True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

As you know, most of my posts deal with horrific true crime cases and serial murder, obviously being a true crime blog, but there is the odd occasion where I like to write about different topics such as historical moments or unexplained mysteries. In this post (which is to do with a heartbreaking tragedy that took place in the early 90s) I have decided to write about Jeremy Wade Delle. 

Jeremy's story (which is not unfamiliar with fans of the legendary band, Pearl Jam) has been requested quite a number of times and I did wonder how I would fit the story into this blog but I've decided to talk about it because it is an important and heartbreaking moment in history and as Eddie Vedder was trying to do with his song 'Jeremy' (partially written about Jeremy's story), it's important that we remember his story and carry on his legacy. 

So before we begin getting into the real story about what happened to Jeremy, I would like to re-visit the lyrics of the famous song that was written by Eddie Jerome Vedder & Jeffrey Allen Ament. The song had been written after Eddie had seen a small mention of Jeremy's death in the newspaper and it had a profound effect on him. He wanted this young boy to be remembered and felt that he deserved a lot more that a tiny section in a newspaper. The song (which was criticised by Jeremy's family) and the accompanying video was based on Jeremy and a boy that Eddie had known from his childhood who was involved in a shooting at his school. Some of the lyrics are not factual but the whole idea was to grab people's attention and pay importance to how young people are treated in society, especially at school and at home. Eddie wanted to open up a conversation about mental health and bullying as well as bring awareness and paying tribute to Jeremy. 

The song is a classic and it has done what it set out to do which is bring people to Jeremy's story. The sad story began in 1991 and we are still talking about it in 2024 which has a lot to do with this song. Jeremy's family were not happy with the song and have spoken about it publicly in recent times. They do not wish for Jeremy just to be remembered for his death but for his extreme talents and the bright boy that he was. As his mother said ''One day did not define his life''. 

Jeremy Wade Delle was just 15 years old when he arrived to his English class late on the Tuesday morning of the 8th of January 1991 at Richardson High School (in Richardson, Texas. He'd not long been a student at the school since moving over from Bryan Adams High School). His teacher, Fay Barnett, told him to go to the school office to collect a admittance slip. It was just another situation in a long line of problems that the young teenager had been dealing with and when he eventually returned to class, to everyone's horror, Jeremy, instead of an admittance slip, produced a .357 Caliber Magnum gun (which he had stolen from his Dad's girlfriend's house) stood at the front of the class and told his teacher and about 30 fellow students ''Miss, I got what I really went for.'' Before anyone could respond or intervene, Jeremy placed the gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger. 

The whole horrifying moment was so quick and traumatic, people were screaming and running down the hallway. The kids in the other classrooms were wondering what was going on because they heard a loud bang. People in the hallway were confused because they heard a loud noise followed by commotion. One boy who was his at locker thought that someone had slammed a book very hard down on a desk, it was only when he saw people screaming and crying that he realised that something terrible had happened, he walked towards Mrs Barnett's classroom and dared to peek inside and there he saw the blood on the ground and realised that someone had taken their own life. 

Jeremy's death sent shockwaves through not only the school but the local community. How could a boy so young think to do such a thing? What had been going on in his life that he felt that there was no other choice? Questions were going around in people's minds, especially those close to him. He was just a child but he had been through so much. When going into his background I felt that Jeremy was more like a 15 year old going on 18. He'd been through a bit of an upheaval of an upbringing due to his parents difficulties in their relationship and divorce. He managed to get himself involved in drugs and troubles with the school. He'd been battling depression for a long time and his parents did what they could, authorities were involved and he did spend some time in care but somehow it was not what he needed. Back then it was like nobody knew how to deal with him because mental health wasn't as spoken about as openly as it is today. He was just seen as being disruptive and a bit off the rails instead of anyone really looking into what was causing his behaviour and depression. 

Girls weren't an issue for Jeremy, he may have had other problems going on in his life but getting a girlfriend was not one of them. He was a good looking young boy and had relationships but when things turned sour he struggled to cope. He'd attempted suicide in the past and was always threatening to do it again. 

It's unclear when things started to take a dark turn for Jeremy but his mother remembers him as a happy, talented child who had a natural gift for drawing. At the age of 7 he drew the most incredible picture of an elephant, it was like something you would see in an art gallery. He'd created a number of drawings and each one was stunning and it was unbelievable how he was able to create such pieces at a young age. His mother has all of his drawings framed and up on display. There's no denying that she was incredibly proud of her son and that is the way she would like him to be remembered, as the talented artist and happy young boy that he was instead of what was portrayed in the song or simply as the boy who took his own life. 

As I previously mentioned, Eddie Vedder created the song as a sort of tribute to Jeremy although the facts are not 100% and part of the song was also about his experiences with a boy that he knew from his childhood. Nonetheless, whenever he sings the song he always thinks of Jeremy Wade Delle. The friends of Jeremy, his family and the witnesses that were there on that sad January morning have a different view, the song has brought them great pain because it's tells a different story that other people may take as fact. 

Jeremy's life has been a talking point for many years, he'd been suicidal for a long time, had made attempts in the past and made threats to do it again as well as keeping strange things in his school locker such as a deer foot and a book on cults. His behaviour was strange to say the least and he had been involved in drugs. It seemed that this poor young man didn't know what direction he was going in and kept a lot of it to himself. He was described as quiet and depending on who you talk to, people will say he was bullied and others will say they never witnessed him being bullied. But another question remains, why would he take his life in front of his teacher and fellow students? were they a huge source of his pain? Did they bully him and did the teacher do nothing to stop the harassment? 

We know that he planned to do this, he'd written some suicide letters and made audio tapes for certain people. One of his friends was given what she thought was a letter from him but it was actually a suicide note but she didn't get a chance to open it until after the fact. Another friend had commented that on the Monday he had given her a note (as they would often pass notes to each other in class) and instead of signing the usual ''write back'', he wrote ''Later Days''.

When the letter was finally opened and the discovery that it was indeed a suicide note was realised, it read (in Jeremy's beautiful handwriting which was another one of his talents): 

The suicide note is a heartbreaking read and really brings home just how young he was, there's a tragedy and heartbreaking sweetness to it with him inviting his friend to his funeral and telling them to call his Dad for further details. It's certainly one of the saddest things I have ever read, knowing that he had thought this all out and was so determined to do it. Sometimes when people have suicidal thoughts it's usually the writing of the notes to loved ones that can bring a moment of clarity, a realisation of what they are planning to do and what heartbreak they would be leaving behind. For Jeremy to have written several notes and recorded tapes (and from his previous attempts at taking his own life) it was clear that, despite just being a young boy with his whole life ahead of him, he'd come to a point where he felt that he couldn't continue. He had a lot to deal with and a lot of big changes in his life. The part in the suicide note ''for the ones that tried to hurt me, you didn't, sorry'', was that a defiant last message to the bullies? 

People close to Jeremy say that although he was troubled, his actions on that Tuesday morning where out of character for him. To have taken his life in front of everyone when he was usually the sort of person to hide things, keep things to himself it was almost as if it was a final ''F**k you'' to the world or the bullies and that particular class. 

From interviews I have watched and read during my research, it was clear that even in his short life Jeremy had a huge impact on people who were close to him, people still cry today when they think about him. Some people wish they had been able to recognise the signs and had reached out to him before it was too late. From what I've researched about Jeremy he seemed to be pretty strong minded and I don't think anything would have stood in his way once he had decided to do something. 

Do I think that Pearl Jam were right to have written and released 'Jeremy'? Well, I don't agree with some of the content of the song and the sensationalization of the video but I understand why it was made that way (no disrespect to Jeremy or his family). It was done to bring attention to Jeremy's story at a time when mental illness was kept in the darkness and nobody would talk about it. The song and the video encouraged people to talk and it is because of this song that I learned of Jeremy's story. Have we learned and gotten better at spotting the signs of young teenagers going through depression and the difficulties they face? I would like to think that we have improved and come a long way since 1991. We are certainly more open to talk about mental health and there is more help available. We still have a long way to go but some people are open to admit they have mental health struggles, are on medications or are attending therapy. I'm not a parent so I cannot comment on schools but I have heard that support for students in schools not only in America but here in the UK has improved. 

There are various sites that are dedicated to Jeremy, including the incredible Jeremy Wade Delle website which on opening has Jeremy's memorial stone with the tag line by Jeremy's mother ''One day does not define your life'' across the screen. Some websites have not been updated for a long time but the message and the story of Jeremy is still around, nobody will ever forget him, not just because of the song but because of what he left behind, the love from those that knew him best and his incredible art work. 

RIP Jeremy x

Jeremy's final resting place is at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas. You can lay flowers and a note at his online memorial here

If you are currently going through a hard time and looking for a friendly ear or some support, please don't hesitate to come and chat to me or contact the info relevant to you below: 

Samaritans UK [24 Hours]: 116 123 | Samaritans Website

My email address: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Thank you for getting through this post with me, I really appreciate it and as always I welcome your thoughts on this heartbreaking story. Please feel free to comment below or contact me personally to share your views or memories of Jeremy. 

Take care and I hope to see you in my next post x