Suicide Pact: Minnesota Teens Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz Commit Suicide at Slumber Party

April 20, 2011 — -- A slumber party in Minnesota ended in tragedy when two eighth grade girls fulfilled a suicide pact, killing themselves and leaving behind suicide notes telling their families that they loved them.

The bodies of best friends Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz, both 14, were discovered Saturday by Fentress' mother, Tracy Morrison.

Haylee's aunt, Robin Settle, said the girl had recently moved to the rural town of Lynd, Minn., and had complained to her family that she felt ostracized and bullied. Settle also said there are indications that the girls had planned their deaths for a long time, even including funeral details in a good-bye note.

"I'm shocked and I'm mad and I'm sad...I don't understand the mentality of kids torturing other kids, kids having to go through this. They don't think they have anywhere to go to," Settle told ABC News.com.

Settle said that her niece, Haylee, had been the victim of bullying after moving to Minnesota from Indiana with her mother and 8-year-old brother.

"She was made fun of for being overweight, her red hair," Settle said. "She posted on my [Facebook] wall that she really wanted to come back...that the people were mean and cruel and she didn't fit in."

Even though Haylee wasn't severely overweight, she was so uncomfortable about her size that she rarely ate in public at school, Settle said.

Paige was Haylee's closest friend.

"They were best friends. Haylee started school here about a year ago and over the course of the year, they'd become best friends," said Brett Behnke, Paige's uncle.

Paige played hockey and was teaching Haylee to skate, Behnke said.

"She had a big, round face and a smile that's intoxicating, just a charmer," Behnke said of his niece.

The two girls were so close, Haylee had hyphenated her last name on Facebook to include Paige's last name.

Haylee was recently expelled from school for defending Paige during a fight in school, Settle said.

Calls and emails to the Marshall School District to confirm this were not returned.

"That was really weighing on her, missing her friends and being excluded from school. She felt like she was defending herself and her friend," Settle said.

Minnesota Teens Leave Behind Suicide Notes

The girls died three days after Paige's mother and stepdad left for a 10-day vacation to Hawaii. Paige spent the night at Haylee's home.

"Her and Paige got really close. I think they've had this plan for some time," Settle said.

Sometime after 1 a.m. on Saturday, Haylee left a Facebook post for her cousin, Jessica, wishing her a happy birthday. After leaving a post on her cousin's wall, Haylee called her closest friend in Indiana, Settle said. Around 6 a.m., Haylee's mother found the girls.

"They did hang themselves. My sister found them. She's a medical assistant. She attempted to resuscitate them," Settle said.

Those efforts to resuscitate the girls failed.

The girls also left behind letters.

"She just didn't want anybody to be sad for her. She wanted everybody to pray for her and that's the gist of it," Behnke said of Paige's note.

Haylee's letter was to her mother and detailed plans for her funeral, Settle said.

"She requested everything pink and princess and butterflies," Settle said.

A funeral will be held Thursday for Haylee and a second one will be held for Haylee on Saturday in Indiana. Paige's funeral is scheduled for today.

"She was actually one of the most giving loving girls you would ever meet... She just loved everyone unconditionally...She couldn't stand people to be made fun of, tortured, teased. She stood up for the underdogs and she was one herself," Settle said.