Teen who shot herself dead in front of her horrified parents is STILL getting bullying messages on social media

  • Brandy Vela killed herself at her home in Texas City at the end of November
  • The 18-year-old shot herself in front of horrified parents and grandparents
  • The harassment is continuing online with fake Facebook profiles being set up
  • Authorities are unable to find out who is behind the malicious acts 
  • Brandy had been tormented by bullies using the internet to tease her
  • They sent her abusive messages over encrypted apps which school officials and police could not trace

By Jennifer Smith and James Gordon For Dailymail.com

Published: 21:24 EST, 13 December 2016 | Updated: 07:56 EST, 14 December 2016

Brandy Vela shot herself in front of her horrified parents at their home in Texas City 

A high school senior who shot herself dead in front of her horrified parents and grandparents after being tormented by anonymous bullies is still being harassed online.

The family of Brandy Vela, 18, pleaded with her not to take her own life after finding her pinned up against the wall of her bedroom with a gun to her chest in their Texas City home. 

But the troubled teenager ignored their desperate pleas, pulling the trigger in front of her loved ones.

Her  family say that the harassment that drove her to end her own life has continued despite their girl no longer being alive. 

Bogus Facebook accounts of the high school senior have continued to crop up online.

One of the profiles depicts her with guns while another shows the teenager, who was bullied for her weight, as a pig.

Brandy's family say the online harassment is continuing days after her death

'I know what she was going through now. It's not that easy just to shut it off and let it go,' her father grieving father Raul told KHOU . 'I thought all this was behind us but it's not over,' he said.

'I want justice,' Raul Vela said. 'And I will for years. We'll never, we'll never stop.' 

The tasteless pages were removed from Facebook after the family complained but police, who are are still investigating the death as a cyber-bullying crime, have so far been unable to determine who was behind the bullying.

Before she died, Brandy had gone to the cops to file police reports about the harassment and fake accounts.

She also changed her number after receiving harassing calls, but the bullying did not stop.

Fake Facebook pages laced with insults about Brandy have been shared with the Texas City Police Department. The 18-year-old's father calls them sick and disgusting

Brandy's sister Jacueline (center) said she was being tormented by bullies who used encrypted messaging apps to tease her 

The 18-year-old sent her siblings this heartbreaking text message before taking her own life 

Jacqueline Vela, her 22-year-old sister, told Click 2 Houston Brandy was tired of being the subject of cruel bullies who taunted her about her weight in dozens of untraceable messages.

They also made fake profiles for the student on dating websites, she said, where they left her cell phone number and said she would 'give herself for sex for free'. 

On the day of her death, her Jacqueline was at home when she heard her sister crying in her bedroom. The tormented teenager also sent her siblings a text message to say goodbye.

It read: 'I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything.'  

Jacqueline ran towards her sister's bedroom where she found her standing against the wall with the gun pointed at her chest. 

She pleaded with her not to shoot before running to get her parents for help. 

The 22-year-old remained in their room while they, alongside her grandparents, tried in vain to calm Brandy down. 

'I was in my parents' room and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, 'Help me, help me, help me,''Jacqueline recalled through tears.  

Victor Vela, Brandy's brother, issued a sinister message to her tormentors. 'I'm glad you got what you wanted.  I hope this makes you happy,' he said. 

Brandy's parents Raul and Juana (pictured right) pleaded with their daughter (center) to put down the gun 

Brandy's brother Victor addressed her bullies as he spoke about her death, telling them: 'I hope this makes you happy'

The school district said coming to class was a 'safe environment' for the student.  

'School was a safe environment for Brandy,' Melissa Tortorici,Texas City Independent school District's director of communications, said in a statement.

'She had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers. She did bring it to the school's attention before Thanksgiving break that she was getting harassing messages to her cellphone outside of school.' 

Officials could not pin down the bullies at the time and told Brandy to change her phone number instead.

'Our deputy investigated it and the app that was being used to send the messages was untraceable. We encouraged her to change her phone number.' 

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