Tuesday, January 17, 2023 | 9:15 a.m.
According to the results of the tests, the child under the age of 12 had signs of hanging, although the investigators did not detect patterns of abuse or the participation of third parties. Her body was found in her house by her mother.
The girl’s cell phone had been kidnapped by the Justice, which at first did not confirm or rule out the possibility of the viral challenge. The main hypothesis points to a suicide without any criminal responsibility, despite the fact that the family points out that she could have been encouraged to hang herself as part of a challenge.
Justice is in charge of the strong images of the exact moment in which the girl took her own life to comply with a viral ‘challenge’ on social networks.
“As far as we know, schoolmates sent her a link. She opened it and entered a group video call,” said her aunt, Laura Luque, in radio statements. In this way, her death would have been transmitted and seen by the rest of her companions.
The woman explained that her niece “was able to untie the rope in the first and second, but not in the third, she couldn’t remove the rope. They don’t tell me, I think they tell the dad and the dad tell my sister.” “We still don’t understand why she did it,” she added.
Publication on social networks of the aunt of the deceased minor. (photo: Facebook Laura Luque)
What is the “blackout challenge”, the dangerous viral challenge of TikTok
Suspicions suggest that the death of the girl would have occurred within the framework of the challenge called “blackout challenge”, which consists of holding your breath for as long as possible.
The main objective has to do with fainting due to lack of air, so that later, those who accept the challenge can tell their feelings on TikTok.
This viral challenge is not new and has already claimed dozens of lives in recent years. One of the most notorious cases occurred in the United States and had 10-year-old Nylah Anderson as a victim. Her mother, Tawainna Anderson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok.
The woman alleged that the platform is grossly irresponsible and ultimately reckless in allowing such videos to proliferate. “Tragically, Nylah Anderson is just the latest in a growing list of children killed as a result of the defendants’ TikTok app and algorithm,” she said in the lawsuit.
