South Carolina mother sues Snapchat over son’s suicide
SUMTER, S.C. (WIS) - A Sumter mother is suing the social media app, Snapchat, after her son died by suicide last year.
Timothy Barnett, 13, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 6, 2023.
Since then, Timothy’s mother, Betsy Hauptman, has been searching for answers behind her son’s untimely death and has concluded the app, Snapchat, had a major hand in Timothy’s death.
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Timothy’s mother, Betsy Hauptman, said the day of Timothy’s death started like any other Thursday. It quickly turned into one of the worst days of her life when she found her son lying in the driveway with a gunshot wound to the head.
Now she believes her son was not just a victim of depression, but another victim of financial sextortion.
It’s the sweet memories that Betsy Hauptman and her family are fighting to keep alive, but the sight of her son laying lifeless in the front yard fights back.
“I’m pretty sure my husband still has the ring camera footage of him walking inside, and I see his face, and you can just hear me screaming,” said Hauptman. “It’s a mother’s worst nightmare.”
Timothy was a student at Alice Drive Middle School. His mother said he got good grades and was a typical teenage boy.
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“He was just a goofball,” Hauptman laughed as she ed her son. “He loved life. He loved his brothers. He loved baseball, his sister.”
But Hauptman believes someone robbed her son of that innocence.
She said in the days leading up to his death, there was a change in Timothy’s behavior. He began sleeping in more and became reserved.
It wasn’t until after Timothy’s death and the Sumter Police Department seizing Timothy’s phone that Hauptman learned someone had been demanding a daily payment of at least $35 that Hauptman believes was to keep a sexually explicit photo of Timothy from being leaked.
Hauptman said, “The fact that someone, who I’m assuming was an adult, thought that they could take advantage of a young child, and they essentially robbed him of his life. "
Hauptman said this wasn’t the first time Timothy ran into issues with the app. She said a few months prior she confiscated his phone after learning a woman sent a sexually explicit video to Timothy.
“Half of young teenagers that exchange explicit photos end up being a victim of sextortion,” said attorney Joe Cunningham.
He is representing Hauptman and filed a lawsuit on May 17.
The lawsuit alleges Snapchat failed to implement adequate age verification and other safeguards to protect vulnerable minor s from connecting with and being exploited by adult predators.
“We’re seeing bad actors come on onto the platform and not be properly vetted,” he said. “A lot of these online dating websites have more stringent guidelines and thresholds than a platform like Snapchat.”
The lawsuit is asking for 10 million dollars in damages. As to who was behind the blackmail, that’s still being investigated by Homeland Security.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: (1-800-273-TALK)
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