Ashley Billasano, High School Student, Tweeted 144 Times Before Committing Suicide

"I went to the bathroom and locked the door," 18-year-old Ashley Billasano tweeted.

"I took apart a razor. I did what I had to do to forget. I swear after that night I was never the same."

Billasano told her painful story through the popular social networking site. Soon after, she had committed suicide, FOX News Latino reported.

In her 144 tweets over 6 hours, Billasano allegedly claimed that she had been molested by a family member and forced into prostitution. She also detailed her unsuccessful attempt at seeking justice.

"It is my understanding she made an outcry apparently a year ago in Williamson County up close to Austin about some allegations of sexual abuse," Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department Chief Craig Brady told FOX News. "My understanding, that was looked into the sheriff's office there, the D.A'S office and a grand jury. There was no indictment issued."

Close friend Ashly Escamilla told the Houston Chronicle that Billasano's death was the high schooler's last attempt to be heard.

"This wasn't random. She planned this for a reason. She made a decision that this was what she was going to do to get attention if she was not going to get justice."

Billasano's mother, Tiffany Ruiz Leskinen, told the paper that being denied help from authorities was too much for her daughter to cope with.

"The detective told her that she had trouble believing her," her mother told the Houston Chronicle. "Here is someone who has been abused and is forced to be silent for so long. Then the one person you go to looking for help says they might not believe you. The CPS caseworker was a rookie right out of college. She did not know anything and kept saying she had check with her supervisor."

According to the report, a spokesman for Texas Child Protective Services said privacy policies keep the agency from confirming if an investigation followed Billasano's claims.

According to the Austin-Statesman, Billasano's Twitter account was taken down as of Wednesday.

An important question, as ABC news noted, is why none of Billasano's 500 followers called the police, or reached out to help her.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or visit stopbullying.gov. You can also visit The Trevor Project or call them at 866-488-7386.

WATCH:

18-Year-Old Girl Tweets 144 Times before Committing Suicide: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Comments

[Tamasha Brown]

08:13 PM on 12/06/2011

WE WANT AND DEMAND JUSTICE........STOP MAKING US PAY WITH OUR LIVES. WHETHER THATS THROUGH SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS OR SUICIDE. WE CANNOT BE SILENT ANY LONGER.... THE DESTRUCTION TO THE CHILD IS FAR WORSE THAN CAN BE IMAGINED AND MANIFESTS ITSELF IN DIFFERENT WAYS. ALL CHILD OFFENDERS MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE. I AM ENCOURAGING ALL FAMILIES TO REPORT ABUSE REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, SEX OR CREED. THESE PERPETRATORS NEVER STOP. THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN HELP THEM IS BY MAKING THEM FACE CHARGES AND GET HELP......BECAUSE MOST LIKELY THEY WERE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE THEMSELVES. YOU ARE NOT DOING THEM OR ANY OTHER CHILDREN SUBJECT TO THEIR ABUSE ANY FAVORS. BELIEVE ME. STOP COVERING UP THESE SICK TRUTHS AND REPORT THEM SO WE CAN BEGIN TO HEAL OURSELVES. I UNDERSTAND THE SHAME AND EMBARRASSMENT A FAMILY CAN SUFFER AS A RESULT OF PRESSING CHARGES. BUT I PROMISE THAT IT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE SHAME PAIN AND SUFFERING OF THE ONE WHO WAS ABUSED AND WITHOUT JUSTICE........ WHO ELSE IS THERE TO BLAME?

[ashton b]

04:07 PM on 11/19/2011

This is a tragic story. Unfortunately, like Ashley, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday, usually by a person they know. It is up to adults to stand up for these children, even if you just have a suspicion that a child has been abused. You could be the ONE to prevent the tragic death of another child.

To learn more about signs of abuse visit: http://www.onewithcourage.org/

[dexterpearson]

07:53 AM on 11/17/2011

Rest Well in His Kingdom, Ashley; u were lost way 2 soon...

This is extremely sad & scary. I had just gotten over Ashlynn Conner's story, and now, this. I was reading on CNN's website that her case hasn't & won't die with her. They're investigating more so to find out what the heck happened & if her tormentors will b charged. I hope she does get justice & more is done 2 change the mindscape & perceptions of bullying/abuse.

We cannot keep losing our next generations 2 failures or inadequacies of our laws, policies, or case handling. We all need to fight back against these wrongs & ensure the right thing is being done. No more burying our young people due 2 suicide! There is life after wrongdoing has been done unto u. Do not take "no" 4 an answer. Fight 4 positive change. It's yours...

[Anne Hildreth-Junod]

04:53 PM on 11/16/2011

Aside from the importance of taking suicide threats seriously, this tragedy is truly a reflection on the gaping holes in service provision from the social service sector, including CPS and the sheriff's department who apparently dismissed this girl. THAT is the first issue. Yes, of course suicide awareness and prevention is critical, but we wouldn't necessarily be talking about suicide prevention in the case of Ashley if CPS and the sheriff's office had done their jobs thoroughly. I remember the Benita Jacks case in Washington, DC a few years ago - Ms. Jacks' daughters would be alive today had the police department, justice department, and CPS adequately done their jobs.

I worked at an organization that serves sexually and physically abused children - very, very, very, very, very, VERY rarely do children make allegations such as this up out of the blue. Yet she was dismissed for lack of evidence. In sex abuse cases, it is the exception, not the rule that there is a mountain of physical evidence - the human body is miraculous in many cases and heals quite quickly - the evidence shouldn't have been the first issue, it should have and always should be the word of the child.

How will other children in Ashley's circumstances feel after hearing about this story? Children need to first feel safe and believed - CPS and the Sheriff's office's disbelief/neglect may cause other children to be too afraid to step forward and tell authorities of their abuse.

[Carly Fiske]

03:25 PM on 11/16/2011

There needs to be more social and legal support for abuse victims like this girl.

[VictimsGetVocal]

03:19 PM on 11/16/2011

There is help for sexual abuse victims. Ashley's story is exactly why we started a website at victimsgetvocal.com for other victims who want to share their story and get help. We invite anyone who has experienced abuse to share their story. Suicide should never be an option.

[manto]

02:42 AM on 11/16/2011

Forced into prostitution? What if the twittering person is not her, but the pimp? He killed her because she wont go peacefully?

[jeni174]

12:59 AM on 11/16/2011

This breaks my heart to hear about this precious little girl.My family is also going thru this with a 12 year old family member here in travis county in late Sept of 2011. She attempted suicide after being abused for years by a family member. Our story was aired on fox and Kxan. We were told with out her able to testify the abuser may walk. We have been trying to speak out for our family member to make sure the abuser does not get away with this.

[dexterpearson]

08:07 AM on 11/17/2011

I'm truly sorry 2 hear that about ur young relative. U don't expect things 2 go so far south as 2 invoke suicide as a final solution. Unfortunately, when things hit a point 2 where the 1 Suffering screams 4 peace & positive progress 4 justice that doesn't come, they feel there's no other way.

I'm not keen on the law, but be sure 2 do what u can, where u can without hurting the case. Encourage her 2 not give up on her rights. Continue 2 help her understand that it's not her fault, that justice will prevail, & she'll make it - no matter what happens, she'll make it. She might not understand it right now, but she'll sing again, smile again, and stand all again. U & the rest of the family do so 2; one thing I've learned is that it's not only the person Suffering an ailment or trauma, but also the friends & family who Silently Suffer 'cause they're unsure how 2 help. She'll need strong people in her corner; she can't get stronger if y'all don't.

How's she doing after her suicide attempt? Has she received proper counseling 2 help her cope during this time? And, how's the case??? I'd love 2 keep n touch 2 know that justice has been served.

[allerleirauh]

12:32 AM on 11/16/2011

It's not fair to blame the twitter followers. For every girl who threatens to commit suicide online and follows through, there are 1000 girls who regularly threaten suicide to get attention. When I moderated a commercial chatroom, we had to make talking about suicide a bannable offense because there was a group of kids who did it constantly to create uproar. Our policy was to place a call to the police in the user's jurisdiction giving them all the information we had about the person's location and then ban them.

[LizLemonsbrother]

11:55 PM on 11/15/2011

This is very sad, I wonder how involved her mother was since it was a family member. As a single mother, my ex-husband pushed one of our children in the bath and he hit his head, and he dragged our daughter and threw her on the bed. The kids called me and I immediately picked them up and went to the police. The kids each told him their story and he said he didn't believe it. He sent a policeman over to my ex-husband's to ask if he had abused the kids and he said no, that I was trying to make trouble for him because he had a girlfriend. Apparently his girlfriend supported my ex-husband's comments and that was that. It can be very frustrating, especially when a woman is working with a man in law enforcement.

[obamich44]

12:17 PM on 11/21/2011

I'm so sorry. I'm also a single mom. I'm so sick of people always automatically assuming that when a parent is trying to protect their child from another parent, they are just trying to "make trouble". We are the ones accused of being crazy, jealous, mean or exaggerated ones. Stand your ground and keep any incident written and recorded. It's tough when no one believes you so this way you have at least some proof or evidence of history.

[LizLemonsbrother]

09:27 PM on 11/21/2011

Thanks for your kind reply. My kids are both in their 20's now and doing really, really well.About six months after the incident I described, he came over to my house, wouldn't leave and pushed me so I called the police to help me get him to leave my house. I wasn't going to press charges because I wasn't hurt really, just mildly sore and no bruises but the policeman talked me into it. He pointed out that he could have pushed me through the window -- I had been standing by a floor to ceiling window at the time.

Anyway, the upshot is that my ex tried to bribe me and pay me money not to press charges and I did. He was convicted of a lesser crime (disturbing the peace) and when the judge asked me what I wanted for a punishment, I said I wanted him to take parenting classes and that's what she ordered. But he did so poorly he was required to repeat them. After that, my ex never touched the kids but he was relentlessly doing what he could to interfere with my job and a bunch of other things. However, my kids told me they were proud of me because they could feel safe. I was surprised by how much it meant to them.

[Sarah Connor]

03:51 PM on 11/15/2011

It's astonishing how many gaps are in this system so its really no surprise how many victims fall through. What we need is one which spends less $ trying to get oil from and building palacial military bases in the Middle East, and more on actually protecting its citizens. Take some of that $ and invest it in at least one of the numerous abandoned houses all over the country, per neighborhood and set them up as shelters. Separating the special victims from the homeless and drug addicts and one especially for children. Finally the same way we can hand out condoms to 12 year olds in schools, we can also mandate that at least once a year they're told about their rights and means of protection if they are victims of abuse, letting them know that there is a safe place to stay if they don't feel safe at home. ...Just my 2 cents, but I guess its just more important to drill, baby drill.

[Out there]

07:15 AM on 11/16/2011

Your suggestion makes a lot of sense : "a least once a year the pre-teen and teenage children are "educated" about their rights and means of protection" : this would be perfectly place IN THE SCHOOLS.
Let society play an active role twoards guidance and prevention instead of only having law enforcement injecting themselves into the situation after the victimes are completly damaged, or crimes are perpetrated to more children, or even, as in this case, have death as a consequence.

[Sarah Connor]

03:51 PM on 11/15/2011

This death is more a reflection of the failure of the system than anything else. We have to remember that your average 18 yr old isn't all that familiar with the legal system so Ashley may not have known about all the help available to her. Also, from my own personal experience, even if she were to have the means to go to a women's shelter, those shelters are very few and far between and so are overcrowded and have very little security. I didnt feel safe when I was in one because I was put in a room together with prostitutes and drug addicts, so one can imagine how that would've made and 18 yr old girl feel. And that's just assuming she had the $ to get to one. The other failure lies in the fact that as it happened in this case, even after she reported the abuse, the case workers basically tell you to go back home and wait until we can investigate. Then they'll call the parent and let them know an investigation is pending, putting the victim in a more precarious position.

[defygrav12]

03:36 PM on 11/15/2011

The thing that troubles me is-- she was apparently molested by a family member and forced into prostitution, yet it's her MOTHER at the end pointing a grubby finger at police saying, "No one believed her!" Were you, madame, not there to back up her claims? In the midst of feeling so alone, why did she not have her mother there as support? Pretty sure someone would've listened had you also stood beside your daughter and said something.

All of this disgusts me.

[jonnai]

02:37 PM on 11/15/2011

this is so sad.

[timeofyourlife]

02:28 PM on 11/15/2011

The police don't believe the targets of abuse unless they see bruises, cuts, broken bones, etc., and This is SAD and STUPID. Most forms of abuse cause invisible scars, the derogatory names, threats, put downs, the control, sexual assault, mockery, humiliation, etc. The abuser knows how to deceive the public and fools people into believing that they are moral beings. S/he lies and blames the victim. In my opinion, Ashley was crying out for help, but no one listened. I don't feel she committed suicide for attention. I believe that she did it to make the pain from the words (negative words replay in the target's mind repeatedly) and abuse to disappear.