Joyner Classmates: "I'm Sorry That He's Dead"

While Zebulon Middle School representatives have denied knowledge of any conflicts, fellow students remember Chris Joyner's peers calling him names, throwing things at him, and teasing him about the way he looked.

Joyner died March 25 in the hospital from apparent self-inflicted injuries suffered the previous day, when he apparently hung himself with a jump rope in the gymnasium locker room. Sixth-grader Jordan Pickett, 12, attended elective math with Joyner and said he witnessed many of the "cruel" acts inflicted upon his classmate on an almost daily basis.

The death has not officially been ruled a suicide and remains under investigation by the Zebulon police. "It appears this was self-inflicted," said Lt. David Godwin. However, "the case is still open."

The boy was discovered unconscious by another student about 2 p.m. School staff applied CPR until Zebulon rescue workers arrived, then Joyner was rushed to WakeMed.

Pickett said crisis was a routine part of Joyner's ZMS life. "A lot of students are really rude. No one would hang out with him because they labeled him a 'geek' or a 'nerd,'" he said, adding Joyner did not wear the best clothes so some kids called him "poor."

On one occasion, Pickett said, he watched Joyner's antagonists throw pencils and paper balls at him. "I almost got into a few fights myself defending him when they were throwing things at him," Pickett added.

One of Joyner's nicknames was "Inches," based on his small stature. Other labels included "Piggy" for a perceived snorkeling sound he made with his mouth and "Boney" because he was skinny. Pickett said other students laughed at Joyner, claiming he had a "weird nose and a weird-shaped head."

Joyner could be found sitting isolated most of the time during school," Pickett added. In the cafeteria, Joyner would even eat lunch by himself. Though there were about 10 or 15 people in the "nerd" category who might be found talking to Joyner sometimes, Pickett insists Joyner was forced to be a loner.

"I didn't know him (Joyner) that well, but when I saw him, I would say hey and ask him how his day was going," he said, adding Joyner would often finish assignments before the rest of his classmates. "I always thought he was smart and intelligent."

Pickett rated Joyner's classroom behavior as "normal," saying Joyner tried to avoid getting into trouble. "He wouldn't be up talking."

Though Pickett was not at school the day Joyner was found, he does believe the relentless razzing pushed Joyner over the proverbial edge.

He speculates some rumors about others being involved in the hanging might be true. Pickett feels trying to commit suicide is not something Joyner would have attempted had he not been coerced in some fashion.

The death, still shrouded in mystery, occurred while Joyner was in his eighth-period physical education class. He asked for permission to go to the locker room. The instructor noticed nothing unusual about his actions and allowed him to go.

Pickett said Joyner's death hurt deeply.

"I felt kind of mad when I first heard about it," he said. "I don't know how people could aggravate someone so much that they would pressure a person to do that.

Drew Lineberry, a sixth-grader at Zebulon Middle, said he also knew of Joyner, adding that he was teased more than usual.

Lineberry said the day of the incident, he was away on a field trip. "I'm sorry that he's dead," the 11-year-old said. "It made me pretty sad that I didn't get to know him. Now, I've learned more about him after he died."

Last week, Wake County schools Communications Director Stella Shelton said ZMS officials found no evidence the boy was being mistreated by other students. But since the tragedy, the Wake County Public School System has initiated plans for a sixth-grade suicide-prevention course next fall to help address such matters.

Some comments which have come to light in the aftermath suggest Joyner might have just wanted to scare classmates, and it was a prank that went too far. Yet rumors persist the boy had warned his peers all day March 24 he intended to hang himself at the end of the day in the exact fashion he was later discovered.

Pickett said he did not attend the funeral, but heard from other students that Joyner's favorite toy -- a Furby, which can talk or interact with its owner -- was placed in his hands inside the casket. "Like his best friend was a Furby," Pickett said, recalling how he asked Joyner what he got for Christmas last year. The Furby was a present, so Joyner brought the toy to school once.

I remember that he had a tape with about 300 to 400 words on it that he had taught the Furby," Pickett said. "He had played with it so much that it knew all of the words."

Joyner's mother, Yvonne Joyner, said her son often complained about being bullied at school. "He was short and small, and he had red hair and freckles," she said. "Kids find that weak point. That's just the way kids are."

She said her son was small for his age, standing 4-feet-9 and weighing 50 pounds. Yvonne also said her son dressed the way he wanted to and didn't care about brand names.

She said the teasing began when he started the sixth grade in Virginia. The family moved to Zebulon about a year ago, where the teasing followed him.

Yvonne Joyner said though school officials are denying her son faced these problems on campus, she knows her son was telling the truth about what he went through. "I know what the school officials are saying is not true," she said. "I know the teachers and the students know it's not true. You should have been at the wake."

She said some students came up to her at the wake and told her that they were not the ones who teased her son, but they knew who did. She also said students visited her home to talk to her.

The mother confirms her son was once shoved into a locker and then the door was closed. "Two boys came up behind him and put him into the locker," she said.

School officials suspected he might have put himself in the locker as a prank. Joyner said her son told her he did not lock himself in the locker, but also said he could not tell who did it to him. "I think he knows who did it, but he just didn't want to tell me," she said. "I know it was two eighth-graders."

She said there are definitely problems at ZMS and parents call to talk to staff members, but are not taken seriously enough.

Zebulon Middle has set up a school violence program in light of the death.

Chris Joyner had been in counselling for four years and his mother said he was making improvements. She said he was about to start archery classes and had just gotten a new bicycle.

He was even planning to go to the school dance that Friday," she said. "It just doesn't add up to me."

"He just wanted some friends to hang out with," she added. "I can't tell you how heart-wrenching it was to see him shunned."