Family seeks justice after teen suicide over social media bullying

Last Sunday, 16-year-old Channing Smith got home from his job at a Burger King in Manchester, Tennessee. Around 10 p.m., after saying goodnight to his father, Channing went to his bedroom.

It was there that his brother believes Channing first learned that one of his classmates had obtained private, sexually explicit Facebook messages between Channing and another boy. A girl posted the messages to her public Instagram and Snapchat stories.

After frantically calling and messaging friends, Channing posted on Instagram at around 11 p.m. that he was taking a break from social media for a while. “I really hate how I can’t trust anyone because those I did were so fake. Bye,” Channing wrote.

At 4 a.m., Channing’s father saw that his bedroom light was still on. He opened the door and found Channing’s body — it was cold to the touch. The high school junior’s family believes he killed himself sometime between 1 and 3 a.m. that morning.

“I’m not gay, but I did love my brother and that did not matter to me, not one ounce,” Channing’s brother, 38-year-old Joshua Smith, told Insider. “He should never have died over that. Nobody should.”

Channing’s family is seeking justice in the form of legal repercussions and a movement against cyberbullying

Joshua told Insider that seeking legal repercussions for Channing’s suicide has not been easy. Initially, he said an investigator under Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott said it was unclear whether the messages between Channing and the other boy were even posted on social media.

But Joshua said had already searched for information on his own, and talked to Channing’s friends and girlfriend. They told him Channing, who had not told his family he was questioning his sexuality, believed he wasn’t straight.

Channing’s girlfriend said he had a secret relationship with the boy he sent messages to for at least a year. Channing’s friends said he thought he was at least bisexual.

Joshua also found the social media posts containing the explicit messages, and knows who posted them. The Smith family wants criminal charges “of some sort” to be pressed.

“We don’t want them to be brought upon murder charges or anything,” Joshua told Insider. “They were kids and I know they didn’t think through to the end result, that Channing would end up dead. But he did. And, you know, because someone outed him for being gay. I guess his wishes were that he could have done that in his own time.”

Read more: The Supreme Court is about to hear 3 cases that could decide if people can be fired for being LGBTQ. Here’s everything you need to know.

Joshua said the investigator into Channing’s case suggested to him that Northcott’s office doesn’t want “to touch it,” or consider criminal charges. At first, Joshua said he was told the students’ phones couldn’t even be investigated, because the town’s law-enforcement resources couldn’t obtain the technology to bypass phone passcodes.

Northcott’s tenure as the county’s district attorney general and his handling of LGBTQ issues has been fraught with controversy. Joshua described him as “the poster child for gay hate,” and the Tennessee Supreme Court has received formal complaints for his offensive comments, such as when he described Muslims as inherently “evil” and said same-sex couples aren’t entitled to domestic violence protections, according to The Huffington Post.

“I can’t help but think they’re trying to do just enough to pacify us,” Joshua said. “I’m giving [Northcott] a chance to tell me now, because if he doesn’t, I’m getting ready to start the biggest social media s— storm this town has ever seen, and I’m filing lawsuits on anyone and everyone that has touched this.”

Northcott called Joshua personally after local media outlets began to pick up the story of Channing’s suicide, and the district attorney general told him the investigation would likely take at least 30 days.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Northcott said, “Any report that my office has failed or refused to act is inaccurate and I wanted to clarify this for the sake of the Smith family as they do not need the added burden to the already incomprehensible pain that they are experiencing.” His office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

In the meantime, the Smith family has been organizing memorials and spreading awareness of cyberbullying and Channing’s story with the hashtag #JusticeForChanning. But Joshua said Manchester has not been the easiest environment to do so in.

Channing’s high school has tried to avoid taking action in light of his suicide, angering students and parents

Joshua has never lived in Manchester, and described the town as somewhere he wouldn’t even want to live if he were straight — an environment where LGBTQ kids can’t feel comfortable telling adults about their problems.

“It’s definitely not a reflection of all of the people in Manchester,” he told Insider. “If this was a little redneck, racist town by stereotype last week, you wouldn’t necessarily know it now, because I’ve never seen this many kids band together.”

Several of Channing’s classmates made T-shirts with a #JusticeForChanning hashtag on them and wore them to Coffee County Central High School, where they and Channing attended.

But the school itself has “done nothing,” Joshua said. No school-wide assembly has been held to discuss the incident, nor has the school addressed it online on its website or on its social media pages.

When students arrived to class wearing the t-shirts, several later told Joshua they were confiscated, and parents were asked to bring a change of clothes to the school. The school didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

However, mothers of Channing’s classmates have been instrumental in organizing social media efforts, calling Northcott’s office, and driving support to the Smith family’s cause.

“If you look at the polarity of the situation, it’s so shameful that Channing died, but on the flip side of that, to see how all of these people have been able to come together, it’s nothing short of amazing,” Joshua said.

The family has already held one memorial service, but Joshua said the singer Billy Ray Cyrus reached out to him personally after seeing Channing’s story on Nashville news stations. He will arrive in Manchester tomorrow to perform “Amazing Grace,” Channing’s favorite song, at a second memorial service.

The Smith family is also pursuing efforts to put forth legislation called “Channing’s Law,” which would create consequences for cyberbullying that causes minors to be so humiliated, they end up killing themselves, Joshua said.

He suggested that future efforts to prevent cases like Channing’s could include a suicide help service aimed at the younger generation. Rather than a hotline young kids can call, Joshua thinks an app could be better.

“I’ve had a hundred kids physically tell me they’ve attempted suicide at different points,” he told Insider. “I had no idea kids dealt with, I mean there’s a lot of troubled kids that have tried suicide. And they don’t tell you until something like this happens.”

Joshua says Channing loved music and played multiple instruments. His motorcycle, which will be on display at his second memorial, was his “pride and joy.”

“I want him to just be remembered for being the kindest, caring, loving kid. And I don’t just say that because he’s my brother,” he said. “This was one of the sweetest guys that you would have ever met in your entire life.”