Suicide of Katelyn Davis

Katelyn Davis
Born	Katelyn Nicole Davis (2004-02-20)February 20, 2004 Rome, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 30, 2016(2016-12-30) (aged 12) Cedartown, Georgia, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide by hanging
Resting place	New Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery Cedartown, Georgia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Known for	Circumstances of death

Katelyn Nicole Davis (February 20, 2004 – December 30, 2016), known online by the username ITZ Dolly, was a 12-year-old American girl who died by suicide. She hanged herself from a tree in her back yard while live streaming the event to Live.me. The video was shared on social media, particularly on Facebook.^[1][2] The resulting publicity brought an outpouring of online support^[3] and attention to the issues of suicide causes and prevention, child abuse, bullying, and appropriate use of social media.^[4]

Davis was an active blogger on multiple social media sites, and recorded dozens of videos in the last month of her life.^[5][6] The videos detailed insight upon the experiences in her life, leading up to the day of her death. In various videos, she sings,^[7] shares spiritual philosophy,^[8] or takes care of her younger siblings Abbigail and A.J. In other videos, she argues with her mother, alleges criminal activity, breaks down emotionally, and claims being neglected by her biological father alongside being physically and sexually abused by her stepfather. In one of her videos, she mentioned that her stepfather encouraged her to kill herself.^[9][10] She commented: "He told me I should go hang myself because I was worthless."^[11][12] The allegations of abuse caused the Polk County Police to open an investigation.^[13][14] Davis also said that she had been bullied at school, and that she had been a victim of catfishing by someone pretending to be of the opposite gender online.^[15][16]

Davis considered herself to be emo and struggled with depression.^[17] She had previous suicide attempts, most recently through medication overdose, for which she was hospitalized. She also engaged in self-harm, cutting her wrists and thighs, just a few days before her death.^[18] However, she also sought to help others overcome problems with both self-harm and depression.^[19]

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