ROANOKE, Va. – It’s been seven months since Summer Bushman lost her youngest daughter, Autumn, to suicide.
“Mornings have definitely been the hardest for me,” Bushman said. “It really just depends on the day. Some days, you know, are okay. Other days are much worse.”
10-year-old Autumn was a fourth grader at Mountain View Elementary School in Roanoke County. Her family says she took her own life after being bullied at school and by classmates.
“I just would love people to remember how kind and caring she was. And her smile,” Summer said. “She had a beautiful smile and her eyes lit up every time she smiled. And she had so much love to give.”
The heartbreaking story of Autumn’s death was first reported by WSLS. The tragedy touched lives across the country, even making national headlines.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and in an exclusive interview with 10 News, Summer Bushman shared how her fight to save other children and families from her pain is just beginning.
After Autumn’s death, an investigation by police ended in no criminal charges. However, Bushman said shocking new details came to light — including documented reports of bullying and text messages.
“It consisted of a child telling her to go kill herself,” Bushman said. “Another one where Autumn expressed that she wanted to kill herself, and the girl said back, ‘I don’t care. Nobody likes you anyways.’”
Bushman said documents obtained from Roanoke County Public Schools show her daughter met with a school counselor on March 5, 2025, just 16 days before her death.
“She was clearly in duress,” she said. “I just, I wish I would have known what that conversation was and what was going on, but I’ll never know.”
Bushman said she believes her daughter’s death could have been prevented.
“Every time that you go to the school nurse, there is documentation sent home. It’s documented every time. There’s a phone call. That’s not so much with the counselor’s office,” said Bushman. “There was no phone call made home.”
“Had I had received a phone call, I would have had a conversation about the next steps,” she added. “If she was really struggling with her feelings, I would’ve put her in counseling.”
Through the pain, Bushman is finding purpose — taking her fight to Richmond. She’s teaming up with Pastor Thomas McCracken of CommUNITY Church in Salem, who previously served on the Roanoke County School Board, and Virginia State Sen. Bill Stanley.
Together, they drafted the “Autumn Bushman Bill” to make bullying illegal, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
“We’re hoping with the thousands of signatures we have for a petition, we’ll be able to start lobbying in January to make this happen,” McCracken said.
The legislation would clearly define what bullying is and isn’t, and outline the consequences for offenders.
“Even if it happens at two o’clock in the morning on social media, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, whatever, if it’s causing that student to have an interference with their education, this legislation will allow schools to say, ‘We can now be involved,’” McCracken said. “That’s something we do not have right now.”
There’s no federal law against bullying. Current Virginia law requires school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, but those can vary widely.
“They’re at the school more waking hours during the day than they are with their parents,” McCracken said. “I think parents need all the information they can get. And this legislation would stop schools from pushing things under the carpet, from hiding, from covering up.”
Bushman said she doesn’t blame any one person, but admits there are things she’d do differently.
“I wish that I had never given my child a cell phone at such a young age,” she said. “As much as I don’t want to blame myself, there are things that we could’ve done differently, and there are also things that the school could’ve done differently, for sure.”
As she learns to live without her daughter, Bushman said she’s not done sharing Autumn’s story.
“Keeping her name out there and keeping her, you know, short time on this earth—her little legacy—alive,” she said.
The draft bill is currently in legislative review. The team plans to file it in November and begin lobbying in January during the next General Assembly session.
Bushman said she also wants to encourage other families to start conversations with their children about mental health and suicide.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.