(WTVM) -
The parents of a south Georgia
college student first found out from Facebook their daughter had been found
dead in a dormitory study room.
Jasmine Benjamin, 17, was
a freshman at Valdosta State University and was found unresponsive on a study
room couch on November 18.
Lawyers for the family say
a friend forwarded the Facebook post about the teen's death to her parents
before they were officially notified by authorities.
With social media being
the quickest way to get information out there, it isn't that hard to believe Benjamin's
parents found out about her death through Facebook.
We spoke with Rus Drew, Chief
of Police at Columbus State University, who tells us that this kind of
information spreading through social media is hard to prevent.
He tells us that if an
unfortunate situation like this were to happen at CSU, their goal would be to
immediately contact the parents and community.
"In a crisis, and
particularly with parents who particularly may be away from the student, it is
so important, you know, that they feel like they are in the loop," said Chief
Drew. "Particularly in such a crisis situation like this with the unfortunate
death of a student."
The parents of the Valdosta
State student now hope that social media can help solve the death of their
daughter, which police are investigating as a homicide.
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