At the age of 15, Canadian adolescent Amanda Todd committed suicide. Before making the final move, she recorded a video using flashcards and published it on “YouTube,” in which she described how she had been tormented, abused, harassed, and hounded both online and off. She lived a life similar to other kids her age until she met someone on “Facebook” when she was 12 years old who convinced her to show her breasts on a webcam. The individual snapped a screenshot, and Amanda’s torment started when he demanded that she perform for him, posted the topless picture on “Facebook,” and spread it around. Amanda was bullied and physically abused by several people in addition to the torture, and she was unable to endure it. Her video went viral after she passed away, grabbing the attention of international media. The British Columbia Coroners Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) opened investigations into her suicide, and the Canadian House of Commons approved a resolution to eliminate bullying in Canada and increase funding for anti-bullying organizations. The “Amanda Todd Trust,” established by Amanda’s mother, supports initiatives to combat bullying and raise awareness of cyberbullying.
Amanda’s Adversities Lead to Suicide
On September 7, 2012, about a month before she killed herself, Amanda posted a nine-minute “YouTube” video titled “My Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide, Self-Harm.” She utilized a variety of flashcards to tell the story of her trauma in the video. Within two days of her passing, the video went viral, garnering more than 1,600,000 views by October 13, 2012, and being featured on news websites all over the world.
In the eighth grade, she moved in with her father and began using video chat to meet new people, according to her video. She met a stranger during this time, made friends with her, and after around a year of convincing, agreed to let him see her breasts on a webcam.
Then, after taking a screenshot of her topless body, the individual began extorting money from her and demanding that she put on a “performance” for him. If she didn’t comply, he threatened to show the picture to her friends.
She was informed by the authorities that her topless picture was being shared online during the 2010 holiday break. Her video claims that after being sexually exploited online and the target of cyberbullying, she first felt dejected and then scared. Following these events, she and her family moved to a new home where she developed an addiction to alcohol and narcotics.
After a year, her blackmailer reappeared in her life. This time, he approached her friends at her new school while using her topless photo as the profile picture of a new “Facebook” page. As a result, Amanda experienced bullying once more and was compelled to switch schools.
Amanda wrote in her writings that “an old guy buddy” had gotten in touch with her. While his fiancée was on vacation someplace else, she immediately began speaking with him and eventually had sex with him in his home. The boy’s girlfriend approached Amanda at her school the following week along with about 15 other people. Amanda received a blow from the boy’s girlfriend. Later, she was discovered by her father in a ditch.
After the incident, Amanda tried to take her own life by swallowing bleach, but she was saved after being rushed to the hospital. She then saw hateful comments about her suicide attempt posted on “Facebook,” so her suffering did not end there.
In March 2012, she and her family moved to a different city in an effort to start over. Her hazy past, though, didn’t go away. Carol, her mother, claimed that the blackmailer would adopt a new name and become Amanda’s “Facebook” friend each time she changed schools. He would make online pals with her new classmates by posing as a student at the school seeking out new acquaintances. After gathering contacts, he would email the film to her school’s instructors, pupils, and parents.
Amanda’s mental state slipped away gradually. Despite receiving counseling and anti-depressants, she started hurting herself and took a medication overdose that required her to return to the hospital.
She received treatment for her acute depression and continued her counseling and therapy. Although Amanda was “on a good track” following the treatment, as her mother noted, some youngsters teased her as “crazy” when she was discharged from the hospital.
On October 10, 2012, at around six o’clock in the evening, Amanda was discovered hanging in her Port Coquitlam, Canada, residence. She was enrolled in the tenth grade at Coquitlam’s “CABE Secondary” at the time.
Investigating, identifying, and convicting the accused
The British Columbia Coroners Service and the RCMP both started looking into Amanda’s case. She committed suicide, according to the former’s initial investigation.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre of the UK’s National Crime Agency and the Dutch authorities received a report of an investigation by the security division of “Facebook” from the US authorities. In January 2014, as a result of this, the Dutch police detained a guy in connection with a case involving numerous victims in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands.
A spyware program that was put on the man’s computer turned up conversation logs for extortion, pictures of child pornography, and some sort of database of potential victims.
Aydin C., a 35-year-old male with both Dutch and Turkish citizenship, was charged with child pornography and indecent assault by Dutch authorities, according to a report from April 2014. The individual was also accused by the ‘RCMP’ of possessing and disseminating child pornography, extortion, and criminal harassment via the internet. It was quickly discovered that he had harassed other victims, both boys, and girls, including Amanda.
The accused man’s trial, Aydin Coban, who was charged by Dutch police with 72 counts of sexual assault and extortion (including 39 alleged victims), began in the Netherlands in February 2017 and ended on March 16 of the same year. In the Netherlands, he was found guilty of extortion and computer fraud and received a 10-year prison term.
He is anticipated to be extradited to Canada before the middle of 2018. He is accused of five distinct Canadian crimes connected to Amanda’s case.
What Amanda’s Death Has Done?
Amanda’s terrible demise got a lot of media attention and coverage from across the world. An assortment of vigils was conducted in Canada and beyond, on October 19, 2012, in remembrance of Amanda and other victims of bullying.
On November 19, 2012, their last farewell ceremony for her took place at Coquitlam’s “Red Robinson Show Theatre.” Six hundred people showed up to it. Parliamentarian Dany Morin of the ‘New Democratic Party’ filed a motion in the ‘Canadian House of Commons’ that year, which urged focusing on the issue of bullying in the nation and giving more financial and other support to anti-bullying organizations.
To address the problem of cyberbullying faced by Amanda and other victims of Canada, Justice Minister Peter MacKay of the ‘Conservative Party’ tabled ‘Bill C-13’ on November 20, 2013. It gained royal assent on December 9, 2014, and went into force on March 9, 2015.
The “Amanda Todd Trust” was established at the “Royal Bank of Canada” by Amanda’s mother, Carol. The trust, which is intended for teenagers who are mentally disturbed as a result of bullying, accepts donations to support awareness education and programs on how to combat bullying.
2016 saw the establishment of the “Amanda Todd Legacy Award” in collaboration with the “Douglas College Foundation.” It gives three students a yearly scholarship worth $1,000 USD for their education.
Estimated net worth
The estimated net worth of Amanda Todd is about $1 million.