ISSUES: Family of Rutgers Suicide 'Heartbroken Beyond Words'

Nothing gets easier in this awful story: The picture emerging of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman who killed himself after someone posted a tape of him in a gay encounter, is that of a nice, quiet kid who was also a genuinely talented violinist. The family is "heartbroken beyond words," it said in a statement. Clementi's roommate and another student have been released by police but face charges of invasion of privacy for allegedly filming his encounter with a secret camera and posting it online. The most serious of the charges carries a sentence of 5 years.

The suicide coincided with the start of a campus program emphasizing the importance of civility, especially online, notes the New York Times. “It’s so painful. He was very friendly and had very good potential," said the director of the orchestra where he had played in high school. A peer who played with him tells the Star-Ledger that he "blew the audience away" at a concert last year. Clementi's last Facebook posting: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."