Jonathan Destin died on the night of Friday August 19 to Saturday August 20, 2022, in his sleep. The young man of 27 years had become in recent years one of the symbols of the fight against school bullying. An investigation had been opened in “search for the causes of death”. His mother, Marie-Pierre, said Thursday, August 25 on Facebook that her son had succumbed “from natural causes”, relays Télé Loisirs. “His heart was too tired, he had too much suffering, too much care. He died in his sleep”.

Originally from Marquette-Lez-Lille (Nord), Jonathan Destin had tried to end his life in February 2011, by setting himself on fire before throwing himself into a river. Aged 16 at the time, he had already suffered harassment from his comrades for several years. But the teenager, burned to 72%, had survived this tragedy. Plunged into a coma for two and a half months, he had been operated on 23 times and had remained hospitalized for three years, reports La Voix du Nord.

Since then, Jonathan Destin has multiplied interventions in schools and in the media to raise awareness of the problem of bullying. He also wrote a book in 2013, Sentenced to Kill Me, adapted for television by TF1. Victim of bullying, grossophobia, racketeering, Jonathan Destin has experienced a real ordeal in all the establishments he has attended.

“All that I endured every day was stronger than death, it was stronger than being in pain”, confides the young man in a video posted online by the INA. Self-immolation had become “the only solution for it to stop”. Jonathan’s parents discovered the harassment suffered by their son only after this terrible tragedy.

“Jonathan Destin had the courage to put words where violence and hatred of school bullying want to impose silence. I am committed to extending his word and his commitment to school”, reacted on Twitter the Minister of Education. Education, Pap Ndiaye. “Jonathan always eternally by your side,” wrote the leader of the Indochine group, Nicola Sirkis, who had participated with him in an operation by La Voix du Nord against harassment.

On Facebook, Jonathan Destin’s mother also posted the date and location of her son’s funeral. The young man will be buried on Monday August 29, 2022. The funeral will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the Saint-Amand church, in Marquette-Lez-Lille.