Suicide At Elementary School Meds For Mood Swings & ADHD 19/02/2010 Texas 9 Year Old Hangs Himself in School Restroom
http://web.archive.org/web/20130202072841/http://ssristories.com/show.php?item=3980
Summary:
Paragraqph 3 reads: "Montana was found hanging in a bathroom at Stewart's Creek Elementary School around 1 p.m. Jan. 21. He was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead."
Paragraphs 13 & 14 read: "Montana had attached the buckle of a brown cloth belt to a hook of a device used to help disabled people use the restroom, according to a police report. He was found with the belt around his neck with his feet off the floor. Police found no notes or messages."
"He had been taking medication for mood swings and for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and had been having suicidal thoughts for about two years, the police report states."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/DN-teensuicide_19met.ART.State.Edition2.4bdc947.html
9-year-old Colony boy's hanging death is ruled a suicide
12:00 AM CST on Friday, February 19, 2010
By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
whundley@dallasnews.com
The Tarrant County medical examiner's office ruled Thursday that a 9-year-old boy from The Colony committed suicide.
The determination rules out speculation that Montana Lance's death was an accident.
Montana was found hanging in a bathroom at Stewart's Creek Elementary School around 1 p.m. Jan. 21. He was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead.
Lt. Darren Brockway of The Colony police said the medical examiner's ruling is consistent with police conclusions about the death.
"He'd gotten in trouble at school and panicked," Brockway said. "He just felt there was no other way out."
There had been speculation that Montana watched a television show about teen suicide the night before his death and was copying what he saw with no real intention to kill himself.
"We ruled that out as an option after talking to his parents," Brockway said. "He didn't watch that show."
Still, experts say children as young as Montana may not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. A suicidal act may be a spur-of-the-moment act, like an outburst or a tantrum, they say.
"It was more of a conscious decision he made in a moment of high anxiety," Brockway said.
A spokesman for the Lance family could not be reached for comment Thursday. A police report says Montana's father had insisted the death was accidental.
Brockway said Montana had been upset on the day of his death after he was sent to the office for misbehaving in class. He locked himself in the school nurse's restroom and didn't come out.
After about 10 minutes, the nurse got a key to open the door and found the child unconscious.
Montana had attached the buckle of a brown cloth belt to a hook of a device used to help disabled people use the restroom, according to a police report. He was found with the belt around his neck with his feet off the floor. Police found no notes or messages.
He had been taking medication for mood swings and for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and had been having suicidal thoughts for about two years, the police report states.
In 2007, Montana's parents, Jason and Debbie Lance, sought treatment for their son for ADHD.
In 2008, they told the doctor that the boy had been talking about committing suicide, and he was referred to a psychiatrist, according to the police report.
After Montana's death, Child Protective Services opened an investigation to determine whether abuse or neglect were contributing factors.
That investigation has not been completed, but the family's other two children have not been removed from the home, CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said.
Gonzales said CPS has had no prior involvement with the Lances and routinely investigates child fatalities.
With the medical examiner's ruling, police plan to close their investigation with no charges filed, Brockway said