Justin - Age 15
Justin Aarberg was a 15-year-old who on July 9, 2010 reached his the limit of his ability to cope, just weeks after finishing his freshman year at Anoka High School in Anoka, MN he killed himself. His was the seventh suicide within the prior 12 months within the school district. Justin was overtly gay and had been overt in his orientation since age 13. Justin’s mother when queried said she knew of only one instance where her son had been teased/bullied about his being gay, and when discussed with her son, he told her, “it wasn’t a big deal.” Unfortunately, only after death did the family learn of the extent of the bullying which their son endured. One of the most egregious examples his mother, Tammy Aaberg provided to Fox Channel 9: “’Some kids in 8th grade at Sandberg went up to him and grabbed his balls and said you like that don’t you?’ Tammy was told a friend found Justin crying in the hallway but he refused to tell the school counselor what happened.” Whatever transpired that day
Fox9’s Jason Matheson addresses the extreme effect bullying can have on teens:
Justin’s classmates made this tribute video: