What happened to Sean? A York County boy’s death leaves his family with questions

On April 14, a 12-year-old York County boy was found hanging from a swing set in his backyard. Sean Daugherty’s death was ruled a suicide.

But recently, after being frustrated by what they say are unanswered questions, the family launched a social media campaign and wants the case reopened. According to Ramona and Jared Rivas — Sean’s mother and step-father — Sean was a bright, happy boy who the night before his death, was laughing and joking with family.

The family’s campaign prompted the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office to respond last week, saying the death was fully investigated.

“We take these matters very seriously, evaluate all evidence and consider all possibilities,” Maj. Ron Montgomery said in a videotaped statement posted on the office’s Facebook page. “Much of the information being posted to this social media site is opinion, innuendo and fabrication, which is not consistent with the evidence that was collected by sheriff’s office investigators during their investigation.”

Sean’s family, however, wants another agency to investigate. They still have too many questions, they say.

That April afternoon, Sean’s sister Maria found him hanging from the swing set. He was later pronounced dead at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News. When the sheriff’s office ruled the death a suicide, the Rivases were confused.

“He loved Marvel, he loved Disney, he loved his family, but most importantly, he loved life,” Jared Rivas said.

One of Sean’s favorite things to do was read. In fact, at a book fair a few years back, Sean spent $107 of his own money on new books.

Sean, a sixth grader at Tabb Middle School who dreamed of one day becoming president, was one of four siblings, including an older sister and two younger brothers. According to his family, he was the kindest of them all, sometimes bringing extra food for a friend at school.

The autopsy report from the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner states that Sean was found “partially suspended by a ‘shoelace-type’ string that was tied to the swing set.” While hanging, there was reportedly a nylon bag over his head and belt strapped around his abdomen, pinning both of his arms to his side, the report says.

It is also noted that he was wearing his stepfather’s clothes and was barefoot. His glasses were on the ground nearby. No note was found.

In the parents’ bedroom, Sean’s underwear was on the floor. The dresser doors were open.

Before his death, Sean was babysitting his 2-year-old brother at the house while Ramona Rivas took her mother to a doctor’s appointment. Sean was excited to watch his little brother, Ramona said. Jared Rivas, meanwhile, was in Williamsburg with their second-youngest son for an appointment.

During Sean’s last moments, he completed his homework, started taking out the trash, made a snack and even had a quick phone call with his mother — about an hour before his body was discovered.

In the medical examiner’s report, it is noted that no “known history of depression or suicidality” was found. It does note that the police investigation “raised the possibility of bullying at school,” but his family said that except for one incident in December, they’re unaware of any other bullying and said Sean didn’t seem to be overly upset by it.

His family questions how the examiner and police were drawn to the conclusion of suicide, especially with Sean’s behavior the night before.

“The night before he passed, Ramona bought some cookies, and a couple of them were carrot cake. He was so excited about that cookie. He was like, ‘Mom, this is great, mwah! It’s so good,’” Jared said remembering Sean doing a comical chef’s kiss in response to the cookie, eliciting laughter from the rest of the family.

Soon after, Sean had his normal catch-up session with his mom before bed.

“Every night, no matter what, he would come up and follow Ramona around. He would just follow her around and talk to her about whatever they talked about,” Jared Rivas said. “And that was the same thing Wednesday night before he passed.

“Every time [the catch-up sessions] got finished, he’d turn and look at us. He’d go, ‘Well, goodnight guys. I love you,’ and bounced down the hall.”

The family was expecting to move soon. Ramona Rivas is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and she recently had accepted a new position at the Pentagon.

Once she got the call, she told her family the news at dinner. Sean jumped up screaming with excitement and said he couldn’t wait to tell his friends that his mother worked for the Pentagon. He wanted to know if he could go into the Pentagon and get some of the milk chocolate candies with the iconic building stamped on top.

“On the first day when I went into the Pentagon, I went into the chocolate shop, and bought one. It’s next to Sean’s picture,” she said.

In August, the Rivas family didn’t want to stay silent anymore, they said, and the social media campaign ignited. Signs with “@whathappenedtosean” started appearing across town, and a Facebook page titled “What Happened to Sean?” formed.

The family also started a petition on change.org called “What happened to Sean?” in hopes of someone re-opening Sean’s case.

“We don’t want this to be a fight with the York-Poquoson Sheriff. All we’re asking for is another option,” Jared Rivas said. “I mean, you hear how we’re describing him the night before he passed, we all just got back from a cruise and he got his passport done on Tuesday, April 12, which he was thrilled about.

“He didn’t know he was going to be alone until he got home from school. He couldn’t have planned this.”

Beyond the statement released on Facebook, no more details about the case will be released to the public, said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shelley Ward.

“We just wanted to get out our information to put their minds at ease,” Ward said. “There’s not someone in our community that’s out killing people, and we’re not investigating it. We take all matters seriously.”

The medical examiner’s office also made a statement, saying that in cases where a family disagrees with a cause of death, they are given an opportunity to present any new information.

“In cases where the family suspects that someone killed their loved one, we ask families to contact the investigating law enforcement agency immediately to express their concerns,” the statement continues. “We advise that law enforcement should be involved as they need to conduct the necessary follow-up on the new information.

If law enforcement determines the information to be pertinent to our death investigation, then they will present it to our office and the medical examiner will evaluate this new information to determine if cause of death and/or manner of death needs to be amended.”

According to the Rivases, there were many things out of place the day of Sean’s death. All they want is for someone to give the case another look.

“We’re not investigators; we’re just parents that lost an amazing kid,” Jared Rivas said. “No matter what, no one can argue that he doesn’t deserve a second shot.”

Abbey Crank, abbey.crank@virginiamedia.com