Two Bay Area families say '13 Reasons Why' triggered their teens to commit suicide

Two Bay Area families told KTVU television that they believe the popular Netflix show "13 Reasons Why" triggered their teen girls to commit suicide.

Bella Herndon, 15, and Priscilla Chiu, 15, both killed themselves in April, only four days apart after their parents say they watched the 13-episode drama released on March 31.

"There's no word that describes my contempt for the people that did this," Bella's father, John Herndon, told KTVU. "You can't convince me that they were trying to attract people's attention to the issue of suicide by showing a little girl killing herself. There's nothing positive about that."

The highly controversial series based on Jay Asher's 2007 novel by the same title follows the story of high school student Hannah Baker who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes, each telling the story of a traumatic event that led her to kill herself.

Katherine Langford as Hannah Baker in Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," about a teenager who commits suicide. Katherine Langford as Hannah Baker in Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," about a teenager who commits suicide. Photo: Beth Dubber / Netflix Photo: Beth Dubber / Netflix Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Two Bay Area families say '13 Reasons Why' triggered their teens to commit suicide 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The show has sparked criticism for glamorizing and glorifying teen suicide and raised concerns among families with teens who are at suicide risk due to bullying and depression.

In a statement to KTVU, Netflix defends the show saying, "We have heard from many views that '13 Reasons Why' has opened up a dialogue among parents, teens, schools and mental health advocates around the difficult topics depicted in the show."

Netflix declined to provide SFGATE with additional comment on this story. You can see KTVU's full report in the video above.