In the small town of Glasgow, Missouri, the life of 17-year-old Kenneth Suttner came to a tragic end on December 21, 2016. The male teenager died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his rural home, a final act in the face of what was described as relentless bullying. Suttner, who was a junior at Glasgow High School, had been the target of ridicule for years, not only by his peers but also at his part-time job at a local Dairy Queen.
The circumstances surrounding Kenneth's death
prompted an unusual legal step by the Howard County Coroner, who called for a public inquest to investigate the role that bullying may have played. Over the course of the inquest, numerous witnesses, including former co-workers, testified to the severe harassment Kenneth endured. They detailed how his manager at Dairy Queen, 21-year-old Harley Branham, would frequently demean and humiliate him. Allegations included forcing him to clean the floor by hand while lying on his stomach and once throwing a cheeseburger at him for making it incorrectly. Co-workers stated that the bullying was so intense it would often drive Kenneth to go outside and cry.
Following the inquest, the six-person coroner's jury concluded that Branham was a 'principal in the cause of death' and that both the Dairy Queen franchisee and the Glasgow Public Schools had been negligent in preventing the bullying. This led to the arrest of Harley Branham, who was initially charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a move that drew national attention to the issue of bullycide. In addition to the manslaughter charge, Branham later faced amended charges of aggravated stalking, third-degree assault, and harassment.
However, in January 2018, the special prosecutor assigned to the case announced that the involuntary manslaughter charge against Branham would be dropped. Ultimately, Harley Branham pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. As a result of her plea, she was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and was required to serve 30 days of house arrest. The Suttner family also pursued civil action, reaching private settlements with both the Glasgow School District and the owner of the Dairy Queen franchise.
