The Oprah Winfrey Show covered every parent’s worst nightmare, back in 2009, when she shared the story of 14 year old Kristin Helms, who – then aged 14 – was predated upon on MySpace by 27 year old Kiley Ryan Bowers.
This sad story did not have a happy ending – as Kristin later killed herself. In this interview, Kristin’s parents share their grief and the circumstances of her tragic demise.
Kristin Helms, an honors student in Orange County, California, was 14 when Kiley Ryan Bowers, a 27-year-old man from Texas, first crept through cyberspace and into her MySpace inbox. When her parents, Danielle and Robin Helms, found his picture on Kristin’s computer, they shut down her account, pulled her Internet privileges and warned her about online predators. But Bowers already had their daughter in his grip. In 2009, Kristin’s parents appeared on The Oprah Show to share their daughter’s tragic story—and their incurable pain—to urge other children to be mindful of the online company they keep, and to show other parents that unyielding vigilance is a must. For more on #oprahwinfreyshow, visit WatchOWN.tv/TOWS
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