Girl bullied to death: parents

A 17-year-old Parrsboro girl who killed herself last week was the victim of bullying both at her school and on-line, her parents say.

Courtney Brown was just a couple of months away from graduating from Parrsboro Regional High School when she took her own life Thursday. 

"I want to thank everybody for being there for me and my family," her father, Tom Brown, said Monday.

"It's been so hard burying your daughter and most of it's from bullying. I don't want to see anybody's parents go through what I've gone through."

Tom and Sharon Brown said Courtney had been bullied for months at her school and on Facebook. They took their concerns to school administrators where Courtney was one of just 32 Grade 12 students.

"I was told that if we don't hear it or we don't see it, then we can't do anything about it," Sharon Brown said. "And the last words we heard were, 'If your daughter isn't happy at our school, move her to Springhill.'"

The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board declined to comment on the matter.

Relatives of the Brown family have travelled to Nova Scotia from across the country to lend their support.

Courtney's parents said things were so bad she was afraid to go outside and wouldn't even take the family dogs that she loved, including her new puppy, out for walks. 

Police are investigating her death and have seized Courtney's cell phone and laptop.

Tom Brown said his daughter would always stick up for others, but the bullying just became too much for her to handle.

"If you can't feel safe in your own school and speak up for people who are being bullied, in fear of being bullied yourself, that school shouldn't even be there," he said.

Courtney had also been dealing with the death of her boyfriend. She had been receiving counselling after he was struck by a car and killed last summer.

Courtney was buried Sunday next to her boyfriend.