Tim Barnett, a vibrant 13-year-old boy from Sumter, South Carolina, had a passion for karate and baseball before his life was tragically cut short in April 2023. The shocking discovery of Tim’s body, bearing a fatal gunshot wound, was made by his father in the front yard of their family home. In a heartbreaking twist, Tim’s mother, Betsy Hauptman, learned months later from police investigators that her son had fallen victim to a sinister case of sextortion on the popular social media platform Snapchat. This devastating revelation has prompted Hauptman to take legal action against Snapchat, filing a lawsuit seeking over $10 million in damages.
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In this gripping episode of Crime Fix, a daily show dedicated to exploring the most significant crime stories, Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy delves deep into this tragic case. Levy sits down with Betsy Hauptman to discuss the painful circumstances surrounding her son’s death and the motivations behind her lawsuit against Snapchat. Joining the conversation is Joe Cunningham, one of Hauptman’s attorneys, who provides insight into the legal aspects of the case.
Host:
Angenette Levy: https://x.com/Angenette5
Guest:
Joe Cunningham: https://x.com/JoeCunninghamSC
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Kids shouldn’t have a smart phone
No sorry, the parent was the one who should of not allowed her child to be playing around on the internet. It’s 2024 this is not news. It’s sad and so preventable.
Coming from a former early 2010s preteen, no child under the age of 14 should have full, unrestricted access to the internet. Biggest downfall I’ve noticed is people not properly educating their children on the dangers of being online. Parents are putting parental locks on certain things but not explaining why and that’s part of the problem. If you’re not prepared to discuss these uncomfortable topics with your kid then don’t get them the phone. Theres plenty of ways to monitor and protect your child that doesn’t completely take away their privacy or autonomy.
It’s 2024 and she wants ppl to know social media is dangerous also that they should put the guidelines in place since they have the knowledge. but she doesn’t think she should have taught her self the dangers of social media before letting her 13 yr old child online? Sorry for her loss
Baby boy sent the nudes himself this a bad case some
Why did that boy even have a phone or access to a gun?
My mom had me monitored when i was a teenager. She somehow knew EVERYTHING that I did, even if she didnt go through my phone or know my password. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A PARENT TO MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS SAFE. THATS WHAT BEING A PARENT IS.
How is this snap chat's fault? YOU are the parental control. Why couldn't get into his phone? You don't have the password?
It's not the role of companies to protect our kids. That is the role of each parent. Just the way they failed to know what their son did online, they failed to secure their guns and failed as parents
It's the parent's role to protect their kids, not some companies that provide services… This is why as a parent myself we use parental controls and monitoring apps. You just gotta be proactive. Btw, what kind of a parent does not secure their guns like that?
Snapchats sole purpose is for that. The founder has admitted that is why he created it. Snap chat shouldn't allow anyone on it under the age of 18. Kids shouldn't be allowed to send any images or video on social media. There needs to be ID verification on social media. Secondly, how did he get ahold of a gun.
😢I have snapchat
Such an unbearable loss for his mum dad and all who loved Timothy
You aren't going to get $10 million 😂😂😂. Not in a million years lady
how did he get the gun ??
Doesnt deserve a penny
“We checked the kids phone, we STILL do…” 😳😆..u mean even AFTER you’ve already lost one child you say because of being on the internet, you’re willing to STILL allow your other children on the internet? 🤔😬… This says it all about what that lawsuit is about. 🤬
She trusted social media providers?? What? Get your children out of social media and be responsible!
Parents really need to start being more responsible gun owners, or just not owning guns if they don’t intend on keeping them locked away so their children can’t get their hands on them. And it’s odd that she said she knew there were predators online, but didn’t realize the amount that are online and didn’t think they target children the way that they do. They’re predators, that’s what they do. I don’t understand how parents aren’t aware of this by now. It’s not the 1980’s-1990’s. It’s 2024. She uses the internet herself so she should be well aware. Parents should be educating themselves on the dangers of the internet and teaching their children them as well.
Why was the mother unable to access her sons phone? He's 13. You're paying for it you get access to it.
Rest in peace, Tim.
I'm 26 and I'm paraplegic so I live at home. I work in web development from home and pay the electric, phone, and property taxes, my Mom makes me show her my credit card statements because she doesn't want me to buy useless things and my Internet is monitored, I can't even have Netflix. I'm from a Korean family. I have three siblings and I feel trapped because she controls a lot of my life. I have told her she's interfering, but I agree that parents need to really talk to their adult and minor children about the dangers of the Internet.
I have a niece and I couldn't believe I acted like my Mom when I found out she had a lot of social media accounts and 'friends.' No 13 year old has 1200+ followers on Instagram and Facebook.
They are stealing other kids pics and using them to make fake profiles?! Africa is done
I’m going through the same problem atm. The person has been blackmailing me since 2021 and it never ends
The irony of suing Snapchat for not doing enough to protect your son when you as his parent didn't do enough to protect your son.
What responsibility does the parents have? They provide the cell phone and other devices, the internet, and unfettered access.
Stop deleting my comments he killed himself his own attention seeking stupidity
Ok, but when are parents going to start taking responsibility for checking what their kids are doing online?
10 million????
The parents don't feel responsible for having a loaded gun where their child could get a hold of it? And of course they expect Snapchat to do parenting for them.
This is very sad but it's not a company issue, it's a parenting issue.
In the same sentence she knew it was an app he frequently used and instead of properly monitoring it, she now wants to sue snapchat for her failure as a parent! Snapchat better not settle with this case tired of people trying to sue companies for things they cant control.
Mother have right to put justice and help another kids
Blaming Snapchat for failed parenting . Just admit you was on top of ur child as much as you should’ve . If ur a parent & don’t go through ur minor childrens phone you aren’t doing ur job
Although it’s a very sad and tragic situation, parents, it is not the internet’s responsibility to keep your child safe! the internet has always been the least safest for children! Parents really need to do a better job at monitoring their children’s activities on the internet/social media…
This is mainly a parenting issue. Tragic.
Did I miss something? How did this child get his hands on a loaded gun? Just wondering.
How come you guys didnt talk about how he killed himself?
Nope.
This is why it should be illegal for some people to reproduce… she brings a child into this life and then blames an app for her negligence 😮 the audacity
my kids don’t have access to the app store, youtube or search engines on their ipads. my oldest has a phone that still doesn’t have access to the mentioned above, but he only has it with him when he goes to church school or music lessons and i’m not right beside him. 😔
The mom needs to get a grip and stop blaming Snapchat for her own negligence. Not only was she apparently not monitoring her child's internet usage, but she allowed him to get his hands on a gun.
She should be charged for production of CP. She allowed for her child to produce those photos