Lawyer questions Snapchat bullying claims after girl’s suicide

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A lawyer questioned a family’s claim that cyber bullying led to a 15-year-old girl’s suicide.

Levon Holton-Teamer told WFLA her daughter, Tovonna, committed suicide. “I go to the bathroom; I couldn’t get in the bathroom. The bathroom light was off so I tried to get in and I looked down and I saw the puddle of blood. I tried to apply the pressure, the pressure to her head. I tried to save her,” Holton-Teamer told News Channel 8 after the death.

Tovonna was a freshman at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel. The teen had taken the gun from her mother’s purse. Just hours before Tovonna has expressed concern over a nude picture her friends had taken of her without her permission.

An aunt investigated and found that photo was actually a nude video taken and posted to Snapchat – all without Tovonna’s permission. The video was taken while the girl showered in a locker room.

Tovonna’s family is calling for justice. “I want them to pay, to feel what we feeling, even if their child is convicted or in trouble they can go visit their child,” Scott said.

However, a lawyer for another involved party said there’s more to the story. Attorney Jeffrey Brown sent an email to News Channel 8. “This narrative is untrue and not based on credible facts and is their opinion only,” he said in a statement exclusive to WFLA. “(T)he cyber bullying angle to this story is not based on facts.”

Brown has said his client is receiving hate emails. Sheriff Chris Nocco said he was unaware of any threats related to the case.

Brown refused to speak on camera with WFLA.

Tovonna’s family also said Brown’s client called them to apologize after the incident.

An investigation is underway.