is a lot to take in. So young. So much sadness.
Oh Lord
"My class administrator of my electrician course. It was a TIFU because when I entered class, everyone looked very sad."
"I asked 'Gee, who died?'"
"The answer was 'Mr. CA.'"
"My answer was 'F***, I was only kidding.'"
Khaos_Gorvin
babies
"A set of twin boys died from leukemia. I was probably about 8 when the first one passed and then 10. Idk what specific one it was because I was young myself."
fauxfomo
"I remember we had a set of identical twins at my school they were teenagers girls and both had leukaemia as well, both died in the same year. It was really really sad for our community."
Any-Difficulty-8694
Not Sure
"In my elementary school this girl died in first grade and I don’t actually know what happened but there are two memorials for her: one is three trees, two benches, and two places to play chess that no one uses to play chess, and a statue of her old dog. Yeah, idk either."
"There was another girl who was my best friend at the time who died when she was in first grade and she died by falling off a tree and cracking her head open. She was put under a medically induced coma and never woke up. She didn’t get a memorial."
unicornGenocide12334
Lies?
"Our teacher always told us that a girl fell and got run over by other students while a fire drill happened. We never figured out if she was lying or not but she looked a little bit too serious for my taste."
thatwasmyfoota**hole
Wild Days
"My school was wild. None legit in school but in general. Someone my age died in... kindergarten? Idk who they were but a seat was left open at graduation for her. In high school someone a year younger had cancer. Someone in my grade committed suicide over the summer. Some guy was chopped up by a boat (idk boat parts but it was the back thing). A dad went crazy with his wife and middle school daughter."
"Then every year in high school we had a safety week for the last week of school and one major part was a girl who was killed by a drunk driver in 2012 when I was 12. Since I graduated in 2018 I think there's been 3 or 4 deaths of people I knew and 1 or 2 current students."
ItsNowDaisy
This was back in 1998...
"This girl who was my friend in my primary school (In UK ages 5 - 11) class died one weekend when she went to the local fairground. The roller-coaster she went on had a faulty safety bar. Going round the track it came loose and she fell out. This was back in 1998. She was only 8 years old."
"I actually happened to accidentally visit her grave in my home village where the school is located just the other week. (we were taking a walk as it was a lovely day and came upon the graveyard) so I went and said hello. Was quite emotional as I had my 2 year old daughter with me."
ZPM89
One Weekend
"A PhD student in our department went water skiing one weekend. The tether he was on became tangled, and he was pulled under the boat, where he drowned. I'll admit, I didn't know this guy particularly well, so I didn't feel overly sad from this, but it was still a shocker."
"It was also strange seeing everyone with whom you work, including professors, suddenly switch from being professional to being upset. I honestly didn't know how to respond to it."
deadmoby5
Everyime
"A girl in my high school committed accidental suicide. Sort of. Every time her bf broke up with her she overdosed and told him she was trying to kill herself, and every time he called an ambulance and got back with her. But the last time they broke up he told her he was actually done and not to do anything stupid because he wasn't going to answer his phone."
"And he shut his phone off, and the next day he found out she overdosed. She had texted him after she took the pills like she always did but his phone had been off and he didn't get the text. Her family blamed him and put him through hell."
TRANSparent-Ink
first year of university...
"When I was in my first year of university, a kid committed suicide in his room in the student dorms. He was at a party with his friend and left saying 'I'm away guys, I'll see you all later' (or something to that effect) and no one knew what he meant. In the same year, a kid I went to school with when I was a bit younger died after some internal bleeding in his head."
"He had walked into a shop when there was an armed robbery happening, got his nose broke when the guy hit his face with the handle of the gun. He avoided going to hospital because he didn't want to be put on painkillers since he was preparing to go to the navy. The nose break caused bleeding from the brain and he died alone in his flat a few days later."
Cyanide_Revolver
"going places"
"There was a guy I went to school with who was very bright, funny, and was one of the ones you could tell was really 'going places.' We spent an afternoon chatting in an abandoned auditorium once and he was just a nice guy. Had an aneurism and now needs constant care and is severely mentally disabled. Just out of nowhere. He was healthy. Terrifying."
sylvanwhisper
Tragic
"I'm a senior in HS right now, and every school year (without fail) at least one of the our teachers will commit suicide. Every year. None of us know the reasoning behind any of their passings, for the most part. One of the teachers that committed suicide was an AP World History/European history teacher who was exposed (for lack of a better word) as being a pedophile."
"And having inappropriate relationships with students. The same day everyone found out about the investigation is the same day it’s reported that he committed suicide. But, other than that, we don’t know why our teachers keep killing themselves. It is very tragic."
kai-lan
Falling Back
"A girl at my high school. She was ripped apart and eaten by dogs. She went round to a friends house, which was a proper council estate death trap. Her friend wasn’t in so she decided to let herself in and go sit in the garden. She was eating a pie at the time and her friends 5 dangerous dogs were in the garden."
"One of them jumped to get the pie out of her hand, knocking her over in the process. Once she fell on the ground pack instinct kicked in and they all dived on her and ripped her throat out. The neighbors were the first to see the remains and call the police. The dogs were all shot on sight."
dave-505
In the Trunk
"This kid I knew in high school was murdered by his girlfriend's ex boyfriend. He beat him, put him in a trunk and drove him to a cave, he then pointed a gun at him and told him he would kill him unless he swore to never see her again. This guy, was much older maybe 21 and the kid was only 15, the girl, 14."
"He ended up killing him and then killing himself. The 15 year old boy lived just long enough to say what happened. So, he didn’t die AT the school, but he was beat up and put in the trunk at the school."
AccomplishedAd6025
Head first...
"Yeah. Um- This kid- middle school- we had a two story middle school which the second story was a inside balcony if you could call it… Group of boys went Up to him and cornered him and told him to jump. They even went as far as giving him a lift. I guess the poor boys hand slipped and he fell over. Head first. At least 40 feet. There was a crack in the tile downstairs where he landed. May him and his beautiful soul rest. God bless that boy and his family."
Altenalo
DOA
"Girl living in a house off-campus was shot by police, who were responding to an armed break in at that same house. I almost lived in that house, but chose a different one up the street. My house too was robbed at gun point, though the perps got away before police arrived."
Mitch_from_Boston
That is a lot of tragedy. I'm sorry for everyone's loss.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
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Teachers Who've Had To Tell Their Class A Student Passed Away Share Their Experiences
*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
When a sudden tragedy strikes a school, an uncanny tone sweeps across the community.
The whispers of half-informed students fly down hallways and across cafeterias. Each is heard with a balance of eager interest and mournful respect.
Teachers act strangely. They hold secrets and quietly argue about how to deliver the tragic news. The chain of command is strained under the unique circumstances.
When a student dies, all decorum subsides.
Perhaps wondering what that environment feels like, Redditor ThatOneLazySushi asked:
"Teachers who had to tell their class a student passed away, what was it like?"
Many teachers talked about the times a student or students chose to take their own lives.
The moral of the story? There is simply no way to deliver that news without an injection of trauma.
So Young
"My step-dad is a private school principal who also taught 7-8th graders. Total class size was 21 or so. Over the weekend one of the 13yo died of apparent suicide. I have never seen him so pale and empty looking when he got home that day."
"You could tell he had been crying along with the students. In his 30 years he had never dealt with anything like that and he shut down for a good while. He never saw a counselor but set it up for the students. I wish he would."
A Faceless Note
"On the 2nd day that I was in my own doing student teaching, the school went into lockdown. As this was just over a year after 911, the class, a senior Government class, surmised that it had something to do with that. There has been 2 suicides of dropped-out students in the prior 2 weeks, but that did not come up."
"Then a note was slipped under the door stating that a senior, the girlfriend to one of the prior suicides, had killed herself that morning. The option was given to announce it or have someone come down from the office to do it."
"I guess they could see my concern, and the color draining from my face while reading it, as I was asked, 'Mr. D——, what's going on?' I told them, and it was heartbreaking. There was a lot of anger and a lot of tears. It has been nearly 20 years and it still haunts me."
"In hindsight, it was, to quote the Johnny Cash song A Boy Named Sue, a Get Tough Or Die moment. I've lost 5 current/former students since then, but none were as dark as the first one."
-- mattd1972
Probably the Best Response
"I used to teach English in China as an expat. The college I worked at had three suicides in a year, one of the students was in my department. Although I didn't teach the student directly, the tone of the students and my colleagues were extremely gloom."
"Although tragic, the topic of mental health had been on the forefront of school business after the third incident and a therapy office for students has been established in the administration building. I was very proud of my school for taking mental health seriously, and had a discussion with my students about the issue. I kept my office open for any students wanting to talk."
"AFAIK no other suicide/attempt was made for the remainder of my time there (~1 year afterward). Flowers were set up at the location."
Cumulative Tragedy
"Worst day of my career. A student of mine shot himself the night before. The SRO told me that morning. The principal made an announcement over the intercom for all of my students to come to my room and instructed me to tell everyone about his passing while all the admin and district and school counselors watched."
"His best friend just got out of a mental hospital for cutting himself. He was sitting right next to me when I spoke to the class. I instructed one of the counselors to not let the best friend out of their sight for any reason. 30 minutes later, the counselor informs me the best friend has gone missing."
"I search the school and find him, razor in hand, and a bloody mess. I take the razor and hold him with one arm while calling his dad with the other. It was a long and terrible day."
Other teachers recalled times that a student suffered at the hands of community violence. These stories took place in areas where, unfortunately, despite the sadness it wasn't completely shocking.
A Constellation of Factors
"A student of ours was shot and killed. It happened just as quarantine had started so no students to tell. Just the teachers and staff."
"I had talked to the student no more than a week before everything shut down. We had threatened to call CPS on the mother because she had several children not going to school at all. We also suspected she was under the influence of drugs. He came in because of this threat and had told us his twin had been shot during a party and died. Most likely gang related for both of the shootings."
"It's difficult because these were 16-year-olds that should have had a better shot at life but the system failed them every step of the way."
-- Xurroz
Window Cleaners Share The Best Things They've Ever Seen | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Last to Hear
"Used to teach in inner-city Chicago. Never had a student die, but several of them got shot. The kids knew well before I did."
"I actually had one student missing for three days; I mentioned it out loud that it was odd they weren't in class for three days in a row, and one of my kids said, 'Oh, Joe got shot seven times. You didn't know?' "
"Pretty harrowing stuff. It's tough to sleep those days off, especially considering how casual the kids would be about it."
Feels So Random
"A classmate from first period in my Jr. year of high school. The teacher just walked in to class and explained that this chick was shot in a drive by at the park."
"I just remember being super uncomfortable and not knowing what to do. The chick that sat behind her in class just lost it. Just shocked looked on her face, and she just started bawling. I'm sure she went home after that."
"I took flowers to the place ware she died. I didn't know her that well at all really. But I thought to myself 'even if you may not feel it, it's always good to pay your respects.' So I did."
-- DudeIMaBear
Senseless
"My wife works in a high needs area that is plagued with gang violence. A few years back 4 students were found brutally murdered in the woods (MS13 hit). 2 of them were her students It was highly publicized and everyone knew before the next school day (I believed it happened over a long weekend or a school break)."
"For her breaking news wasn't hard but dealing with the fallout was heartbreaking. Sadness, fear and anxiety not just because of the murders but because of the extreme attention it received (it was highly politicized on the state and national level). Many students are afraid of the gangs but they are also afraid of the police and other authorities. The student body is incredibly vulnerable."
Finally, some people discussed the sudden medical tragedies that took place. Without any backstory, context, or logic to share, delivering this news felt sickening.
Just, Gone
"I was a student in a 2nd grade class where this happened. One of my classmate's older brothers had collapsed in the cafeteria. We all saw it. Our teacher had to come in and tell us the little information she knew and I distinctly remember her crying and having to leave the room."
"Days later when the brother was taken off life support they brought in child psychologists to tell us about brain death and life support machines and the hard decision his parents had to make. As an adult I really appreciate the care the school took to make sure everything was explained in a child appropriate manner."
"There was no gossip or whispering because they told us everything that happened. Our teachers even brought us to the funeral, explaining that although it would be sad it was important to show our classmate our support. A horrible situation that was handled as well as it could be given how young we were."
Just Being Kids
"(Student) In middle school I had a friend and his brother die from an electrocution accident from a downed power line after a storm. It was 2 brothers one in 6th grade and one in 5th."
"Everyone was acting weird that day and no one really knew why. Kids were crying and walking out of class, it kind of threw off our whole school day. I remember one of our teacher telling us what happened and got really emotional."
"Apparently a kid who went to our school witnessed what happened too and she basically said don't ask him questions about the situation. It hit her close to home for some reason I don't know why, she couldn't even speak without crying. I knew my old classmate a little bit and we shared a class. He was a really nice kid. RIP to him & his brother."
-- oboa41
A Horrifying Fluke
"My son was in the 3rd or 4th grade and one day he came home and said 'P didn't come to school today, her brother died.' It turned out the older brother and mom were playing around at home and she tapped him on the head with the heel of her shoe."
"He laid down to take a nap and died due to a clot or something like that. I can't even imagine."
-- MsPinkieB
A Confused Response
"I was the student here, and in 6th grade the teacher and principal both told our class that our classmate had passed. He had bullied me daily. When I heard the news, 11 year old me felt relief, and I never really thought about him again."
"Now, as a more empathetic adult, I feel absolutely horrible that I had that reaction to his death. I don't think as a kid, even in middle school, I truly understood what death was. I would take getting bullied every day over him dying."
"To tie this into the question - I don't envy educators that have to deliver this news at all. Some kids are losing their best friend or classmate, and some kids may not fully comprehend what happened."
-- mjh1723
Close to Home
"Im a student not a teacher, but the teachers son died from a car accident and he was one of my friends"
"The teacher came in crying and told us there would be a meeting in the auditorium to honor his son, I ended up going home and crying the rest of the day because one of my best friends died"
A Very Sad Start to the Day
"When I was in high school two of my classmates died, one in tenth grade from Reye's Syndrome, the other in eleventh grade from leukemia. In both instances the entire school was notified during the morning announcements over the PA."
Someone To Talk To
"I teach elementary school and a student in an colleague's class (same grade) had a student pass away mid year. The student was sick. I forget what exactly he had, but it was well known he wouldn't live long, and he was frequently out of class due to illness or dr appointments."
"The day after his passing, a grief counselor was brought in and helped explain to the class what death was in a very age appropriate way. I had a couple of students in my class who were friends with the deceased student. I sent them to the grief counselor, and they said it helped a lot."
Unfortunately, when a teacher takes the job they rarely imagine these days as part of the job description. But things like this do happen, and it's so important that kids have teachers when they do.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
It could happen when you're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and forced to witness a devastating accident or injury. It could be the very real ramifications of health struggles and medical calamities.
Or it could be the result of very bad people willing to do very bad things.
Whatever the source, these encounters stick with you. It may be a certain image, maybe a sound, or the whole emotional feeling throughout the incident.
Redditor Dankmemes2347 asked:
"What was the most horrific thing you have ever seen?"
Many people discussed the gruesome accidents they've witness over the years. You just never know.
A Smooshed Head
"I was working at a chemical plant years ago and saw a guy take a corner too fast in a fork truck and flip it over. He wasn't wearing his seat belt and was thrown out far enough for the top of the cage to crush his head."
"I can still picture his blood running down a nearby drain."
Ride Like Lightning, Crash Like Thunder
"I saw a dude die after t-boning a minivan on his motorcycle. I didn't actually see the impact but I heard it, and ran to the scene and watched him take his last breaths while his buddy who must have been riding behind him, held him and screamed."
"People that saw it said he was in the wrong and must have been doing 80+ in a 45. The van was pulling into a shopping center and never saw him coming."
-- DustWiener
The Origins if Shoulder Straps
"Dad is a retired police officer. First one to arrive on scene at an amusement park where a guy stuck his head out of a roller coaster car and was decapitated. The ride only had an old across the lap seat belt."
"This was many years ago, before all the ultra-safe coaster cars of today where you can't even move in them."
A Lucky, Lucky Man
"Once EMS brought in a guy with a fence post running under his trachea diagonally into his his chest via his left collarbone area. Lot's of extremity fractures of course, broken ribs, pneumothorax, face all distorted, etc."
"But, they also brought in his right leg (below the knee) in an orange bucket, and his entire right arm, still inside the sleeve of his leather jacket in another bucket. His arm had literally been yanked off at the shoulder."
"He lived."
A Need for Change
"3 people died behind my house last year. I live next to a big road and the exit sogn is covered by a bush. People turn too late and hit the guardrail and flip off a mini hill."
"Never really seen it but i am afraid of intersections."
-- CptBanana123
First On Scene
"When I was in college, the guy who lived two doors down from me in my dorm died from autoerotic asphyxiation. He was dead for three days before we found him. I was there for the discovery."
Other Redditors talked about slower burns. They recalled the tragic demises of loved ones that occurred over long, fraught periods of time.
Slowly Abandoned
"When I was 5 I watched my dad dive in to the swimming pool he built in our backyard and break his neck. He became a quadriplegic."
"Then I had to watch him slowly fade away and die over the next 20 years. I watched everyone of his friends abandon him, and his family members slowly start to resent him, and then openly talk about how they will be relieved when he's gone. Even his mother."
-- Smash-tagg
Things That Are Normal Where You Live But Crazy Anywhere Else | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Last Night
"Waking up after yet ANOTHER sleepless sight of giving my terminally ill wife her meds, to find her unresponsive and being there when she took her last breath."
Unrecognized
"This probably isn't what you're looking for but mine would be my grandmother's decline with dementia. She used to dress really well, feisty, bit of a short temper but still family."
"Now I barely recognise her, she's lost a lot of weight, no longer washes or changes her clothes and seems so vacant. It's terrifying seeing her lose more and more of herself. It's such a cruel disease and a slow way to go."
-- Kacklehaus
A Body Run Amok
"I was with a friend when they died of end stage leukemia. The medical team did a horrible job of pain control and body fluid control."
"They were bleeding and secreting bloody foam from their lungs. We had to suction. It was awful."
A few people talked about the horrific scenes they've witnessed that had to do with animals.
A Gruesome Industry
"Lions that had been poached. The poachers had only taken their heads and paws. Also, watching their bodies burn and making sure there was nothing left because they had been poisoned."
"Couldn't risk ground or water contamination, or scavengers finding even a small piece of flesh."
A Horrible Chorus
"The most horrific was when a dairy barn near my parents' home caught fire one night and went up in flames."
"All those cows, horses, and sheep died - with their screaming in pain for all to hear. It was terrible . . ."
-- Back2Bach
Mug to the Rescue
"Was standing in my balcony and enjoying a cup of coffee when I saw a six teenagers approaching a dog. Four of them grabbed the dog by each of her limbs and one dude supported her torso. The dog was obviously violently trying to break herself free."
"Then one dude took a pair of scissors from his pocket and I was confused, but then I almost froze after realising the dude wanted to cut the dog's nipples off."
"I panicked and just yelled and threw my coffee mug towards them. They got scared and ran away and the dog ran in the opposite direction."
First Impressions
"First time going to Toronto on my own. I think I was 19. Got off the Greyhound and went out on to the sidewalk to begin my independent voyage when a pigeon decided to land just as a city bus drove by and crushed it."
"I was feet away heard the crunch still haunts me."
Minor, But Lasting
"When I stepped on a frog when I was younger and thinking I could fix it and crying for over an hour. I buried it in my backyard. I may not Seem horrific but to a five year old it left an emotional impact."
"I already knew the concept of death because I had a lot of family die when I was younger so I knew I did something bad and didn't want it to die."
It's clear that many people are out here carrying an image or two that quickens the breath and drops the stomach every time it comes to mind.
Hopefully, with enough time these moments can be let go.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
School is a chaotic zoo of adolescents jammed into a building day in and day out no matter how different their lives outside the school day might be.
But every once in a while, a tragedy strikes and it sheds light on someone's home or personal life. Suddenly, a school peer becomes the object of some very heavy emotions across their fellow students and teachers.
A recent Reddit thread asked users to share the saddest thing that they ever witness or heard about during their time at school.
Redditor SINFULOfficial asked:
"What's the scariest or saddest thing you ever dealt with or saw at school?"
Completely Changed
"An old school friend found his mother dead due to a heart attack in his bathroom. From one moment to another he was like a whole different person."
"He became very emotional, dropped out of school a few years later, began doing drugs, even went to jail."
"Hope he is doing better today."
-- JeXXaY
Tragic Exploring
"In college a student went missing for months until he was found by a custodian. Turns out he was alone drunk and stumbled into an electrical room."
"He electrocuted himself to death."
Holding It All In
"Saddest: Junior High. Kid was getting mercilessly picked on because he was wearing the same clothes for like the 3rd or 4th day straight. Super quiet kid didn't say anything back."
"We later found out he hadn't changed because his older brother who was his only caretaker had killed himself the prior weekend."
"This 7th grader was the only one left who knew and he was so emotionally f***ed he just silently carried on with school until a neighbor figured out something was wrong."
-- Vi1eOne
Irreparable Blow to Reputation
"Saddest thing... In High School, a girl came to school and got stomach sick during class and literally sh** herself and had it come out the back of her pants. You just don't ever have people NOT think of that about you for the rest of your life."
"She was a nice girl and it was sad because she never had hardly any friends after that and eventually transferred to another school."
-- wlane13
Discovering the Conclusion as a Group
"Kelsey Smith."
"She was a year ahead of me in high school. I didn't know her very well but had a couple classes with her and chatted maybe a handful of times. She was one of those people that pretty much everyone knew."
"Then one morning shortly after the end of the year my dad told me that 'some girl' from school had gone missing. I did what any teenager in 2007 would have done and jumped on Facebook, and found a whole deluge of posts from my friends asking for any information about Kelsey."
"Then I remember I was in the airport with a bunch of school friends getting ready to go on a class trip to Germany when we saw on the news in the terminal that a body had been found."
Out of Her Control
"The saddest was probably my neighbor. When she was in 5th grade, early middle school, she was trying to save up money for something, I don't remember what. Her parents were huge stoners, had enormous weed plants growing in their back yard, I could see them clear as day."
"One day she brought a gallon size bag full of weed to school and was planning on selling it to one of the older kids. The school found out and called the police."
"I remember coming home and watching them raid their house taking out plant after plant. Both the girls ended up in foster care for a long while after that."
-- Fuginshet
A Strong Presence Lost
"There was a severely disabled kid who had several physical and mental disabilities such as extra fingers and confined to a stroller. He had the mental capacity of a infant. Unable to make speech but incoherent noises."
"That kid always had a smile on and was gleeful and no one said anything bad about him. They'd read to him or greet him as his liaison would push him about."
"One day I saw an ambulance leaving, his liaison was crying and running to her car. He had gone into cardiac arrest and died upon arrival to the hospital. He was only 9."
"I was in special ed at the time and the hardest news to break to the more severe kids was our friend had passed away. The staff breaking the news to the kids."
"Sadly the school didn't do a day of morning for him because the principal was tired of kids using them as excuses to skip class and f*** around."
"I still can hear my friend smiling making his loud cooing noise."
-- rickrolo24
Scariest And The Saddest
"Grew up in a pretty poor district. Got some that people would probably consider 'worse' (vicious fights, drugs, guns, teacher on student violence and vice versa) but here's a couple that stick out."
"Scariest: High School. Kid assaulted a girl at a party. Following Monday her bf caught him in the parking lot. He beat and stomped him ruthlessly and actually imprinted a Nike Swoosh in the kid's face. I saw the aftermath and that kid was a mess. His lips had somehow split and peeled back exposing all the teeth on the left side of his face. Facial reconstruction for sure. No idea how he did after that day."
"Saddest: Junior High. Kid was getting mercilessly picked on because he was wearing the same clothes for like the 3rd or 4th day straight. Super quiet kid didn't say anything back. We later found out he hadn't changed because his older brother who was his only caretaker had killed himself the prior weekend. This 7th grader was the only one left who knew and he was so emotionally fucked he just silently carried on with school until a neighbor figured out something was wrong."
"Edit:: Jesus this got more attention than I expected. Some updates b/c questions keep coming."
"Assaulted kid from the first story transferred but I don't know anything else. His attacker who already had a record was locked up. The girlfriend's assault was sexual but definitely stopped short of what most would call rape. This kid had a track record of being a bit of a creep though."
"The kid from the second story was gone from school way before we found out what happened. I was in the class he was in and I know he was gone shortly after the week he was getting harassed."
"I don't know much more about anyone involved. I just happened to be walking back into the building right as story #1's fight ended and only heard about the kid from #2 through friends. I didn't witness any bullying but I had a friend in the class with him when he was being harassed."
– Vi1eOne
Suddenly Gone
"A lad in the year above me who I went to primary and secondary school with (not a friend but I knew him). One PE lesson he just dropped dead (undiagnosed heart condition), he had been a pretty athletic guy as well (I think he did cross country running)."
– Krakshotz
Tragedy Of The Twins
"There was a pair of twins in my highschool. One of the twins died from some disease, don't remember what. Few months after that the other twin committed suicide."
– mr_sto0pid
A Slashing And A Police Bust
"Scariest was a routine hallway fight that went sideways. It was between two girls, out of nowhere one of them pulls out a box cutter in the middle of the fight and gets a clean strike right across the other girls face."
"The saddest was probably my neighbor. When she was in 5th grade, early middle school, she was trying to save up money for something, I dont remember what. Her parents were huge stoners, had enormous weed plants growing in their back yard, I could see them clear as day. One day she brought a gallon size bag full of weed to school and was planning on selling it to one of the older kids. The school found out and called the police. I remember coming home and watching them raid thier house taking out plant after plant. Both the girls ended up in foster care for a long while after that."
– Fuginshet
The "Weird" One
"A talkative kid, who I later learned was considered 'weird,' one day came up to me outside the gym, during physical education class. He and I had never spoken before. As we waited for the gym doors to open, he pointed to the wall and said, 'imagine if someone was thrown super hard against that surface! They would stick, bleed and then sliiiiiide down and die.' I was taken aback, but was told that he often said this sort of thing. That weekend, and sorry to continue with a sad theme, yeah, he hanged himself in his back yard."
"This was a long, long time back. I didn't know how to react then and I still don't."
– Chorb77
A Devastating Year
"In grade 9, a friend of mine was playing with a hand gun and accidentally shot himself through the neck. He didn't survive the night."
"Shortly after that, 27 days, another friend of mine got drunk at a party, and his older sister teased him about how much trouble he would be in, because she would tell on him. This went on for hours. He snuck away from the party, ran home, and shot himself. He died instantly."
"Again, 29 days later, the second boy had a lifelong friend that became so depressed over the loss of our friend that almost completely stopped talking. He came to school, but never participated in classes. One day on his bus ride to school another student told him that he would get in trouble for a squirt gun he had at the bus stop. And he did. He was expelled. He went home that day early of course. He was found that night dead. He had shot himself."
"This was all very early in the school year. The whole year was sad. We were all devastated teenagers. The entire school had less than a hundred students, we all knew eachother. The whole school was quiet all year."
– Bammer_D
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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People Who Clean Crime Scenes Describe The Worst Thing They've Ever Witnessed On The Job
Cleaning up is hard enough when it's just clearing a month of dust bunnies. Can you imagine cleaning the debris left by murder, suicide and violence? I have a really great friend who used to do crime scene clean-up for a living. The pay is incredible; it starts at $55 an hour. But there is a much higher cost in mental well being. Death affects you in ways you don't always feel immediately. My friend has stories of nightmares, depression and pain after leaving scenes of horror. Why make all that money just to spend it on therapy? It takes a certain type of person.
***TRIGGER WARNING. CONTENTS ARE SENSITIVE ***
Redditor u/MemegodDave wanted to hear from the people who have the stomach to come in after crime and tragedyto try to bring back some form of normalcy to the location by asking... People who make their living out of cleaning murder scenes, accidents and the like, what is the worst thing you have experienced in your career?
Wrapped Up
Dad had to saran wrap a guy's intestines back into his body once.
Dude had surgery and pushed too hard on the toilet. Dude was fine, according to Dad, just holding himself together on the toilet while a group of firefighters tried to figure out why the hell they were sent instead of paramedics.
Update When he pushed too hard he opened a scar on his torso/ab area and it all fell out onto his lap. Should have mentioned this when I wrote the post.
Flesh
One that stuck with me was a suicide in a bathtub, we couldn't drain the tub, so had to use a coagulant then scoop up the bloody mess into biohazard bags. Same for the toilet. Another was a suicide by gun in a basement full of boxes which was a nightmare to clean as even the smallest bit of flesh had to be found and cleaned up. The smell of the smallest piece of flesh meant the job wasn't done until it was found.
One scene, the cops thought it would be helpful to put newspaper on top of the leftover melted body oils which dried to the floors and was terrible to clean up. Sad cleaning up these things when family is in the other room as well. Not working the job anymore but definitely gave me an appreciation for the hard work biohazard clean up crews do. Mostly on-call as well so you never know how long you will be away from home.
Walk Away
Medic here, first responder to a motorcycle collision. Guy who crashed was a friend. He'd been torn in half and almost decapitated.
Had to walk away from the scene and let my driver and another crew handle it. Think about it daily.
All over the House
I posted this on another thread so just copy and pasted it but this was one that I had to do
Clean up after a murder. It was a rehab house for ex cons, 4 bedroom house with communal bathroom and kitchen. Sunday morning and guy A is in his room listening to music pretty loud, guy B is in the kitchen cooking his breakfast, B knocks on A's door and tells him to turn it down, there's a small argument and B returns to his breakfast and A turns his music up. So B grabs the biggest knife in the kitchen, kicks in A's door and stabs him through his left shoulder, entering by his collar bone.
A runs out of his room, across the landing, down the stairs, out the front door, back inside, back up the stairs and collapses on the landing. When I got there it was like a scene from a movie, walls and ceilings, everywhere A had been were caked with blood. Apparently after B stabbed him, he returned to cooking his breakfast. There was a half eaten breakfast in the kitchen when I got there.
"ride-alongs"
Not a cleaner, but my brother's best friend is a police officer and I heard all about this horrible experience:
My brother's friend took him on "ride-alongs," all the time. One day, they were responding to a welfare check. This guy's neighbor saw his apartment door cracked open for several days and called the police. They went to check it out and found a college student (18-19) who had shot himself.
The most disturbing part to my brother was that the kid had all of his belongings boxed up and labeled, he had letters written out and labeled for who they were supposed to go to, and he even went as far as laying out a tarp, and then putting heavy blankets over himself before he shot himself - as a courtesy to the people that would have to clean his remains.
This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, this was a very well-thought-out suicide and the guy was obviously thinking about everyone who would have to deal with it too. So sad to imagine such a thoughtful person in so much pain that he meticulously orchestrated his suicide. My brother said the scene messed him up. Not because of the gore, but the lack thereof. Because this guy so meticulously and thoughtfully offed himself.
Melt Away
When I was a bartender, a couple of clients told me the worst part about the job is cleaning melted bodies.
I don't know the science behind that, but from what I understand is if a body stays for a while in a certain condition of temperature and humidity, it melts. And those guys have to remove that person's remains in buckets.
Audrey
I had a great uncle who helped clean up the bodies left behind by hurricane Audrey in 1957 and he said that the smell persisted in his nose for weeks after. It got so bad that he went to the doctor to see if they could do anything and they clipped all of his nose hairs and the smell went away. It was explained to him that the smell had soaked into the hair but I don't claim to know the validity of that statement.
The hurricane hit south Louisiana in June of that year and most of the bodies recovered were found in the salt water marshes that cover the area, so it's safe to assume that they were in an advanced state of decay. I've heard it said that the smell of the decomposing bodies was so bad that the alligators would actively avoid the areas
Hazard
One of my first jobs after moving I did this, and the job that had me walking wasn't even a scene as described. We did all types of hazmat cleans and the worst was actually a couple went on vacation and came back to backed up sceptic. Think about 1 ft thick hard dried out crusty sceptic waste spread throughout the entire 1st floor of a house. Not going further into detail here. Was nasty.
Septic, not sceptic. On break and mobile, so yeah...
After the Crash...
Working for a tow truck driver that get the calls after crashes. The worst one for me was a family of 6 coming back with over 10 pizzas for a baseball team. It was a head on with a tractor trailer (18 wheeler). The ambulance took the bodies away of course, everyone died but one little guy. There was so much blood and vomit, diapers, toy dolls covered in blood, the pizza was everywhere inside of the car like 2" thick on everything and all over the road.
There was so many backpacks and things just covered in pizza blood, It is hard to even describe it to this day. it was oozing out all over the road and was like an exploded pizza pocket. Everyone that was waiting in the traffic jam looked horrified.
Fresh Meat
Friend of mine does this.
His worst was an elderly woman who died in a bath. Skin falls off like long cooked meat. So he just saw piles of skin/flesh
God just writing this makes me gag.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.