Who was Leslie Gillespie? Alabama teacher kills herself after charged with 'raping, sodomizing' 2 students
LAWRENCE COUNTY, ALABAMA: A high school English teacher allegedly died by suicide by shooting herself, two days after getting arrested on rape and sodomy charges. Leslie Gillespie, 44, was a teacher at RA Hubbard High School in North Courtland and was accused by two underage students that she sexually abused them. On Thursday, May 27, she was booked on felony charges and was released on $60,000 bond.
On Saturday, May 29, she was found dead at home. “It appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” coroner Scott Norwood said. The police found Gillespie's body at her home in Hillsboro, a small town in Lawrence County around 11:30 am, added Norwood.
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A lot of teachers have reportedly their own lives recently amid allegations of sexual misconduct, including an assistant principal in North Carolina accused of inappropriate contact in 1992, and a Florida teacher busted in a sting operation. Last year, we reported a similar incident, when a 63-year-old high school teacher from North Carolina, Emma Ogle, killed herself and her husband in a murder-suicide. Ogle was charged for "having sex with a student, indecent liberties with a student, and a crime against nature." We also reported a gruesome incident, where a maths/chemistry teacher of a secondary school in Pankow, Stefan R got arrested. He was arrested after police found human bones stripped completely of flesh in a Berlin suburb. Investigations stated that Stefan had browsed cannibalism-related forums online.
Court records state that on Thursday, May 27, Gillespie was arrested on felony charges for having sex with two students, ages 15 and 16 at the time. A Lawrence County sheriff’s office investigator said in a criminal complaint that the sexual contact happened in September 2020, when Gillespie met the two minor students in her classroom after school. She was booked into the Lawrence County jail on two counts of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student younger than 19 and one count each of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy.
Jon Bret Smith, Superintendent of Lawrence County Schools, stated, "The Lawrence County school district has been made aware that an employee has been arrested. Our school district treats this type of situation with the highest level of care. District leaders are conducting an investigation into this matter and will support law enforcement as they do the same. While the district cannot provide any specific details at this time, we want to emphasize that there is nothing more important to Lawrence County Schools than the safety and well-being of our students. The district will work diligently and expediently to resolve the situation."
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741