Fourteen-year-old Carolina Picchio committed suicide by jumping from her second-story bedroom window after a flood of abusive Facebook messages from her ex-boyfriend and his friends became too much to bear.
The taunts began when the boys posted a video of Carolina on Facebook, in which she appeared to be drunk at a party. The video quickly went viral.
Talita Picchio, Carolina’s sister, and some of Carolina’s friends reported the abusive messages to Facebook. They asked Facebook to remove the messages. They allege that Facebook did not remove any of them.
"In the case of Carolina, it appears some of her friends, some of her relatives, asked for the removal of some of this strong content, and it wasn't removed -- and this played a role in her decision to commit suicide," prosecutor Francesco Saluzzo told CNN .
Prosecutors announced in May that they will charge 8 teenagers in connection to her death.
The Italian Parents Association has pressed criminal charges against Facebook, accusing the popular social media website of instigating Carolina’s suicide. Antonio Affinita, the group’s leader, told The Sydney Morning Herald that Carolina’s suicide was “the last straw.”