Indiana

In his final moments, an Indiana middle schooler blamed bullies for his suicide. Could a state bill have saved him?

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2023

In his final moments, an Indiana middle schooler blamed bullies for his suicide. Could a state bill have saved him?

In case you or somebody you realize is in disaster, name 988 to succeed in the Suicide and Disaster Lifeline. It’s also possible to name the community, beforehand often called the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, textual content HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/assets for extra assets.

Terry Badger III’s mother and father see reminders of him in every single place: on their telephones, the place his sports activities practices nonetheless pop up of their calendars. Within the neighbors’ basketball court docket, quiet with out him taking pictures hoops there. Even within the sky: Terry glided by the nickname “TB3,” and on the morning of what would have been his first baseball match of the season, curly wisps of clouds fashioned right into a quantity three because the solar rose.

However there’s one place the place the Badgers hope to by no means see reminders of their son: in every other younger lives minimize quick by suicide.

Terry Badger III.The Badger Household

Terry, 13, killed himself at residence in Covington, Indiana, on March 6. In his closing moments, his mother and father mentioned, he recorded a video on his cellphone during which he named bullies at college and mentioned they have been the rationale he was taking his personal life.

Terry’s mom, Robyn Badger, was on a fast journey to the gasoline station when Terry died.

“It’s every single day, steady,” she mentioned of the ache she has felt since. “I’ve lived that day every single day.”

Terry’s demise has galvanized assist for an Indiana state invoice that might create a statewide blueprint for faculties to finish bullying. The invoice handed within the state Home in February however had languished within the state Senate till Terry’s demise put a renewed highlight on it, with greater than 86,400 folks signing a change.org petition urging the Indiana Normal Meeting to take motion as of Friday afternoon.

The bipartisan Home Invoice 1483 is now anticipated to change into legislation as early as subsequent week. It will require Indiana faculties to inform the mother and father of a bullying sufferer inside three enterprise days that an incident has been reported and to inform the mother and father of an alleged bullying perpetrator inside 5 enterprise days.

It additionally requires faculties to find out the severity of the bullying and whether or not the incident deserves the switch of the sufferer or perpetrator to a distinct college throughout the district for the sufferer’s security.

On Wednesday, a state Senate committee superior the invoice, which is now headed to the Senate flooring. The invoice’s writer requested it’s known as TB3’s Legislation, after Terry.

“I undoubtedly suppose it will have saved Terry,” Democratic State Rep. Vernon G. Smith mentioned in a cellphone interview, “however it’s going to save individuals sooner or later.”

Terry’s mother and father agree.

“We’re very pleased with him,” Terry Badger II mentioned, choking up.

The Badger family. — The Badger household.The Badger Household

‘They hounded him’

The Terry his mother and father noticed was comfortable. He loved fishing together with his household. He cherished trying to find mushrooms, although he didn’t like consuming them. He excelled in basketball and soccer.

However the seventh grader’s greatest ardour was baseball, the place he had a batting common of round .400 final season. On the Saturday earlier than he died, he threw a pitch that clocked in at 71 mph, his dad mentioned. Through the years, he had a complete of 27 residence runs; he signed and dated every ball, noting the placement of each residence run on all of them.

He dreamed of taking part in within the main leagues, ideally for the St. Louis Cardinals.

However at college, Terry was not comfortable in any respect, his mother and father mentioned. Children bullied him over every part. When Terry acquired a haircut from the barbershop, he got here residence from college the following day and begged his dad to present him a brand new haircut, telling him children have been laughing at his look.

One other time, Terry threw the custom-color Nike Air Max sneakers that he had requested his grandparents and sister to get him for Christmas and his birthday in his closet.

“I requested him, ‘What’s improper?’ And he’s like, ‘They’re making enjoyable of me for my sneakers now. And I’m not carrying them ever once more,’ Terry Badger mentioned.

In November, the Badgers had a gathering with college officers at Covington Center Faculty. They are saying directors by no means stopped the teasing and bullying, which they realized after his demise was even worse than they thought.

“We requested him every single day if he was OK,” Robyn Badger mentioned, including that Terry would normally say college was high-quality. However “he was being known as a fats ass and informed to kill himself every single day. We didn’t know any of that.”

“He was informed that this world can be higher if he simply went residence and shot himself. He was informed that he was by no means going to make it to the MLB,” Terry Badger added. “They hounded him about that. His garments, they requested him on a regular basis if he shopped at goodwill.”

Covington Faculty District superintendent Brady Scott informed NBC Information in an e mail that the varsity district is continuous “to try to heal from this tragedy.”

He maintained that Covington Center Faculty took acceptable steps to guard Terry. He referred to an announcement on the district’s web site that mentioned a third-party investigation by an Indiana legislation agency into the varsity’s anti-bullying coverage, handbook and paperwork associated to Terry “did decide the Faculty was attentive to any issues raised and adopted protocols by working with college students immediately.”

“Any concern, allegation, state of affairs, or subject introduced forth by a scholar or dad or mum is absolutely evaluated and addressed by administration,” Scott wrote in an e mail. He additionally mentioned he supported the state anti-bullying invoice.

Each the superintendent and Church Church Hittle + Antrim Legislation, the agency that performed the third-party assessment, declined to share the findings with NBC Information.

However Terry’s mother and father disagree that there was acceptable motion taken after their assembly.

“If I ever in 1,000,000 years thought that this is able to have been the end result, I’d have utterly taken him out of college,” Robyn Badger mentioned.

Warning indicators, even when it appears there are none

Terry’s demise comes as a youth psychological well being disaster grips the nation. Regardless, suicide will not be an inevitability, mentioned Susan Tellone, scientific director of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.

She mentioned that even when it looks as if there aren’t any warning indicators that youngsters are contemplating ending their lives, there are delicate indicators that oldsters or different adults can search for, together with temper swings, social withdrawal or a baby immediately selecting to cease doing an exercise that they beforehand loved.

“Many youngsters, they don’t come to us because the adults of their world and say, ‘I’m desirous about suicide.’ They could say, ‘I can’t take it anymore.’ ‘Nobody would discover if I wasn’t right here.’ ‘I’m a burden.’ ‘I’m out, I’m accomplished,’” she mentioned. “So we now have to essentially take heed to what children are saying.”

“Many youngsters, they do not come to us because the adults of their world and say, ‘I’m desirous about suicide.’ They could say, ‘I am unable to take it anymore.’ ‘Nobody would discover if I wasn’t right here.’ ‘I’m a burden.’ ‘I’m out, I’m accomplished.’”

Susan Tellone, scientific director of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide

That’s notably essential when kids are in anxious conditions that they don’t see a means out of, she mentioned, which could be something from a romantic breakup, to failing a category, to getting kicked off a sports activities group and jeopardizing a university scholarship.

“They don’t have the life expertise that we now have to know that you simply get via robust instances,” Tellone mentioned. “They really feel that they’ve accomplished every part inside their energy to unravel the issue, and there’s no different means out however to finish the ache by ending their life.”

She steered mother and father hear their kids out with out judgment and with out minimizing what they’re going via.

“Ask the query, ‘Have issues gotten so dangerous in your life that you simply’re truly considering of dying? That you simply don’t need to stay anymore?’” she mentioned. “If the reply is sure, we’ve acquired to get them assist.”

Terry’s mother and father really feel extra stringent anti-bullying protocols for faculties shall be one step in the best route. Their hope is that the blueprint proposed for Indiana shall be prolonged to each state, saving children throughout the nation.

“I’m pleased with what he’s change into and what he’s accomplished for others, and at all times have been,” Terry Badger II mentioned of his son. “However this, actually, is difficult.”

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Indiana

Family of missing Indiana pregnant woman Emma Baum reveals suspicions about disappearance

Published

1 hour ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Family of missing Indiana pregnant woman Emma Baum reveals suspicions about disappearance

An Indiana woman was nine months pregnant when she disappeared over three months ago, and her family has suspicions about her last whereabouts.

Mother of three Emma Baum, 25, went missing Oct. 10 in Gary, Indiana, and she was about to give birth to her fourth child.

Baum was last seen being dropped off at her boyfriend’s house, her sister Hailey Baum-Waddell told Fox News Digital.

“Looking for Emma has been a very struggling thing for everybody, mentally and physically and emotionally … but we’re not going to stop looking for her,” Baum-Waddell said. “I think if people keep going on and chanting that something needs to be done and chanting her name … just get the word out because a lot of people know, but not everybody knows.”

Authorities received a missing persons report for Baum from her family Oct. 28, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady told Fox News Digital.

“A couple of days went by. … We all started, like, messaging each other, ‘Hey, have you heard from Emma? Anybody seen her? Can you message one of her friends to get a hold of her boyfriend?’ And it was kind of just a ring around with everybody and everyone’s just trying to figure it out,” Baum-Waddell said.

“Then we’re like, ‘OK, well, this is not normal.’ … That’s when my mom really started to panic,” she added. “Then my mom ended up going to the police station.”

Officers with the Gary Police Department have used K-9s on several searches in the area, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department has assisted in a few of the searches, Hamady said.

“We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property,” he added.

In addition to the police investigation, Baum-Waddell said she and other relatives of Baum have been organizing a widespread search after a social media post of hers drew hundreds of willing participants.

“There’s been a lot of people who have offered to come out and look for her,” she said. “We’ve talked it over with other search groups. I made a post online just saying, you know, ‘Hands of how many people would be willing to come out,’ and I posted it in multiple groups.”

Baum lived in Portage, Indiana, but was visiting her boyfriend in Gary when she was last seen.

Baum-Waddell said her sister didn’t have a working phone when she disappeared and that although her sister may have “gone off and done her own thing” for several days at a time, she would never disappear for such a long period of time.

“That day, she was supposed to go with her boyfriend … to the phone store and get it activated, and she never got the phone activated,” she said. “She’s been completely silent on everything, and now that’s not like her.”

Baum-Waddell also mentioned her sister’s devotion as a mother and the close relationship she has with her oldest son.

“They have a freaking crazy, unbreakable bond,” she shared. “For her not to be here to see him on Christmas or Thanksgiving or … New Year’s. It’s unreal. There’s no way she would do that to him.”

Baum-Waddell believes her sister’s boyfriend is “hiding something,” she told Fox News Digital, and Baum’s mother believes the boyfriend had something to do with her disappearance, WGN9 reported.

“We have not charged anyone with the disappearance of Emma Baum, and she has not been located yet,” Hamady said. “We continue to search and interview individuals that are or maybe associated with this case.”

Baum’s boyfriend, who was originally in custody in an unrelated case, was released from Lake County Jail and is awaiting his court date for the separate charges, Hamady added.

Baum is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs around 136 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She has several scars and tattoos, and she often wears colorful wigs.

“Emma gave everybody her all, gave them all the love that she could,” Baum-Waddell emotionally said about her sister. “She has these big brown eyes, and she always just wanted to make everybody, you know, laugh or feel good about themselves or have them feel included.

“It’s very difficult because now it’s not just her that’s missing. It’s her baby. And you don’t want to think, you know, the worst because who would want to, you know, hurt a girl and her baby?” she added. “We’re just hoping to find her safe.”

Anyone with information on Baum’s disappearance is asked to contact the Gary Police Department at (219) 881-1209.

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Indiana

Indiana man arrested on child pornography charge following cyber tip, police say

Published

9 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Indiana man arrested on child pornography charge following cyber tip, police say

INDIANA – An Indiana man was arrested after authorities found him in possession of child pornography during an investigation that started with a cyber tip last May.

Cyber Tip Leads to Arrest

What we know:

Indiana State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2024 about three videos containing child sexual abuse material.

Authorities determined the suspect accessed the videos from Michigan City, Ind.

During the investigation, officers uncovered additional videos and obtained a search warrant earlier this month.

On Jan. 17, officers executed the search warrant at a home in the 3100 block of Springland Avenue in Michigan City and identified the suspect as 29-year-old Stephen Julius Terrell Morrow II.

29-year-old Stephen Julius Terrell Morrow II

Morrow was taken to the La Porte County Jail on a charge of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony.

What’s next:

Final charges against Morrow will be determined by the La Porte County prosecutor, authorities said.

IndianaCrime and Public SafetyNews

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Indiana

Five takeaways from Indiana's win at Ohio State

Published

17 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Five takeaways from Indiana's win at Ohio State

Indiana bounced back from losses to Iowa and Illinois with a 77-76 overtime win against Ohio State on Friday night at Value City Arena. The win improved the Hoosiers to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Buckeyes:

Indiana responded after embarrassing performances against Iowa and Illinois

After back-to-back 25-point losses to Iowa and Illinois, how Indiana would respond Friday night in Columbus was an open question entering the game.

Would the Hoosiers falter again and allow a third-straight blowout loss? Or would IU regroup as Luke Goode suggested in the aftermath of the Illinois loss?

Indiana regrouped and from the opening tip, the energy was different. The Hoosiers competed for most of the 45 minutes against the Buckeyes. Even when shots weren’t falling in the first half, Indiana never let the game get out of reach.

As the second half began and perimeter shots began to fall, the Hoosiers made a move. By the 5:12 mark of the second half, Indiana led 68-58 and it appeared that a comfortable win was within reach.

However, Indiana faltered down the stretch as Ohio State went on a 13-3 run to close out regulation and force overtime. After falling behind to start the extra period, Goode’s 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and Anthony Leal’s block with one second left lifted IU to a much-needed victory.

Luke Goode had a career night and IU needed every shot to win

Goode entered the starting lineup on Dec. 29 against Winthrop and has found his shooting stroke in the new year.

Friday marked Goode’s best performance of the season as he poured in a career-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field.

Goode was 4-for-7 on 3s. Through eight Big Ten games, Goode is 19-for-41 on 3s (46.3 percent). He’s scored in double figures in four of the last five games.

Nearly every Goode 3-pointer came at a key point in the game for Indiana. His first 3-pointer got the Hoosiers within three at 39-36 with 17:51 to play.

His second triple gave IU the lead at 43-41 at the 15:08 mark and his third stretched the lead to four at 50-46 with 12:50 remaining.

And in overtime, Goode’s 3-pointer with just over a minute to play lifted Indiana to its second conference road win. Goode played every minute of the second half and overtime.

Oumar Ballo dominates Ohio State in the post

Oumar Ballo finished with a double-double Friday night for the fifth time in six games.

The 7-foot, 265-pound big man has taken on a bigger scoring load in the absence of Malik Reneau. Against Ohio State, Ballo had 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting and a 5-for-7 performance from the free throw line.

Ballo also grabbed 15 rebounds with eight of those on the offensive end. He played 40 minutes and added three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

In Big Ten games, Ballo is averaging 17.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 32.1 minutes while shooting 66.3 percent from the field.

While there have been moments where Ballo’s effort has waned inside games, he’s playing the most minutes of his career. In Friday’s win, his hustle kept several possessions alive and his size was too much for the Buckeyes to handle at the rim.

Kanaan Carlyle provides a significant lift off the bench

For the first time since Dec. 9, sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle reached double figures in scoring against Ohio State.

The Atlanta native has struggled with his shooting all season but came alive on Friday night. With Myles Rice benched for most of the game with foul issues, Carlyle played a season-high 36 minutes and delivered his best overall game this season.

Carlyle finished with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. He made IU’s only 3-pointer of the first half and didn’t turn the ball over.

While he did struggle at the free throw line – he shot 2-for-5 – Carlyle’s energy on both ends was a major reason the Hoosiers escaped with a win.

Ten of Carlyle’s 13 points came in the second half and overtime, as his aggressive attack on the rim resulted in three layups.

Hoosiers add second Quad 1 win

As ugly as IU’s losses to Iowa and Illinois were, the reality is the Hoosiers still have plenty of opportunities to record NCAA tournament resume-worthy wins.

Friday night was one of those and IU took advantage.

The win against the Buckeyes was the second in Quad 1 of the season for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes are No. 37 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.

Now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, the Hoosiers still have numerous opportunities to build a case for March Madness. Of Indiana’s remaining 12 regular season games, all 12 are Quad 2 or higher and eight of them are projected to be Quad 1.

With the win against Ohio State, Indiana currently sits at No. 61 in the NET rankings.

Filed to: Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oumar Ballo

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