The Tullahoma community is mourning the loss of Marliana Noel “Marli” Tate, who passed away Monday, Sept. 9. She was a 12-year old, seventh-grade student at East Middle School.
Visitation with the family was held Thursday at Tullahoma Funeral Home.
The Tullahoma News reported that Tullahoma Director of Schools John Carver insinuated on Thursday that Tate’s death “potentially involved an internet challenged gone awry.”
Marli Tate
“We don’t really know all the ins and outs about what happened, but we do know that it could have involved some kind of teenage internet challenge-type thing on YouTube or something,” The News cites Carver as saying. “It’s very tragic.”
The News went on to say that Carver declined further comment “out of respect for the family.”
The Tullahoma Police Department issued a statement Friday that appeared to be in response to Carver’s comments in the article. The statement, in its entirety reads:
“The Tullahoma Police Department would like to express our deepest condolences to the Tate family regarding the loss of their child.
“We are committed to determining factual conclusions to all situations affecting our community.
“On Monday September 9, 2019 we responded to a circumstance in which a young member of our community lost their life. This incident is currently being investigated. We can not comment further on this investigation and would ask that everyone respect the privacy of the Tate family during this difficult time. We understand that the community is concerned based upon the Tullahoma News article of today. Currently, we are not aware of any threats to our community via Youtube or any other social media sources on the internet. When the investigation is completed, a public service announcement will be made by the Tullahoma Police Department. If any concerns are determined we will also advise further.
Should anyone have pertinent information concerning this investigation please contact Detective Karl Pyrdom at 931-455-0530 or kpyrdom@tullahomatn.gov.”
The Tullahoma School System has made counselors available to students and teachers.
Marli Tate’s obituary information from Tullahoma Funeral Home is as follows:
She is survived by her parents, Brandon W. Tate of Tullahoma and Lindsey George of Shelbyville. Maternal grandparents are Dena George of Shelbyville and Johnny George of Manchester. Paternal grandparents are Robert A Tate of Tullahoma one Kimberly Tate of Manchester. Great grandparents are Roma and Mickey Deal and Teddy & Caroline Steele of Winchester and Delores Pope of Birmingham, AL. Marli is also survived by many other relatives aunts and uncles, cousins, and countless loving friends and neighbors. Marli was a generous and loving free spirit who will continue to give to others as an organ donor. She will forever be our bright and shining star.
