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Coroner hopes to find answers on tablet buried with body of 8-year-old who took his own life

Coroner hopes to find answers on tablet buried with body of 8-year-old who took his own life
Posted at 2:54 PM, Jun 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-07 15:42:44-04

CINCINNATI -- The grave of 8-year-old boy who hanged himself in January was opened Wednesday in hopes of shedding light on why the third-grader took his own life.

Gabriel Taye hanged himself in his bedroom on Jan. 26, two days after a disturbing incident inside a restroom at Carson Elementary School in West Price Hill. Police didn’t file charges, and Cincinnati Public Schools and the Taye family have disputed whether surveillance video shows that Taye was bullied.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office requested the grave be opened Wednesday to retrieve a tablet computer that was buried with the boy. The family's attorney said it was put there by his mother so he'd "have something to play with in heaven."

His parents consented to the grave opening, hoping that a forensic examination of Taye's tablet would yield further information. The Hamilton County coroner's office said they resealed the grave without disturbing the body and had no further comment.

“Gabe’s mother has been searching for answers since she learned Gabe was knocked unconscious two days before he died," said Jennifer Branch, attorney for Gabe’s mother, Cornelia Reynolds. "Her grief has been compounded by the school withholding critical information from her. She is disappointed that a re-examination (of Gabe's body) was not possible but hopes his tablet will yield some answers.”

The attorney said Taye's family had requested another examination of his body since learning that he was apparently knocked unconscious for more than seven minutes during the school incident, but the coroner told them an examination would not be possible.

The school surveillance video appears to show one boy picking on Taye and several other kids, according to one of the family’s attorneys. That attorney added that it’s unclear from the video whether Taye hit his head on the wall or the floor and if that ultimately knocked him out.

WARNING: Viewers may find this video disturbing.