Settle said that her niece, Haylee, had been the victim of bullying after moving to Minnesota from Indiana with her mother and 8-year-old brother.
"She was made fun of for being overweight, her red hair," Settle said. "She posted on my [Facebook] wall that she really wanted to come back...that the people were mean and cruel and she didn't fit in."
Even though Haylee wasn't severely overweight, she was so uncomfortable about her size that she rarely ate in public at school, Settle said
Paige was Haylee's closest friend.
"They were best friends. Haylee started school here about a year ago and over the course of the year, they'd become best friends," said Brett Behnke, Paige's uncle.
Paige played hockey and was teaching Haylee to skate, Behnke said.
"She had a big, round face and a smile that's intoxicating, just a charmer," Behnke said of his niece.
The two girls were so close, Haylee had hyphenated her last name on Facebook to include Paige's last name.
Haylee was recently expelled from school for defending Paige during a fight in school, Settle said
The girls died three days after Paige's mother and stepdad left for a 10-day vacation to Hawaii. Paige spent the night at Haylee's home.
Sometime after 1 a.m. on Saturday, Haylee left a Facebook post for her cousin, Jessica, wishing her a happy birthday. After leaving a post on her cousin's wall, Haylee called her closest friend in Indiana, Settle said. Around 6 a.m., Haylee's mother found the girls.
"They did hang themselves. My sister found them. She's a medical assistant. She attempted to resuscitate them," Settle said.
Those efforts to resuscitate the girls failed.
Haylee's letter was to her mother and detailed plans for her funeral, Settle said.
"She requested everything pink and princess and butterflies," Settle said.
She couldn't stand people to be made fun of, tortured, teased. She stood up for the underdogs and she was one herself," Settle said.
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