Dear Governor,

My daughter was Shylynn Dixon, Well to be politically correct she

was not my biological daughter. However, she became a part of my
family from the time she was 14 years old until her tragic death at
age 18.

Shylynn was a fun, outgoing, smart & funny young lady who left
us all too soon. Shylynn leaves behind a legacy of promoting diversity
and putting others' needs before her own. She will always be
remembered for her sunny smile and her witty humor. She enjoyed
being with animals, farming, climbing trees, camping, and bonfires!
But most of all, Shylynn loved her family.

On March 3rd, 2021, at apx 11:40am, I received a phone call no

mother or parent ever wants to receive. Its in that moment that
you truly feel like your most horrific nightmare is happening in slow
motion and you are standing outside of your body, watching, trying to
scream “wake up”, but you can’t because your body is already awake.
To hear your significant other screaming to you over the phone, in a
tone that emanates fear; is something that only a parent can
understand. Its that call you try not to imagine; you never want to
get, and you fear every time the phone rings when your kids are not
home.
 Shylynn committed suicide that day, just moments, literally
minutes before being picked up to goto Boces. She left behind a
note saying, “She had messed up a year and a half ago and sent
some nudes to a guy online and he has been blackmailing her ever
since” and “I just can’t do it anymore”. “Please don’t fall apart” and
finally “I Love you”.

As a parent losing their child to suicide, I suddenly realized I

was facing a wall, one my daughter built around herself. Shylynn
began building that wall in 2019 when she became FB friends with
someone she didn’t really know personally. Their friendship was not
genuine, it was as fake as monopoly money. What she didn’t know,
was this person had one intention and one intention only, that was
to blackmail her. Shylynn tried to block him on FB, and then he sent
her picture to friends and uploaded it to the internet, it was at
that moment that she truly felt trapped! She had no idea what to
do. She felt so embarrassed and ashamed of what she had done.
All she could see was how much embarrassment and ridicule she was
going to endure.
I still wait for my daughter to come home some nights, I long

to hear her say “I Love you Mom”, but I know she is the driving

force that helps me share our story and pushes me to keep taking
those bricks down from the wall and making a wider bridge. Thank

you for listening to me.

Missing their child deeply,

Rosemarie Maneri