A report released by officials Monday detailed the grizzly events that lead to a 14-year-old’s suicide.
The teen, Naika Venant, streamed her suicide live on Facebook on January 22, 2017. She was in state custody and living in a foster home at the time of her death.
Investigators say they have since learned that Naika had been sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend.
Naika was also physically abused by her mother, Gina Alexi.
Investigators said that when Naika reported the abuse to Gina she called her daughter a liar and defended her boyfriend.
Gina had previously been warned about her boyfriend’s pattern of abuse, but she ignored the facts.
According to reports, Gina said her boyfriend was charming and told people he loved children. She said she did not believe he was capable of what he was accused of.
According to the Miami Gardens Police Department, when Naika was 6 years old, Gina’s boyfriend would force the child to watch pornographic movies. The boyfriend would then force the girl to perform oral sex. Police said Naika was forced to do despicable things that were from pornographic movies.
In 2009, police say Gina severely beat Naika with a belt after the child was sexually aggressive with another juvenile.
After Department of Children and Families investigators learned of the incident, Naika was removed from her mother’s custody.
When DCF investigators asked Nakia how she learned about sex, she told them that her mother’s boyfriend taught her how to have sex.
In 2014, after Naika was returned to her mother, she ran away. Naika told police that she ran away because she was afraid her mother would continue to “beat” her.
When police tried to return Naika to her home, Gina refused her daughter.
According to police, Gina told investigators that if they left Naika that [she] would beat the child.
Ultimately, Naika was placed in foster care.
On January 22, while streaming live on Facebook for two hours, Naika hanged herself with a scarf from a shower door. Her foster parents were asleep in the next room.
The DCF reports states, “For nearly three hours on the evening of her death, Naika used an internet application known as Facebook Live to broadcast to the public as she contemplated ending her life in the middle of the night while hundreds of viewers were watching. For over two hours, many viewers, some of whom were her friends, were pleading with Naika to reconsider her decision, a decision of which some believe Naika, herself, was unsure. However, there were many other individuals urging her to take her own life, calling her vile names and claiming the situation was either “fake” or “all
an act.”
Police said one of Naika’s friends saw the live feed that showed her hanging in the bathroom and called police. When officers arrived at the friend’s house she allegedly gave them an incorrect address, which prompted police to go to the wrong house.
When police finally responded to the correct house, it was too late.
Gina has not taken any responsibility for her child’s death. Instead, she blames the state.
Investigators said that even though the state could have done a better job at protecting Nakia, Gina played a significant role in her daughter’s death.
Gina’s boyfriend, whose name has not been released, is currently under investigation.
Investigators said Gina had every chance to help Naika, but she ignored all of the facts and turned her back on her own daughter.
Gina has since hired an attorney. As of Tuesday, Gina had not been charged with any crimes.
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