Hannah Bond was a 13 year old girl from East Peckham, Kent, UK. Her controversial suicide in September ‘07 has caused a number of problems for the emo culture, as the circumstances surrounding her death contain a number of negative connotations on the scene. However, all evidence to support this is completely circumstantial. On the night Hannah died she argued with her mum after she was barred from staying at a friend’s. She told her: “I feel like killing myself”. An hour later her parents found her hanging by a tie from her bunk bed at their home.

Emo music was blamed for the suicide by both the coroner at the inquest into her death and her mother, Heather Bond, after it was claimed that emo music glamorized suicide and her apparent obsession with My Chemical Romance was said to be linked to her decision to end her life. The inquest heard that she was part of an Internet “emo” cult and her Bebo page contained an image of an ‘emo girl’ with bloody wrists. It also heard that she had discussed the “glamour” of hanging online and had explained to her parents that her self harming was an “emo initiation ceremony”.

While most fans of the emo movement simply enjoy the music and dress, others take their fascination to a sinister level. They indulge in self-harming and become obsessed with death and suicide. And it is these people who ruin it for the rest of us. Hannah Bond was clearly a disturbed young girl and while her death is a tragedy it cannot be attributed to any specific band or style of expression.

My Chemical Romance’s response to claims that they inspired Hannah’s death :

“We have recently learned of the suicide and tragic loss of Hannah Bond. We’d like to send our condolences to her family during this time of mourning. Our hearts and thoughts are with them.

My Chemical Romance are and always have been vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide. As a band, we have always made it one of our missions through our actions to provide comfort, support, and solace to our fans.

The message and theme of our album ‘The Black Parade’ is hope and courage. Our lyrics are about finding the strength to keep living through pain and hard times. The last song on our album states: ‘I am not afraid to keep on living’ – a sentiment that embodies the band’s position on hardships we all face as human beings.

If you or anyone that you know have feelings of depression or suicide, we urge you to find your way and your voice to deal with these feelings positively.”

RIP Hannah Bond

BeyondBlue – The National Depression Initiative (Australia)

Mind: National Association for Mental Health (UK)