Georgia mother urges awareness after 12-year-old's death following bullying

Spalding County student dies following bullying

A Spalding County mother is warning parents to actively monitor their children after her 12-year-old daughter died by suicide following reported school bullying.   

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - A grieving Spalding County mother is urging parents to pay closer attention to their children's mental health and digital lives after the tragic loss of her 12-year-old daughter.

What we know:

Miracle Creswell, a seventh grader at Cowan Road Middle School in Spalding County, injured herself at home last Wednesday. Her younger siblings found her, and she was rushed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital in Brookhaven, where she died from her injuries.

Her mother, Shantrell Brown, said Miracle had been dealing with mental health issues for about a year and was in therapy. According to Brown, Miracle also told her she was experiencing bullying at school, which prompted Brown to have conversations with school staff.

However, Brown said she did not realize how difficult a battle her daughter was facing until she read Miracle's diary after her death, where the 12-year-old wrote about feeling torn and wanting her family to stay strong.

Brown said the loss has deeply affected her other children, noting that Miracle's younger sister found her.

"She shared her room with Miracle, and she's scared to go in her room," Brown said.

Brown also called for greater accountability around bullying at school and at home.

"I feel like these kids need to be accountable—either they need to be sent to boot camp or parents need to be more accountable of their children and their actions, because no parent should be going through what I'm going through," Brown said.

Now, she is urging other parents not to give middle schoolers too much privacy.

"Check their phones a lot more. I know when they are in middle school they keep a lot of secrets from parents. Ask 100 questions, even though they may not like it, just pay attention," Brown said.

According to the Children's Hospital Association, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 14.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

What we don't know:

It remains unclear what steps Cowan Road Middle School staff took following Brown's conversations, or whether the school opened a formal bullying investigation. No additional details have been released surrounding Miracle's death.