Moments before taking her own life, 16-year-old Maddie Yates posted a farewell video on YouTube , garnering thousands of views before the site took the video down, Courier-Journal reports.
The video was posted 6 pm on Monday and went viral the next day among students of Louisville Male High School in Kentucky, where Maddie attended 11th grade. Students from the school shared the said footage on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, bringing the video’s view count up to 10,000.
School authorities shut down school access to Twitter and YouTube to contain the situation, as Yates’ death was still under preliminary investigation. At 4:30 pm, Maddie’s farewell video was removed from YouTube. Few details were revealed about Maddie’s suicide, but her mother confirmed on Facebook that before she went on to take her own life, Maddie bonded and laughed with the family.
According to those who have watched, Yates’ video was entitled “Introduction” and was a three-minute video detailing her hurts and struggles as a sufferer of depression.
In the video, Maddie said:
“I know that I’m going to hurt everyone who loves me.
“But I’ve been like this for so long, and there’s still a chance that the worst day might still be coming. And I just don’t see how this is a bad idea.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like it was their fault. This was my decision, not yours. I’m the one who messed up, not you. There’s nothing, literally nothing that you could have done.”
In the video, Maddie described herself as “not a good person” and said that she sees no other option than taking her own life.
Maddie added:
“‘You don’t even want to know the things that I think… I’m doing literally the whole world a favor. But I love you, and I’m sorry. And I really, really love you.”
According to the Daily Mail, Yates regularly took Prozac to combat her depression. On Twitter, the day she committed suicide , Maddie posted the link to her final video.
Friends took to Twitter and Facebook to express their despair over Maddie Yates’ untimely passing.
Louisville Male High School sent letters to parents detailing the death of the student. In the letter, the principal described Yates as “respected and well-liked by our students and staff.”
The school promises to bring in grief counselors to help students cope with the death of Maddie Yates.