Heather Wyatt headed to court over fallout from daughter Aubreigh’s death. What to expect

Anita Lee
·4 min read

Update: The parents of four girls accused of bullying 13-year-old Aubreigh Wyatt on Tuesday afternoon voluntarily dismissed a Circuit Court lawsuit in which they accused her mother of slandering their daughters.

A Jackson County Chancery Court judge will decide Thursday whether he should continue an emergency order that shut down the social media accounts of Ocean Springs resident Heather Wyatt, who says her 13-year-old daughter Aubreigh Wyatt was bullied to death.

The Ocean Springs Middle School student died by suicide on Labor Day. Wyatt was sharing her grief on social media, posting photos of Aubreigh and including her two surviving children in TikTok videos about their sister. As her following grew, other social media users shared Aubreigh’s story, spreading the identifies of the girls accused of bullying her, along with misinformation.

The parents of the accused bullies filed the Chancery Court lawsuit against Heather Wyatt after death threats and hate-filled messages about their daughters flooded social media.

In Chancery Court, people can seek relief other than monetary damages and cases are almost always heard by judges rather than juries.

The case has been sealed from public view. However, a copy of an emergency order signed by Judge Mark Maples was leaked on social media. It shows that on July 1 he ordered Heather Wyatt to temporarily shut down her social media accounts.

Meanwhile, Wyatt was facing a lawsuit in Circuit Court filed by the parents. It is open to the public. In the Circuit case, the bullies’ parents accused Wyatt of slander. They claimed Wyatt made false statements about their daughters and denied Aubreigh was bullied into suicide before voluntarily dismissing the case Tuesday afternoon.

They were seeking unspecified monetary damages in Circuit Court, where cases with facts in dispute can be heard by juries. The Sun Herald is not naming the parents in order to avoid identifying their minor children.

Heather Wyatt, center, and her children Taylor, 16, right, and Ryker, 7, at the Wyatt’s home in Ocean Springs on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Heather and her children were making TikToks and printing t-shirts to raise awareness for suicide prevention following the death of Heather’s daughter Aubreigh by suicide in 2023.
Heather Wyatt, center, and her children Taylor, 16, right, and Ryker, 7, at the Wyatt’s home in Ocean Springs on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Heather and her children were making TikToks and printing t-shirts to raise awareness for suicide prevention following the death of Heather’s daughter Aubreigh by suicide in 2023.

Chancery case advances

While details about the chancery case are hidden from public view, the order shutting down Wyatt’s social media was widely shared on the internet, drawing even more attention to her cause.

Wyatt has said that both the Ocean Springs Police Department and Jackson County Youth Court have declined to move forward with charges against anyone after investigating bullying complaints. Police said they examined Aubreigh’s phone, social media and other electronic data. In a TikTok video before her account was shut down, she let followers know that the investigations had ended.

Wyatt has hired Kimberly M. Papania, a Gulfport attorney, to represent her in the Chancery Court case. The parents suing her are represented by Patrick Guild of Boyce Holleman & Associates law firm in Gulfport. Heather Wyatt has been served with a subpoena for the Thursday hearing, the court docket shows. However, the contents of the subpoena are unknown.

A photo of the Wyatt family sits in Heather Wyatt’s home in Ocean Springs on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Aubreigh is pictured on her mother Heather’s right.
A photo of the Wyatt family sits in Heather Wyatt’s home in Ocean Springs on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Aubreigh is pictured on her mother Heather’s right.

Heather Wyatt response pending

Wyatt had not yet had time to respond to the Circuit Court lawsuit, filed July 2 — one day after Maples issued the emergency order in the Chancery Court case.

Shortly before the case was dismissed, the parents were going to subpoena records from the Ocean Springs School District, Circuit Court records show. The case file is open to the public, as are almost all court cases, so the subpoena can be viewed.

The subpoena would have required the School District to produce any video or audio recordings acquired while investigating Aubreigh’s death; any statements, emails or other communication from Heather or Aubreigh Wyatt; any communication from the School District to Heather Wyatt related to investigations of her or Aubreigh’s claims; and all communications to or from Wyatt about her minor children.

Wyatt is also the mother of a 16-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.

Now that the case has been dismissed, the subpoena could be issued in other civil action the parents pursue, possibly the Chancery Court case.

Fundraising through social media

While her social media accounts are shut down, Heather Wyatt has continued collecting donations to help with legal fees, raising more than $112,000 on gofundme alone by Tuesday morning. After surpassing a $100,000 goal, Wyatt asked that donations be sent to her electronic accounts on Venmo and Cash App, or provided to mental health counselors or crisis centers for those in need.

Businesses have also held fundraisers, with more planned by individuals and groups touched by Aubreigh’s death. Not all the fundraisers are verified as legitimate.

Alivia Boccaccio of St. Martin, who says she was relentlessly bullied much like Aubreigh Wyatt, painted vehicle windows Sunday afternoon near Interstate 10 in Jackson County for anyone who wanted to show support for Aubreigh’s mother, Heather Wyatt, who is grieving her daughter’s Labor Day death by suicide. Boccacio said that she tried to end her life five times but now realizes she shouldn’t have listened to the bullies.