The 17-year-olds died within hours of each other.
AB Wire
Two 17-year-old girls who were friends and students at Plano East Senior High School in Plano, Texas, Ritu Sachdeva and Hillary Kate Kuizon, allegedly committed suicide.
Relatives called 911 after finding the body of Sachdeva in her home in Murphy, a suburb of Plano, on Sunday Jan. 31. Several hours later the remains of Hillary Kate Kuizon were found by Murphy officers in a wooded area just south of Kimbrough Stadium, reported Fox 4.
CBS News reported the medical examiner has listed ‘multiple medications’ as the preliminary cause of death of Sachdeva. The body of Kuizon was found hanging.
Investigators believe both 17-year-old girls committed suicide.
“Both deaths occurred within hours of each other under circumstances that have led investigators to presume they were both self-inflicted. No motives have been identified, and no evidence of foul play has so far been detected,” the Murphy Police Department said in a statement.
Rumors have begun circulating about a possible suicide pact. Investigators are talking to relatives to determine if there is any connection between the two deaths.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the two families,” said Chief Arthur Cohen. “We are treating these two cases with the care and compassion they deserve, and will continue to seek answers for the families.”
Friends of the girls told Fox 4 neither one showed any outward signs of being depressed. They were described as bubbly and energetic. They were liked by many.
Sachdeva’s older sister said her family did not notice any signs that she planned to kill herself. Ritu struggled with depression and anxiety but regularly saw a psychiatrist and therapist and took medication, Suchi Sachdeva, 21, told NBC News in an email.
In fact, her sister said, Ritu “seemed much happier than she had been in a while. You could even say she was becoming more confident, happy and excited for life.” Part of the reason was she’d been accepted to Drexel University in Philadelphia, and was chatting with members of a group for incoming students.
“I just wanted to say that this was just so unexpected,” Suchi Sachdeva said. “My parents and I care so much for her.”
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among children and young adults aged 10 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC warned last March of an increase in young people suffocating and strangling themselves, including by hanging.
If it turns out that the girls went through with some sort of suicide pact, the case would be a rarity. It’s estimated that such acts make up less than 1 percent of all suicide deaths, said Jeffrey Bridge, director of the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Most suicide pacts involve married couples over the age of 50, he said, reported NBC News.
“They were good students,” Christian Lewis, a student at Plano East, told CBS, “always on time, always kept their grades up.”
Classmates say the teens didn’t appear to be either ‘troubled’ or ‘troublemakers’… which makes the thought of them taking their own lives even more difficult to comprehend.
Suicide prevention experts warn that answers are often elusive.
“I think that’s what makes it so hard,” says Jenyce Gush, Director of Programs at the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas. “You just struggle to find an answer. And it’s not there.”
For decades, Gush has helped families navigate the guilt and grief, having traveled that same road when her younger brother committed suicide. She’s says it is important for friends and the community to stay close to these families, reported CBS.
“The thing I learned is that if love could keep someone alive, they would never have killed themselves,” says Gush, “because it’s not about love. It’s not about something someone said or did. My heart goes out to these families, and I would say, be gentle with yourself… you’ve done nothing wrong.”
Sachdeva’s sister took to Facebook to share her grief: writing on a post, “She was so bright, beautiful, quirky, and just all around amazing… Nothing could have prepared me for this. Our family and friends are devastated.”
The families have asked for privacy as friends gather around them to offer support.
“I don’t know what the school can do, or anyone else can do to prevent stuff like this really,” says Praharsha Sunkara, another Plano East student. “But, I really think that just talking about it would help.”