Flossmoor Mom Fights Grief of Daughter's Suicide with Community Outreach

Photo: Marcelle “Marcie” Gerald

Marcelle Gerald first attempted suicide after Roger Denson winked at her in the courtroom.

The 15-year-old was so traumatized by seeing the man later convicted of brutally beating and sexually assaulting her in January 2014, she fell into a downward emotional spiral from which she never recovered.

Her mother Elizabeth said “Marcie” was never the same.

“The sexual assault turned her whole world around,” Elizabeth Gerald said. “She didn’t want to hang around with her friends anymore. She didn’t want to go outside, be social. ... She would scrub herself raw.”

On July 20, the 15-year-old took her own life by ingesting an overdose of Tramadol.

“Some people are strong enough,” Gerald said. “She just wasn’t.”

As what would have been Marcie’s Sweet Sixteen approaches, on Jan. 4, Gerald continues to trudge through her grief, propelled by a desire to spread awareness of suicide and mental illness in black youth. She launched the Marcie Jonea Gerald Movement nonprofit as a tool for her outreach. She has been featured in interviews and appearances with Chicago news media, and plans to continue speaking about her experience as often as possible.

“A lot of people in general just don’t talk about it,” Gerald said. “Several people in Flossmoor ask me for hugs or support, because they were afraid to talk about their children’s mental illness.”

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for African-Americans between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found suicide rates among black children have nearly doubled in the past 20 years.

Marcie’s attacker Denson, 27, took a plea deal and was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison. He is also required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

“That’s a good feeling,” Gerald said, but it’s not enough.

She feels she must do more.

“I couldn’t just let Marcie’s name go in vain,” she said. ”I want to try to save lives, do something positive in her name.”

For more on the Marcie Jonea Gerald Movement, follow on Facebook.