Young boy kills himself after enduring four days of homophobic bullying at school, says mother

'He wanted to make everybody happy even when he wasn’t'

Jamel Myles killed himself after homophobic bullying at school, his mother said (CBS)

A nine-year-old boy has taken his own life after enduring four days of homophobic bullying at school, his mother has said.

Leia Pierce said her son, Jamel Myles, told her over the summer he was gay and wanted to tell his classmates at his school in Denver, Colorado because he was proud of his orientation.

The Denver coroner’s office confirmed Jamel died by suicide.

"My child died because of bullying. My baby killed himself,” Mr Pierce told The Denver Post. “He didn’t deserve this. He wanted to make everybody happy even when he wasn’t. I want him back so bad.”

She said Jamel had begun wearing fake fingernails on 20 August, the first day back following the school holiday. Four days later, she found his lifeless body at home.

Jamel’s eldest sister revealed other children had told the boy to kill himself, Ms Pierce added.

Counsellors were made available to children, teachers and school staff at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School on Monday, the newspaper reported.

In a letter sent to families, Denver Public Schools (DPS) said Jamel’s death was an "unexpected loss for our school community".

The note said: "Our goal is to partner with you in sharing this news with your child in the most appropriate way possible, with as much support as may be needed, so please feel free to reach out about how you want to handle this."

Ms Pierce said that over the summer, Jamel told her he was gay while curled up in the back seat of the family car.

“He was scared because he is a boy and it’s harder on boys when they come out,” Ms Pierce said. “I smiled at him and said I still loved him. This world is missing out.”

She added: “I’m dead inside. He was beautiful. He was magic. I lost my greatest gift.”

For confidential support call Samaritans on 116 123.

In the US, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for free on 800-273-8255

You can also contact the following organisations for confidential support: https://www.mind.org.uk; https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk; http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth; https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk