UNNAMED BOY - 6 yo - / Finding: Suicide - Payette, ID

Boy aged SIX 'upset at parents' divorce' hanged himself while his parents are showering - and his 7-year-old sister finds the body

• The boy's death has been ruled a suicide by investigators
  
  
• He and his family, who are from Idaho, have not been identified
  
• His seven-year-old sister found him hanging in the kitchen while his mother and stepfather were showering
  
• School records revealed he had anger issues stemming from his parents' divorce two years earlier
  

By Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press Reporter

PUBLISHED: 16:29 EST, 16 July 2013 | UPDATED: 17:03 EST, 16 July 2013




A six-year-old boy died on June 3 after creating a noose out of a belt and hanging himself from the freezer door of his family refrigerator (not pictured)

A six-year-old boy from Idaho committed suicide by hanging himself in his family's kitchen, according to police. 

The boy, who has not been named, died on June 3.

After a month-long investigation, investigators have ruled his death a suicide, making his the fourth confirmed case of a six-year-old committing suicide in the U.S. since 2007, according to The Argus Observer.

The boy and his seven-year-old sister were watching television together just before his death, while their mother and stepfather were showering. The sister later reported that her brother left the TV room and about 20 minutes later, started making noise in the kitchen.

When she went to check on him, she found his body and screamed for her parents. The parents rushed to the kitchen, called 911, and started performing CPR until paramedics arrived. When authorities arrived on the scene, both parents were still drenched from the shower and wearing towels.

Payette Police Chief Mark Clark told The Argus Observer that he assigned four detectives to investigate the death and they found no sign of foul play.

Clark said investigators were unable to determine whether the boy intentionally committed suicide, but that school records and interviews with relatives indicated the child had some anger issues related to his parents' divorce two years earlier.

Lucas Hooker, a Lifeways qualified mental health professional in Oregon and a licensed professional counselor in Idaho, said that situations like this are difficult to comprehend, especially when they involve such a young child. 

He said if parents are concerned their child is having difficulty adjusting to major life changes or other issues, they can discuss the matter with a pediatrician and get a referral to a mental health provider.


Some kids lack the verbal and cognitive ability to properly express their emotions and may 'lash out' as a result, Hooker said.

Signs that a child is having trouble include aggression or other unusual behavior, nightmares, unusual bedwetting or appearing to feel hopeless, Hooker said, and some depressed children may become preoccupied with thoughts of death.

'If a parent's gut is telling them that something is wrong, they need to follow that,' Hooker said. 'It's also important for people to know if there has been a prior suicide in the family or if the child is actually verbalizing suicide to get help. If there's a family history of suicide, the odds of the child being suicidal jump exponentially.'

If you or anyone you know if considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at
1-800-273-8255.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366257/Six-year-old-boy-hangs-belt-family-refrigerator-parents-showering.html#ixzz2ZFeDKQUE

This death still eats at me.  Six years old.  OMG how unbearable.