The birth of the WVPI

The following is a portion of the cover to my research pending publication entitled "The Killer in the Next Cubicle" and the foreword from that publication addressing how the cover came about.

Sadly, the scope of the research has grown to include 160 homicides including that of 17 year old Kenneth "Kenny" Suttner to whom the research is dedicated.

Bullying is workplace violence in and of itself and can lead to other forms of violence including occupational murder.

In 2017, a coroner's jury in Missouri found that Kenny had suffered bullying at work and in school. His supervisor has been charged with manslaughter and other charges and is awaiting trial.

Joseph and I greatly admire Kenny.

Joseph who was victimized by bullying when he was in school relates to Kenny's courageous battle on a personal level.

"I just wanted to be left alone The bullies wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't need a psychologist or psychiatrist I just needed to be left alone," Joseph says.

Joseph experienced long term bullying while a student at a large middle school where he was enrolled. Students bullied him. He recently disclosed a teacher even bullied him.

Joseph also states "They said for me to go to a teacher. I got bullied. I went to the teacher. The teacher didn't want to hear about it, what was I supposed to do?"

On one occasion Joseph was struck in the head by a bully necessitating a trip to the emergency room.

Another time, I witnessed Joseph fall to the ground and pound it screaming in pain about the bullying he suffered in middle school. It is one of the most painful moments of my life one that is engrained in my head forever.

Little could be done it seemed to stop it. We sued the school district and later Joseph was transferred to another school.

His experiences helped persuade me to go to law school and become an attorney.

Today while still tormented by the bullying, Joseph advocates with me about the prevention of workplace violence and bullying both at work and in our schools.

Joseph a victim of bullying holds the memorial "wall" he created for the WVPI in early 2016.