Police Have Been Unable to Get Facebook to Take Down a Video of a 12-Year-Old's Death by Suicide

On December 30, a girl named Katelyn Nicole Davis from Cedartown, GA, live streamed her own death on social media, explaining that she had been sexually abused by a family member before hanging herself in front of her home.

BuzzFeed reports that video was broadcast on Live.me, connecting it to her Facebook page. Her family deleted the video, but not before it had been captured and added to YouTube and other sites. YouTube has since deleted the video, but it is still being shared and circulated on Facebook. Unfortunately, keeping the video up is not illegal. The Polk County Police posted on their Facebook page on Monday about Davis, asking people to stop sharing the video:

As the investigation is still on-going; The Polk County Criminal Investigation Division will not go into any of the details regarding the case.

However, as many of you know, there have been numerous videos and posts on various internet websites that are referencing this case. We are making a specific request that anyone who has any knowledge, videos, or comments regarding this case, please keep this information off of the internet. Out of respect for the family of the departed and for the deceased themselves, we respectfully request that the citizenry of Polk County and whoever might view or receive this message please help us out with this request.

Fox 5 News Atlanta has reported that Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd claims people are contacting his department from all over the world, outraged that the video is still circulating. He has attempted to reach out to sites and pages hosting it, but as it’s not against the law he can’t force them to remove anything. “We want it down as much as anyone for the family and it may be harmful to other kids. We contacted some of the sites. They asked if they had to take it down and by law they don’t. But it’s just the common decent thing to do in my opinion,” Dodd told Fox 5.

The Polk County Police have also launched an investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse. They are combing through her social media posts, including an online diary she wrote under the moniker “Dolly.”