FAYETTE, MISSOURI — An ex-Dairy Queen manager has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after an investigation found her to be the cause of a teenage employee’s suicide.
On Dec 21, 2016, Kenneth Suttner committed suicide with a gunshot to the head outside his house in Howard County, Missouri, newspaper The Columbia Daily Tribune reported.
The local coroner’s office conducted an inquest into the 17 year-old’s death and found that Suttner was bullied at school and by his boss, Harley Branham.
They worked together at a Dairy Queen in Fayette. The probe also found Dairy Queen and the local school district hadn’t done enough to stop the bullying.
According to ABC News, Branham was charged this week with involuntary manslaughter after an investigation ruled her responsible for his death.
The 21 year-old reportedly made fun of Suttner and had him clean the floor by hand. The inquest also heard how Branham once threw a cheeseburger at Suttner because he’d messed up the order.
She denies the allegations of bullying and faces up to 4 years in prison if convicted.
Suttner’s best friend told the inquest he was also bullied in every part of the school, reported the Columbia Daily Tribune.
