When math teacher Katherine Nugent’s 15-year-old daughter Isabel took her own life, the first chilling sign was the haunting sound of her alarm clock ringing over and over again.
“I don’t know why it didn’t seem strange to me that it just rang and rang and rang,” Nugent said. USA today of the horrible morning.
‘The light was on in the bathroom and I thought he was getting ready for school. And then I said, “Isabel,” and she didn’t answer.
And then I thought, “He must have headphones on.” Then I pushed the door and it didn’t open. And then it opened and she was dead on the floor.
Nugent, who resides in Maryland, recalled the horrific day Isabel died in October 2023 in an effort to raise awareness about the online suicide forums she believed her daughter had been browsing during her final days.
The heartbroken mother also told the Displacement 2 Death podcast in July that she found ‘detailed instructions’ in Isabel’s bedroom on how to create a deadly concoction, which she suspects her daughter found online.
Isabel was well-liked by her school friends in Washington DC and was known for her abilities as a talented artist, soccer player, swimmer, and poet. She also had an IQ of 160, a score that placed her in the “genius” category.
He had made plans to host a sleepover with friends and participate in an arts fundraiser for his high school, so his death came as a shock to his mother.
When maths teacher Katherine Nugent’s 15-year-old daughter Isabel (pictured) took her own life, the first chilling sign was the disturbing sound of her alarm clock blaring.
Isabel (pictured as a toddler) was well-liked by her school friends in Washington, D.C., and was known for her abilities as a talented artist, soccer player, swimmer and poet, her mother said. She also had an IQ of 160, a score that placed her in the “genius” category.
Nugent, who resides in Maryland, recalled the horrible day Isabel died in October 2023 in an effort to raise awareness about suicide forums she believed her daughter was browsing online before she died.
Isabel had struggled with depression and chronic pain as a result of fibromyalgia and had attempted to take her own life before the age of 13, but Nugent said she seemed happy in the days before her death. He had been improving thanks to therapy and medication.
The teenager’s death also moved her classmates, who came out en masse to celebrate her life. More than 250 people attended Isabel’s funeral, and a disabled classmate recalled that she was one of the few people who befriended him.
“She wasn’t a depressed, broken down person,” Nugent told USA Today. ‘When you saw her at school, she was interacting. She was laughing. She was joking. I was engaged. …And she told me she wasn’t depressed anymore.’
Katherine Nugent remembered Isabel’s death to raise awareness about suicide on the forums
“It was like he had a double life that he didn’t tell anyone,” Nugent added. ‘She didn’t tell any of her friends the day she did it.
“He was laughing and talking with his friends at school, talking about big plans to spend the night at home and go to the March for the Arts that weekend.”
Although Isabel was a genius according to her IQ test, she suffered from very low self-esteem.
“I was in the 99.99th percentile in terms of intelligence and in the 2nd percentile in terms of self-image,” Nugent said. “She just thought I was worthless.”
Nugent said she fears her daughter’s death may have been related to her Internet use. She remembered how Isabel used to look up stories about other people with similar struggles.
The devastated mother said she thought these stories were fictional, but now fears they may have been online suicide forums, where people talk about ending their lives and give details of how to do so.
Nugent said she fears her daughter’s death may have been related to her Internet use. She remembered how Isabel used to look for stories about other people with similar struggles.
Isabel had previously struggled with depression and chronic pain as a result of fibromyalgia, but Nugent said she seemed happy in the days before her death. He seemed to be improving thanks to therapy and medication. (In the photo: Isabel with her older sister)
Isabel’s death also moved her colleagues, who came en masse to celebrate her life. More than 250 people attended his funeral, and a disabled classmate recalled that she was one of the few people who befriended him.
Since Isabel’s death, Nugent has worked to raise awareness of these sites and pushed for legislation to limit them.
“It’s almost like it’s a heart disease,” Nugent said of the suicide.
‘Sometimes you have a heart attack and you survive and you get medicine and treatment, and you live the rest of your life.
‘And sometimes, then you have another heart attack and another heart attack, and then you have one that kills you.
‘And sometimes you live a long time and there’s no sign of anything, and then you have a heart attack and die. I think it’s a lot more complex than we understand.’
For confidential assistance, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or click here. You can also contact Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386.