Peytpn James commits suicide after years of verbal and physical abuse from his classmates

• Peyton James committed suicide on Oct. 8 due to years of verbal and physical abuse from his peers
• His mother, Jacki James, found him lifeless in his room shortly after he returned home from school, he went into a coma and was taken off of life support five days later
• Jacki: 'I just think he couldn't take it anymore'

By Charlene Adams for MailOnline

Published: 10:31 EST, 23 November 2014 | Updated: 11:06 EST, 23 November 2014

A 13-year-old Texas boy committed suicide after years of verbal and physical abuse from his schoolmates.

It was Oct. 8 when Jacki James walked into the room of her 13-year-old son Peyton James only to find that he had committed suicide.

Peyton was hanging lifeless but emergency responders were able to restore his heartbeat after nearly half an hour of CPR,The Courier reports.

He was taken to a hospital in Austin and went into a coma. Five days later, his parents, who had divorced eight years before, decided to take him off of life support.

At school that fateful day, Peyton reportedly endured another round of teasing and ridicule from his peers, according to KVUE. And when he got home, he shut himself in his room.

'I thought he was brooding, being a typical 13-year-old boy, and I found him, and he was hanging from the ceiling fan' James told KVUE.

Heartbeat: James was hanging lifeless but emergency responders were able to restore his heartbeat after nearly half an hour of CPR

Premature: James was born more than two months early and spent the first month of his life in the hospital on pure oxygen which permanently discolored his teeth

Born more than two months early, Peyton spent the first month of his life in the hospital on pure oxygen which discolored his teeth, The Sun reports. This is what school bullies first began to ridicule the freckled, red haired boy for in second grade.

'[His teeth] were healthy, but the enamel was discolored from the oxygen. That is why the kids started picking on him,' James told The Sun.

'Why don't you brush your teeth? Why are your teeth dirty?' they'd say.

In 2010, Jacki and Peyton moved from the Houston area to Round Rock where Jacki hoped her son would have a fresh start.

But the insults continued.

Peyton's father David James told the Courier that Peyton was continuously targeted by bullies because of his red hair, freckles, and 'sensitive nature.'

'He became frustrated with other students picking on him,' James said. '...he was severely ADHD, so despite his love of learning, school became a struggle for him. He never had much interest in athletics. Instead, he preferred reading, Pokemon, anime, Dr. Who and video games.'

Peyton transitioned from middle to high school where bullies called him 'loser,' weird, nerd, geek and gay.

Father: James' father, David, said that his son began making comments about how much better off his mother would be if he wasn't there, he even recalled his son saying 'I should just kill myself'

Jacki told the Sun that one bully would even throw rocks at Peyton and trip him in the stairwells. Peyton would come home from school every day nearly in tears.

Jacki said she made several unsuccessful attempts to help her son by contacting the school's principal and other officials and even giving them a letter for one of the bully's mothers.

In 2013, Peyton began making comments to his mother about how much better off she would be if he weren't around. David even recalled his son saying 'I should just kill myself.'

David said that, at first, the family did not think too much of these comments, but Jacki soon took him to a local mental health center where Peyton was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

'I tried to tell him over and over how special he was,' Jacki said of her 'funny and smart and so kind' son. 'But, when you are 13, what your mom says is not as important as what your classmates say.'

Diagnosed: Jacki took her son to a local mental health center where he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety

Faith: It was the day a boy ridiculed Peyton for his Christian faith at Round Rock's Hopewell Middle School that the 13-year-old committed suicide

The years of bullying culminated the day Peyton was bullied for his faith. One boy allegedly told him Christianity was stupid and that he was 'dumb' for believing in God, Jacki told the Sun.

Peyton reported the boy's bullying to school officials, but, being new to the middle school, he didn't know the boy's name so the boy was never identified.

It was after school that day that Peyton shut himself in his room to take his own life.

'I wish he would have come in and screamed or punched the wall or something, so I could help him,' Jacki said. 'I just think he couldn't take it anymore.'

Since her son's death, Jacki has started the 'Kindness Matters' initiative to combat school bullying.

'If throughout those years, if these certain people had just been kind to him,' Jacki said, 'he would have had so much more self esteem, and he would have recognized his value.'

Round Rock school's spokeswoman JoyLynn Occhiuzzi told the Sun that the schools have an 'anti-bullying and character-building curriculum' to encourage healthy social relationships among the students. She said there is an open-door policy for students and parents to report bullying

Initiative: Since her son's death, Jacki has started the 'Kindness Matters' initiative to combat school bullying