Robert F. Kennedy's 22-year-old granddaughter found dead at family compound

[lanlady]

Source: Washington Post

Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died on Thursday at the family’s compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., a family member confirmed to The Washington Post.

Authorities are investigating the “unattended death,” which was reported early Thursday afternoon.

“Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse,” the Kennedy family said in a statement to The Post. “Her life was filled with hope, promise and love.”

The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office said police responded to a home on Marchant Avenue, where the Kennedy compound is located, for “a reported unattended death,” according to the Boston Herald.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/02/robert-f-kennedys-granddaughter-found-dead-family-compound/?utm_term=.c211639b42f2

[samnsara]

1. omg the kennedy curse....so sad :(

[dewsgirl]

2. Man, that family. I feel so beyond awful for them.

[ArizonaLib]

4. It is difficult to comprehend

It is like some political or mob organization is ensuring a drum beat of grief on them and us. I can't fathom what is must be like - how does one not look around at family gatherings and wonder who next? I could not do that. At some point my heart would have to refuse to think, 'this has to be the last - statistics alone would not allow for it'.

[Crabby Appleton]

3. Dupe

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142348897

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Nope. The earlier report crucially did not have the name. . . . nt

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. Suffered from depression since middle school.

Cambridge paper suggests she died of an overdose:

RFK's Granddaughter Dies At Hyannis Compound
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, 22, died at Hyannis Port, apparently of a drug overdose.
By Jean Dubail, Patch Staff
Aug 1, 2019 7:05 pm

Link: https://patch.com/massachusetts/cambridge/s/gsre0/woman-dies-kennedy-compound-reports

(Snip)

Hill, 22, a student at Boston College, was the daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill, one of RFK's four daughters. The New York Times reported that paramedics responding to a report of a person in cardiac arrest at the compound took Hill to Cape Cod Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Among those present at the compound, which has been the family's prime retreat for decades, was RFK's widow, Ethel, now 91.
------
The Times reported that Saoirse Hill wrote about her struggles with depression while a student at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. In a column for the student newspaper, she wrote, "My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest."

KY.................RIP...

[wysimdnwyg]

7. This is important

"Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest."

This is a good description of the depression felt by many people. Most of the time you're fine, no worries, generally accepted as a happy person. Then something - and it could be anything - pushes you down the hole and you're suddenly very depressed. This depression can last minutes, hours, even days or longer, and is sometimes very difficult to get out of. But once you do, you're back to your typical self. It's not the picture many have of a depressed person feeling down all the time. It can come out of nowhere, beat you down mercilessly, then be gone just as fast.

I hope this was just an accident, but this sounds like suicide is at least a consideration.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Yes, I live with it every day.

Mine started later in life, in my late 50s. I'm one of the lucky ones that have never had any notion of suicide but have had friends that do and it's frightening. Depression can be totally debilitating and some like me have problems with the drugs. It really helps to have fellow sufferers to speak with on the phone, as I have.

For those like me, it becomes your daily battle to keep it in balance just to function and few around us understand why it's so hard to get things done.

KY.........

[FiveGoodMen]

9. Boy, I can relate to that description!

"Pushes you down the hole and you're suddenly very depressed"

I can usually identify the trigger, but it still feels like it comes out of nowhere and hits hard.

[BigmanPigman]

11. I also read that she wrote about her suffering and wrote,

Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2019, 07:14 PM - Edit history (1)

"I totally lost it after someone I knew and loved broke serious sexual boundaries with me," she said, adding that she later pretended the incident didn't happen and attempted to kill herself.

If she suffered from severe depression she may have overdosed on purpose. She was saddened further when the teachers weren't aware of her "unseen illness" and didn't know how to approach her internal suffering, partially blaming the nation wide privacy laws which keep a person's health history private.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

12. We've got a long way to go, BigmanPigman....

in dealing with mental illness around the globe. Just like racism, until we erase the prejudice and stigma in the public's mind against any form of mental deviation form the public's notion of "normal", people will suffer from being looked down on and isolated because we're not "perfect" producers for capitalism. I hesitate to even mention my moderate depression to hardly anyone for those reasons because I don't want to be shunned, yet I would love for them to understand my disease so they could be helpful.

So, many of us can relate to this young woman.......

With you being a teacher, you understand the barriers schools face in becoming aware of a child's known mental or physical issues before it becomes a problem in school or at home.

Brought on by your comments, I just had a nice chat with my daughter who is a 5th grade reading teacher to get a feel for whether there's a system in place in our schools to make teachers aware of children's characteristics at the beginning of each school year. She said no, there is not and unless the parent comes to them and advises the teachers of specific issues, OR if there's already special needs programs in effect for that child, they have no way to know there's a potential problem.

KY......

[BigmanPigman]

14. Yes, this definitely is one of the many jobs teachers have perform

like alerting CPS if we suspect child abuse. It is confidential but the parent usually finds out and it is not always positive. If we don't report it we can be fired. One parent had he student moved from my class over this.

While teaching 6th Grade I had this issue with a student who was refusing to even attempt chin ups during the AM PE break. The parents went to the VP to complain that I gave her an unsatisfactory grade for participation (like this would be on her record and keep her from going to the Olympics). The VP backed me up and it turns out that later in the school year her parents found out that a family member molested her and that was why her attitude changed. None of us knew at the time.

Another girl who was beautiful, talented smart and new was harassed by jealous classmates. She had some unusual behaviors (not Asrerger Syndrome but similar to it). One day whiIe I was eating a dry bagel for lunch at my desk (no time to eat....ever) this student asked me, "Ms. B. why do I have to live?". I spent all that weekend asking more experienced teachers what to do. Basically I kept the harassers in for recess (15 kids) and told them they treat others badly since they do not like themselves, etc. Most of them cried, even some boys. GOOD! After that they left her alone and the "cool clique" broke up. Their parents thanked me since they heard about it at home. The girl moved after that year but found me years later through My Space and she wrote a book of poetry and dedicated it to me and we kept in touch.

Teaching is not easy.

[Sane Floridian]

10. Again

smh

[sakabatou]

13. :(

[Cha]

15. ..

[clementine613]

16. Another death to lay at the Rethugs door...

... if they cared to do anything about mental health issues in this country, then many people who have died in the past two years would be alive today. Sadly, they don't care about mental health as there is no profit in it for them.