New Mexico boy, 11, was driven to suicide by extreme isolation brought about by coronavirus, parents reveal
HOBBS, NEW MEXICO: The parents of an 11-year-old boy who killed himself this past April say they believe he was driven to suicide by the social isolation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. To everyone who knew him, Landon Fuller was the curious and intelligent young boy who loved Marvel, DC, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Pokemon, Harry Potter, and the innumerable other things that those his age thrived upon, according to a GoFundMe page.
"It was rare to see him without his signature beaming smile, and the gleam in his eyes spoke to his charm, humor, and mischievous spirit," a description said, adding that he was someone who "gave love freely and was loved by all who knew him in return."
But without warning, Landon rode to a field near his Hobbs, New Mexico, home in April and took his own life. His parents, Katrina and James Fuller, recently spoke about his death and said they still don't know what drove him to take such an extreme measure. They said the only clues they got came from his journal, which indicated that the social isolation necessitated by Covid-19 had taken a heavier toll than they could have imagined.
In an appearance on 'The Colt Balok Show,' Katrina and James shared how they had come across one of their son's journal entries after his death that laid bare the struggle he was going through at the time, reported KOB4.
"I think the big question we all have is why, and we will never know the reason why," Katrina said. "The only thing that I was able to find was in his journal was that he had wrote that he was going mad from staying at home all the time and that he just wanted to be able to go to school and play outside with his friends. So that was the only thing that I can imagine what was going through his head at that time. If I had read that before, I wouldn't have thought that he was planning on taking his own life because I think we're all feeling a little crazy right now."
In the GoFundMe page, James had revealed that Landon had been homeschooled until 2019, which was when he started 5th grade at Mills Elementary School. He said the 11-year-old had missed school and his friends while under stay-at-home orders and had tried keeping in contact with others through social media, texts, and phone calls.
"In that respect, he was irrepressible and often highly inventive and resourceful," he wrote. "Even in the midst of a quarantine, his social butterfly wings could not be clipped, and he was able to fly. His love for people and life was so powerful, he could not be kept down."
Now, he and his wife have urged other parents to talk to their children even if they seem fine. "I hope his story can at least save at least one life. If so, then his death wasn’t in vain," Katrina said.