‘Justice for Jason!': Hundreds call for answers, honor Peabody middle schooler who took his own life
Hundreds on Friday united to grieve the death of Jason Bernard, 14, outside his Peabody home just days after he ended his own life.
His family tells Boston 25 the 8th grader at Higgins Middle School was bullied.
Friday night, during a vigil in his neighborhood, parents, students, and community members remembered his life while spreading an important message.
'Justice for Jason,' the crowd chanted outside his home. 'Together, we can stop bullying!'
Cely Rosario, Jason's sister, spoke to the crowd, 'We will not take it! Not anymore! No more bullying in Peabody! No more bullying in Massachusetts!'
Over the last week, multiple parents in Peabody told Boston 25 they, too, have seen bullying in the district.
Local leaders, Thursday, like Peabody's mayor, said they have a long road ahead, but he's ready to find community solutions.
Some of the concerned families were at Friday's vigil.
'I just felt I needed to be here,' said one Peabody parent.
Michelle, a parent from Salem in Peabody, Friday, added, 'To wake up and find your child unalive for words from other children that are probably going to suffer no consequences because that's what happens daily... This is just unacceptable.'
Classmates of Bernard penned messages to him after lighting candles and releasing balloons in his honor.
One said, 'It's good that this many people care. But, it's sad it had to happen.'
Peabody's superintendent Josh Vadala called the death a tragedy in a letter to the community.
The statement read:
'I am writing to you at the close of an incredibly difficult week, as our community has come together to mourn the tragic death of one of our middle school students.
Our entire community is grieving. When this level of immeasurable tragedy strikes, it is impossible to try and make sense out of it as we work through grief and support one another. As families, students, teachers, staff, and the community at-large begin to process the grief in the coming days and weeks, it is critical for our community to come together and continue to support one another. I am grateful that is what happened here inPeabody this week, and as our students depart for the long weekend, I wanted to acknowledge the multitude of support shown to us from all over.
Over the course of the week, Peabody has received the support and resources of our neighbors and friends from throughout the North Shore. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the work of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council STARS team. The resources and professionals brought to our city were a tremendous help during a time when even our own well-trained staff was experiencing and processing this loss. We appreciate the support of our Police Chief, Tom Griffin, and School Resource Officers Eric Ricci and Andy Long who, along with their comfort dogs Ella and Max, were joined by more than a dozen loving therapy dogs ready to provide comfort to our students and staff. We are also incredibly thankful for our counselors and nurses from across the district who provided immediate support to students and staff at theHiggins this week while also supporting their individual schools. In addition, our staff collaborated with the STARS team who continue to serve as a tremendous resource for our community in this time of need.
As educators, we often have to remind ourselves that we have Peabody's children for only a small percentage of the day. We rely on our families to work alongside us, especially at a time like this. We recognize with gratitude the support and partnership of our school district's families who have supported their children – and one another – during this very difficult time. Thank you.
Finally, I want to recognize our faculty and staff for their compassion for our families and students. Students look to teachers as pillars of support as the teachers themselves are grieving inside.
Please know that we are planning a community meeting around mental health, at the appropriate time, and I expect that it will be an open and safe environment. While this meeting is still very much in the planning stages, what I can share with you today is that we will partner with other community leaders to ensure a well planned and thoughtful event that will include resources for families. We are also working with our leaders incity government, including the Peabody Department of Health and Human Services, to guide our next steps.We will be in touch in the coming days with more information. For more resources visit our website HERE.
Thank you for your continued compassion and support. I wish you a safe Memorial Day Weekend.
Josh Valda, Peabody superintendent
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Seattle man charged with string of burglaries at the homes of NFL and MLB stars
SEATTLE — A Seattle man was charged Friday with a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent current and former football and baseball players, marking the latest example of well-known athletes being targeted in home thefts. Earl Henderson Riley IV, 21, was charged with several counts of residential burglary in both occupied and unoccupied homes, along with first-degree robbery, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
CBS News
34 minutes ago
- CBS News
7-year-old tried to save sisters with CPR after fatal stabbing in Streamwood, Illinois, prosecutors say; accused killer hid weapon, tried to sell car
As the man accused of stabbing and killing his two sisters last month in Streamwood was fleeing the scene and trying to avoid capture, the victims' 7-year-old brother tried to save their lives by performing CPR, prosecutors said on Friday. Jalonie Jenkins, 25, was arrested last Sunday night in Downers Grove following a manhunt, after the bodies of his sisters, Janiya Jenkins, 21, and Eyani Jones, 10, were found inside a home in the 1600 block of McKool Avenue on May 28. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Jenkins appeared in court for the first time after Wednesday's hearing was postponed due to him being in the hospital following his arrest. His attorney made the case that he was suffering from a mental health episode. He admitted the facts of the case are horrendous, but said Jenkins is being supported by his mother and other family members. Prosecutors said Jenkins lived in his childhood home with his mother and siblings. They said Eyani was on a Snapchat call with a friend when the stabbing attack occurred. Jenkins stabbed her at least 10 times and Janiya at least 12 times, all while two other young family members, 7 and 3, were playing outside. After the stabbings, the state's attorney said Jenkins locked the two younger children in a bathroom, hid the weapon, a kitchen knife, in the home, and left with a bag of bloody clothes in a Lexus registered to him. They said he tried to sell his car and turned off his phone to evade police. He admitted to stabbing his sisters. Meantime, Eyani's and Janiya's 7-year-old brother left the bathroom about 20 minutes after Jenkins locked him in, and found Janiya and Eyani covered in blood. He tried to perform CPR on them, but couldn't save them. He went back to the bathroom to get his niece, and ran to a nearby home, brought a neighbor back to the bloody crime scene, and then called their mother and 911, according to prosecutors. Jenkins' defense attorney said the accused killer is now on medication for psychosis and asked for a mental health evaluation, which the judge agreed to. Jenkins is due back in court on June 26 at 9 a.m. in Rolling Meadows.
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
Utah judge rules a convicted killer with dementia is competent to be executed
Crime Getting older DementiaFacebookTweetLink Follow A convicted killer in Utah who developed dementia while on death row for 37 years is competent enough to be executed, a state judge ruled late Friday. Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was sentenced to die in 1988 for killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker. Despite his recent cognitive decline, Menzies 'consistently and rationally understands' what is happening and why he is facing execution, Judge Matthew Bates wrote in a court order. 'Menzies has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his understanding of his specific crime and punishment has fluctuated or declined in a way that offends the Eighth Amendment,' which prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, Bates said. Menzies had previously selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would become only the sixth U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977. The Utah Attorney General's Office is expected to file a death warrant soon. Menzies' lawyers, who had argued his dementia was so severe that he could not understand why he was being put to death, said they plan to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. 'Ralph Menzies is a severely brain-damaged, wheelchair-bound, 67-year-old man with dementia and significant memory problems,' his attorney, Lindsey Layer, said in a statement. 'It is deeply troubling that Utah plans to remove Mr. Menzies from his wheelchair and oxygen tank to strap him into an execution chair and shoot him to death.' The U.S. Supreme Court has spared others prisoners with dementia from execution, including an Alabama man in 2019 who had killed a police officer. Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back. Hunsaker, a 26-year-old married mother of three, was abducted by Menzies from the convenience store where she worked. She was later found strangled and her throat cut at a picnic area in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah. Menzies had Hunsaker's wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes. Matt Hunsaker, who was 10 years old when his mother was killed, said Friday that the family was overwhelmed with emotion to know that justice would finally be served.
